Coordinated for Praise

Music is the key component of worship in the American Christian church.  Music is emotional, traditional, spiritual, and commanded of us.  Jesus sang hymns with His disciples.

Music is referenced in different forms in over 1,150 verses in the Bible.  They include psalms, harp, timbrel, lyre voice, hymn, and more.  It is one of the most often referenced subjects in the scriptures.  A good deal of the Bible is written as poetry and song.  Music is intimately woven into creation.  A steady drop of rain on a tin roof, the whistle of the wind, and the solid rush of a waterfall are among infinite examples of the rhythm of God’s creation.  It is no mystery that music is an integral part of our lives and of the church.

The instruments of the Old Testament were used in various ways.  Some were a call to battle, while others calmed the flocks at night.  The enjoyment of music has no economic boundaries. From the fine-tuned lyre played before kings to a lowly carved flute in a shepherd’s hand, music displays the soul of man.

The use of music for celebration is referenced in 2 Samuel 6:5, “David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums, and cymbals.”  The women sang songs to David when he returned triumphant after facing the Philistine, “the women sang and danced ... with tambourines, with joy and with musical instruments” (I Samuel 18:6-10).  The angels heralded the birth of Christ to the shepherds as they “sang praises to God” (Luke 2:13).

As is common today, the use of music was found in weddings and funerals in the Bible. Job 30:31 reads, “my harp is turned to mourning, and my flute to the voice of those who weep.”  What is it about music that weaves its way into so much of our souls?  How do we employ it for God’s use?

We sing hymns in obedience to God.  Colossians 3:16 relates how we are to sing hymns and spiritual songs.  “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly … singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.”  The singing of God’s Word is a command, not an option. Perhaps because music reaches deeper than the spoken word.  Singing and playing music can transfer joy and encouragement to others— making it a powerful teaching tool of the gospel.  After the last Passover supper, Jesus sang hymns with the disciples (Matthew 26:30).

Today’s worship music should be theologically sound.  It should have breadth so that it reaches into the various parts of life— prayerfully coordinated for praise, thanksgiving, confession, and dedication.  The selection should always encourage corporate worship. Above all, the goal is to bring glory to God.

Sing and play instruments until “He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call” (Matthew 24:31).

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

God in the Movies

Riding on the cusp of revival breaking out in colleges and universities across America comes the “Jesus Revolution” movie.  The timing couldn’t be better and who, but God, could have orchestrated the sequence of events?  Is America at the forefront of revival?

The main event began on February 8, 2023, when students at Asbury College in KY remained in the chapel to pray and worship.  Roughly two weeks later, an estimated 50,000 students and visitors had converged on the small town and the campus to pray.  The outpouring attracted students from more than 260 colleges and universities.

Now, taking the lead in this new awakening is a movie hitting the big screens.  When big screens have certainly not completely recovered from the COVID shutdowns, it may seem a risk to offer the message in this genre.  But after the first week the “Jesus Revolution” soared to No. 3 at the box office and surprised and delighted the producer, Kevin Downes.  Some theaters have reported spontaneous worship services breaking out.  The movie tells a true story about a Jesus-loving hippie in the 1960’s/70’s.  He partners with a typical conservative pastor who embraces the possibility that change may be necessary to revive the church.  The movie grossed $15.8 million in its first weekend. That is double what was expected for it to make.  

People are coming to Christ after viewing the movie.  Most of the appeal of the movie is to the Christian community, but it does provide an excellent opportunity for believers to invite friends and neighbors to join them.  It was reported that during an early viewing before the movie was released, people on the crew were weeping and moved by the footage.  These were people of all walks of life, with different belief systems.

A Barna Institute study reports that Generation Z, those born between 1999 and 2015 are the first truly “post-Christian” generation.  This makes them a ripe generation for revival.  Dr. Corne Bekker, dean and professor of the Regent University School of Divinity believes that this could be the “moment where God is getting a hold of their hearts.  Their eyes are opening. The time is now.”

