Breakpoint

A rural Ohio high school superintendent made a questionable decision last month by allowing an "After-School Satan Club" to meet on school grounds while refusing a group of protestors from even meeting outside. The Ohio attorney general sent a letter, reminding the superintendent that the protestors had as much right to gather on public property as the club. That this required a letter from the state attorney general is telling. Cultural tastes shift quickly and unpredictably. Not so long ago, it would have been the "Satan Club," not the protestors, who were considered "subversive." Today, apparently, it's the other way around. This is why it's so important to advocate for free speech based on principle, not on the content of the speech. Still, it could be argued that every news story about this dust-up in Ohio buried the real lede: The After-School Satan Club, it turns out, had 7 attendees at its first meeting. Two were students. The rest were adults. It's always the grown-ups.

Many Christian parents worry about how to best pass on the faith to their children. Sadly, statistics suggest they should. In 2020, the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University found that just 2% of millennials, a generation now well into adulthood, have a biblical worldview. That's the lowest of any generation since surveys began. Lifeway Research reports that two-thirds of those who attend a youth group as teenagers will drop out of church as adults.

No matter how noble its intentions, every idea is ultimately tested by how well it handles reality. By most measures, the "Defund the Police" movement has failed dramatically. Since 2020, when calls for policing reform escalated, the nation has seen a 30% spike in homicides, combined with a rise in other violent crime. Now, cities that slashed police budgets like Portland, Los Angeles, and Oakland are increasing them again—some by up to 12%. The President has been inconsistent on the issue but, in January, he argued against "cutting funding for police," but also for supplementing their work with community and mental health services. The Economist sums up why: "No evidence suggests a relationship between the size of a police force and the number of people its officers kill," yet "ample evidence suggests that bigger and better-funded forces tend to reduce violent crime." A Biblical position is that people aren't just mental health cases to be cured. They're also moral agents who sometimes do wrong things. Even a healthy society will need more than just police, but will never need less.

Futurists and tech industry gurus have long promised a utopia where humans aren't dependent on pesky biological or geographical realities. Behind yesterday's cyberspace and today's "Metaverse" is the same idea: In a brave new world of digital existence, humans can be freed from bodies, specific locations, and other physical limitations. The rise of online technology made it possible for churches to continue in the early, uncertain days of the pandemic. Many congregations have chosen to keep their live-streaming option on offer, in order to accommodate their older, more vulnerable, or physically distant constituents. Other churches have taken it a step or two further. Some have opted for an online-only congregation, abandoning a physical building altogether. Somewhat more spectacularly, other churches are starting "churches" in Facebook's new Metaverse, where people, or their avatars, can "come" to church from anywhere in the world with other people who join from anywhere in the world. D.J. Soto, a pastor at what is called VR Church in the Metaverse, recently claimed, "The future of the church is the metaverse… in the church of 2030, the main focus is going to be your metaverse campus." On one hand, such innovation is just a recent chapter of a long history. Churches have long employed new technologies and methods to reach the sick or infirmed, particularly in times of crisis, and keep them connected with the wider Church. Evangelicals, in particular, have a long tradition of using new technologies in the service of evangelism, including the printing press 500 years ago, the newspaper 300 years ago, the radio in the early 1900s, and the TV in the late 1900s. This commentary, BreakPoint, got its start on the radio. But new technology and communication methods must be evaluated on more than whether or not something "works." This is also about what Church is. Decades ago, Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan said, "The medium is the message." Put another way, the means used to tell a story will shape what is said. When it comes to Church, it can change the nature of what we kind of people we are. People aren't just inviting the world into the Church through new technology, they're moving the Church into the new realm of that technology. Such a move can have unexpected consequences. While there's certainly cause for attempts to "reach people where they are at," what we reach them with is what we reach them to. We must make sure any effort to communicate the Gospel doesn't reduce the Gospel down to anything less than It is. Remember, Christ spoke of those who, in the Parable of the Sower, initially received the Gospel with joy, but, lacking root, turned aside when growing stopped being as convenient. But there's also something else to consider. A disembodied Church assumes that a disembodied faith is possible. A Christianity lived only online encourages America's already existing "choose your own adventure" understanding of religion. Christianity is about more than content. Rather, its content cannot truly be lived outside of the context of real people in the real world. As Tish Harrison Warren put it recently in the New York Times, "[B]odies, with all the risk, danger, limits, mortality and vulnerability that they bring, are part of our deepest humanity, not obstacles to be transcended through digitization." In contrast, a cyberspace "church" is something akin to 2013's "Her," where an imaginary relationship with an online persona becomes preferable to the often painful and inconvenient nature of tangible reality. As someone from that movie puts it, "You always wanted to have a wife without the challenges of dealing with anything real," a line that could be said of what too many seek from the Bride of Christ. The faith of our fathers is not simply attending a performance, or even embracing a set of ideas about God or Jesus. A church without doctrine is a mere social club or an arbitrary special interest group, but a "church" that remains doctrinally correct but only connects online is a mere chat room. A disembodied online existence makes it too easy to hide who and what we really are from those God has called to love and be loved by. The Christian life cannot be fully lived online. God has called us to this time and this place, to times and crises that are uncomfortable and to people whose issues and ailments are unpleasant. The world in which God is making all things new is filled with real people and real problems, and these won't be mended in the illusive world of an online existence.

