It’s Thursday, June 17th, A.D. 2021. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
Indonesian church allowed to build after 15 years
One of the most well-known cases of religious intolerance in Muslim-majority Indonesia has come to a close.
After 15 years of legal issues, Yasmin Church in the city of Bogor will finally have a place of worship. Over a decade and a half, the church has met outside.
For years, Bogor’s mayor denied the church permission to construct a building despite a ruling from the country’s Supreme Court. Now the Bogor City Administration has donated a plot of land for the church to build.
Psalm 122:1 says, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the LORD.’”
Christian European professionals challenged to take a stand
A new study by Cross Current found that young Christian professionals in Europe “face an uphill struggle to bridge faith and work” and “consider their values at work to be counter-cultural and risky for their career.”
Respondents said they believe work is a gift from God and want to integrate their faith with their work. However, the study authors said many have become weakened Christians.
Tim Vickers, Director of Cross-Current, called on Christians to live as ambassadors for Christ. (You can watch him speak at the 43-minute mark in this YouTube video)
VICKERS: “We want to help your generation to be what our generation has not been — an effective, dynamic witness to the brilliance and beauty of the gospel for the Lordship of Jesus Christ that permeates into every area of society, in your workplaces, through your professions, into your societies, radical followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, living as ambassadors of His grace.”
Southern Baptists elect Pastor Ed Litton of Alabama president
Shortly after Ed Litton was elected as the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday, the Alabama pastor vowed to “build bridges, not walls” during his tenure as head of the denomination as he oversees 50,000 churches, reports The Christian Post.
Litton, the senior pastor of Redemption Baptist Church, won the election in a runoff vote, defeating Georgia Pastor Mike Stone. Litton was nominated by SBC’s first and only black president, Fred Luter, and has a long history of promoting racial reconciliation.
Litton received 52% of the vote in a runoff election against Stone, the former president of the SBC’s Executive Committee, who has been in the news recently over accusations that he and other members of the committee mishandled sex abuse allegations. Litton received 6,834 votes in the runoff, while Stone received 6,278 votes.
You can watch Mike Stone’s 13-minute video response, dated June 5th, to the allegation by Russel Moore, the former head of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, that the SBC Executive Committee covered up pedophilia among SBC leaders. We have a special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldView.com.
Texas Governor protects churches from future closure
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill to protect churches on Tuesday. The law prohibits any government agency or public official from issuing an order that closes places of worship.
The bill comes after churches across the country have faced closures during the coronavirus pandemic. Even Abbott reversed one of his own orders that shut down churches last year after facing a lawsuit.
Republicans block Pelosi’s fast-track bill of tax-funded abortion
On Tuesday, U.S. House Republicans defeated an attempt by Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi to fast-track an abortion bill.
The Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act would have provided government-funded abortion drugs through the Veterans Administration.
Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana told Breitbart News, “The Freedom Caucus strategy to fight the Democratic majority using all the procedures at their disposal is working. . . . It was good to see the efforts of so many come together and hand the Left a defeat even in the minority.”
Nickelodeon lost two-thirds of viewers after pushing LGBT agenda
News blog Pirates and Princesses reports that Nickelodeon has lost over two-thirds of its viewership since 2017.
Four years ago, the cable channel had 1.3 million viewers per week. Now, it only has 372,000. The loss coincides with Nickelodeon’s promotion of sexually perverted lifestyles to children on their programming in recent years.
Variety reports other kids networks like Disney and Cartoon Network are also losing viewers.
2 Peter 2:3 says, “By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.”
California pastor uses The Worldview to lead Sunday prayer
Aaron Hebbard, who pastors Remnant Presbyterian Church in Mentone, California, wrote me at Adam@TheWorldview.com to share why he enjoys the newscast.
He said, “I have my children listen to The Worldview in 5 Minutes as part of their home education. Furthermore, I employ pieces of it, especially about persecution and areas in which we need to be fighting, to help shape the pastoral prayer I lead every Lord’s Day for our church. My church is full of young reformers, many of whom preach and protest at the Planned Murderhood the next town over. We are starting a ministry to take the town for Christ with our eyes on a generational effort.”
17 new Worldview listeners give $3,173
Finally, toward our goal of raising $16,250 by this Friday, 17 new Worldview listeners have contributed.
Our thanks to Nathan in Waxhawq, North Carolina and Annette in Toledo, Ohio – each of whom gave $25, Margo in Clifton, Colorado who gave $50, and Anthony in Rochester, New York who pledged $5 monthly for a gift of $60.
We appreciate Shawn in Bancroft, Ontario, Canada, David in Grapevine, Texas, Aaron in Mountain Home Village, California, Billye in High Springs, Florida, Joni in Albany, Oregon, and Dawn in Estero, Florida – each of whom gave $100.
We’re grateful to God for Jason in Archerwill, Saskatchewan, Canada and Amy in Innisfil, Ontario, Canada—both of whom gave $200, as well as Dennis in Fort Worth and Jennifer in Scott Air Force Base, Illinois – each of whom pledged $25 monthly for a gift of $300.
We were especially moved by the gift of three young brothers in Hortense, Georgia — Samuel, age 16, Cody, age 14, and Henry, age 11 gave $313 combined from their chore money, yardwork, and Samuel’s part-time job making cabinets with his Dad. In fact, their Dad, Joshua in Hortense, Georgia, generously gave $500 in addition. And finally, Elizabeth in Carol Stream, Illinois pledged $50/month for 12 months for a gift of $600.
Those 17 new gifts total $3,173. Ready for our new grand total? Drum roll please. (Drum roll sound effect) $4,573. (People cheering sound effect) We still need to raise $11,677 toward our goal of $16,250 by this Friday. That means we need to find 10 more Worldview listeners to pledge $50/month for 12 months and another 20 more people to pledge $25/month for 12 months. Go to TheWorldview.com, click on “Give” on the top right, and make sure to select the box for it to be recurring donation, if that’s your wish. What is the Lord prompting you to do?
Close
And that’s The World View in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, June 17th, in the year of our Lord 2021. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldView.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I’m Adam McManus (adam@TheWorldView.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.
Print stories
Federal judge blocked Biden’s suspension of new gas/oil leases
A federal judge blocked the Biden administration’s suspension of new oil and gas leases on federal land this week.
Thirteen states led by Louisiana’s Republican attorney general, Jeff Landry, challenged the administration’s halt to fossil fuel production.
Americans more stressed in 2021 than 2020
The State of Bible 2021 report found Americans are more stressed this year than they were last year.
Older generations were more likely to report lower levels of stress and higher levels of hope than younger generations.
The study also found people who are regularly engaged with Scripture experience average levels of stress but report higher-than-average levels of hope in their lives.
CA Gov. doles out $15 million in prizes to vaccinated
California was the first state to implement COVID-19 lockdowns last year.
On Tuesday, the state lifted nearly all of its coronavirus restrictions. New daily coronavirus cases in the U.S. fell below 10,000 for the first time this week since March of last year.
Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom celebrated the reopening by visiting Universal Studios and dishing out $15 million in prizes to people who got vaccinated.
Newsom didn’t seem interested in celebrating the millions of dollars California owes in legal fees for shutting down churches during the pandemic.