John and Shane field a question from someone in the medical community who asks what physician-assisted suicide does to our view of medical practitioners. The listener also asks for a worldview breakdown on how physician-assisted suicide came to be. Next, Shane asks John what makes a church "woke", after a listener asks John and Shane to explain what woke is and what it does to a church body. A listener also writes in asking for clarity on what the mindful movement is and what worldview category it fits inside before John answers a listener's question on the four chapter Gospel that John has talked about in other shows. To close, John responds to a listener who asks for clarity on how Christians should respectfully disagree, noting a video from Matthew Vines and a response from Sean McDowell. The listener asks what Christians are to do when there is conflict inside Christian thought

Instead of having a doctor or nurse on hand, Nova Scotia's new "oral protocol" puts the ability to take lethal medicine in the hands of "patients" themselves. Incredibly, that could decrease the total number of assisted deaths in Canada. When using the oral method, up to 40% of California residents chose not to go through with the procedure. By contrast, asks ethicist Daryl Pullmann, why do only 2% of Canadians choose the same? Perhaps the presence of medical personnel creates a kind of "unintentional coercion," a troubling thought, given that over 7,000 Canadians died from assisted suicide in 2020. But the bigger problem, like the law taking effect in 2023 in Canada which allows for death on the basis of "mental health" issues alone, is that "We seem to be rushing headlong for a precipice here," as Pullman said in an interview. "We're medicalizing suicide effectively so that people who, for whatever reason, judge their life to be unacceptable [can] get medical assistance in ending their life." Human dignity is too important a thing to squander in our haste.

New data is poking holes in what's become a prominent cultural myth. "When it comes to divorce," write Brad Wilcox and Lyman Stone in The Wall Street Journal, "the research has generally backed up the belief that it's best to wait until around 30 to tie the knot." This is because the divorce rate is generally lower for those who wait to wed. However, according to the National Survey of Family Growth, there's an interesting exception to this modern-day rule of thumb. Couples in their 20s who don't cohabitate first have some of the lowest divorce rates of any group. Though it's not exactly clear, from the research anyway, as to why this is the case. This particular cohort is disproportionately religious, something that is linked to lower divorce rates across the board. Even so, the data sheds further light on the relationship between cohabitation and marriage in American society. Decades of studies have led sociologists to broadly conclude that cohabitation leads to higher rates of divorce. In general, living with a partner, even one that eventually becomes a spouse, is associated with a 15% higher chance of splitting up. One Stanford study indicates that the rate is twice as high for those who cohabitate with someone other than their future spouse. "We generally think that having more experience is better…." says University of Denver psychologist Galena Rhoades, "but what we find for relationships is just the opposite." More partners mean more comparison, she argues, which can make it harder to achieve long-term contentment. Cohabitation also teaches couples that one can always head for the exit when problems seem too daunting, instead of to press in and stick it out. As a result, while marriages in general are more stable at 30, marriage to one partner is better, even if at a younger age. Still, despite a significant amount of data that says otherwise, society pushes a very different story about living together. People in their 20s, says convention, should avoid commitment, establish themselves professionally, and certainly try living together before tying the knot. For a generation raised in divorced homes, skepticism toward marriage is understandable … as is the desire to "try it before you buy it." After all, this is the same generation who never has to pick a restaurant before checking its rating on Yelp. And so here we are, in a culture where both delayed marriage and cohabitation are "normal," but relational satisfaction is rare. Married couples report more satisfaction across the board than cohabiting couples, in all kinds of areas, and report more trust by double digits. Even couples who've had to persevere in marriage through difficult seasons report higher levels of satisfaction. Marriage is also broadly connected with better health and wellbeing, not to mention the wellbeing of children, 40% of whom today are born out of wedlock. Though the data about marriage is overwhelming, fewer and fewer are choosing it. Compared to only 9% of Americans in 1970, more than a third of adults today (35%) will never tie the knot. That's not to say they won't have romantic relationships and create children. They will simply opt out of marriage. Given the relevant data, the idea that one should not get married "too early" emphasizes the wrong factors. Wisdom should always be exercised with commitments this big, but at the same time, age matters far less than the commitment itself. Limitless sexual experience, self-actualization, and the freedom to leave don't actually produce relational happiness in the long term. In fact, they damage it. In short, as a project of self-fulfillment, marriage might be worthless. As a way to reap the rewards of self-sacrifice, its value is incalculable. Christians know why. Marriage is a part of the created order. Though some marriages will tragically end for various reasons and others may want marriage but struggle to find it, the Church can provide vital community for all of its members, while still promoting marriage for the God-given good that it is. And when marriages hit rocky ground, resources like Focus on the Family's Hope Restored conferences, are available for those willing to fight for reconciliation … with incredible stories of success. Ultimately, though, a successful marriage requires the same thing as Christianity, a commitment to something bigger than ourselves.

Winston Churchill famously said that "we shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us." A recent example is Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue. After the deadly 2018 shooting, synagogue leaders consulted security expert Juliette Kayyem on how to prevent the same thing from ever happening again. "In security, we view vulnerabilities as inherently bad," she explained. "We solve the problem with layered defenses: more locks, more surveillance. Deprive strangers of access to your temple (and) have congregants carry ID." Her basic suggestions were good. But to Kayyem's surprise, when it came to keeping strangers out of the synagogue, "they would have none of it." Inviting in outsiders, the leaders explained, was central to the building's purpose. The Jewish concept of tikkun olam means the "repair of the world." Changing the building to prevent what would be antithetical to its design. Churches should also welcome outsiders, but according to Paul, it's primary task is to gather Christians for worship in order for them to be sent out. It's supposed to be a "go and tell" model, not a "come and see" model. Something to ponder…

Our information-saturated world runs on news headlines, one after another, all calling us to shock or outrage. It's tempting to simply want to turn off the noise. It's almost like the world is constantly coming into our clean rooms and dumping a new pile of dirty laundry for us to deal with. So, we just shut the door in order to stop the madness. For Christians, simply closing our eyes and plugging our ears is not an option. We may choose silence or a sort of media fast for a while, but God has not called us to this time and place in history to disconnect from it. At the same time, we need to discern between what is noisy and what ultimately matters. All of the breathless headlines and news stories can distract us from the most critical issues we face. Christians believe that the specific stories of our culture don't ultimately reveal "what" we should care about, but they are the "when" and "where," the context where God has called us to live out our faith. Another way to put this is that this cultural moment is the stage of the play, not the plot. It's the moment, but not the story. The news is where we see ideas and their consequences expressed, both good and bad. It's where the philosophies that were born in ivory towers meet the reality of people's lives, dreams, and decisions. Confusing the noise and chaos of the headlines with the Story of the world is the most common way Christians stray. As Christians in this part of the story, it's essential to trust the Divine Script Writer. God hasn't called us to success as we see it in this moment, but he has called us to faithfully play out our part of the story. Like any great play, the actors can forget their role or lose their place in the storyline and miss their entrance or line. Thank God, our Director is as good as it gets. This year, the Colson Center is partnering with Focus on the Family to produce a series of events to offer Christians a deeper level of understanding about the issues that matter most in this time and place. This special speaker series will focus on some of the most confusing and controversial parts of our story right now, specifically at the intersection of family and culture. The series will be presented in three parts this spring and three parts this fall and will feature a who's who of thought leaders addressing areas where we need to refocus our attention on the roles and responsibilities we have as Christians in our community contexts. The series starts tonight, with Dr. Anthony Bradley of the King's College. He will address the very important issue of how we are failing young men. The tyranny of low expectations, soft relationships, absent fathers… ours is a culture failing to transition boys to men. In March, Katy Faust of Them Before Us will address the various ways that children's rights are being sacrificed for adult desire. I hope you'll join the Colson Center and Focus on the Family for this special series called "Lighthouse Voices." To register for the livestream, visit www.colsoncenter.org/events.

During an online school board call last month, Ontario teacher Carolyn Burjoski raised concerns over the literature given to K-6th graders. One particular novel, she argued, made it seem "simple and cool" to have a gender transition surgery. Mid-call, the Regional School Board chair Scott Piatkowski interrupted, and the board voted 5-4 to discontinue her presentation. "This person was speaking about transgender people in a way that was disrespectful, that would cause them to be attacked and I really needed to ensure it did not continue," Piatkowski later claimed. Under Canada's human rights code, gender expression is a protected status in housing, employment, unions, and trade or professional associations. Burjoski was given a "stay at home order," and told to refrain from speaking to staff or students. This kind of story is why Christians need to think through a theology of getting fired. In the short run, speaking the truth might cost us. But if we really love our neighbor, we'll find a way to do it—gently and graciously—but with courage.