Pastors and leaders, be alert to the awakening.  Souls are hungry for the message and God is making Himself known through diverse avenues.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Atheist/Biologist Dawkins Proclaims “There are Two Sexes”

Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins is known for dismissing religion, but the atheist scientist is seemingly now agreeing with Christians and others who argue there are only two sexes.  In fact, Dawkins called efforts to push back on this scientific reality “utter nonsense,” concluding “there are two sexes, and that’s all there is to it,” as Fox News reported.

Dawkins made these comments during a recent appearance on “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” calling persistent attacks on people like author J.K. Rowling over the gender issue examples of “bullying.”  “It’s very upsetting the way this tiny minority of people has managed to capture the discourse, to really talk errant nonsense,” Dawkins said.  When asked by Morgan how to combat the current dynamic, Dawkins answered with one word: “Science.”  He did say gender might be “subjective” to some, but when Morgan asked how he would respond when people say there are 100 genders, he said he’s “not interested in that” and proceeded to offer his biological take.  Watch these comments: “There are two sexes,” he said.  “You can talk about gender if you wish, and that’s subjective. … As a biologist, there are two sexes, and that’s all there is to it.”

As CBN’s Faithwire has reported, this is hardly Dawkins’ first foray into discussing transgender issues.  He sparked furor in 2021 when he signed the “Declaration on Women’s Sex-based Rights,” a document aimed at reaffirming “women and girls’ sex-based rights.”  The controversial proclamation pushed back on issues emerging from the cultural replacement of “sex” with “gender identity,” an issue that has risen to impact multiple facets of society.  “Please sign the Declaration on Women’s Sex-based Rights,” Dawkins tweeted at the time.  “I have just done so.”  By replacing “sex” with “gender,” the document alleged confusion has been fostered.  This disarray, in turn, “ultimately risks undermining the protection of women’s human rights,” the document said.

The evolutionary biologist was also stripped of his 1996 Humanist of the Year award in 2021 from the American Humanist Association over a separate tweet.  “In 2015, Rachel Dolezal, a white chapter president of NAACP, was vilified for identifying as Black,” Dawkins said.  “Some men choose to identify as women, and some women choose to identify as men.  You will be vilified if you deny that they literally are what they identify as.”

If Dawkins’ interview with Morgan is any barometer, it seems he isn’t planning to back down anytime soon from his take on the matter.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Americans Want Big Pharma & Doctors Held Liable

A majority of voters believe pharmaceutical companies and doctors who push puberty blockers and body-mutilating sex-change surgeries on children and teens should be held liable for the long-term effects on people who were once confused about their sex.

Summit Ministries (SM) released the results of a poll conducted in conjunction with McLaughlin & Associates last week, measuring voter sentiment on LGBT-related issues. The poll, conducted from Feb. 17-22, surveyed 1,000 likely general election voters. When asked for their reaction to “efforts to expose children to the transgender movement using things like drag shows, school curriculum, and social media,” 65% of respondents described themselves as “concerned.”  Thirty-seven percent maintained that efforts to introduce children to LGBT ideology made them “very concerned or angry,” while an additional 27% said it made them “somewhat concerned or upset.”  On the other hand, 29% of those surveyed insisted that they were “not concerned or upset” about the push to introduce children to LGBT ideology.  The remaining 8% did not give an opinion.  

Broken down by partisan affiliation, a majority of Republicans (63%) cited the efforts to introduce “the transgender movement” to children as something that made them “very concerned or angry.”  Independents were much more split, with a plurality feeling “very concerned or angry” about the exposure of children to LGBT ideology (34%), followed by 28% who were “not concerned or upset” and 26% who were “somewhat concerned or upset.”  

The poll also asked whether respondents believed “pharmaceutical companies and doctors who promote puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for underage children seeking gender transition should be legally liable for any harmful side effects that arise.” Fifty-nine percent of respondents answered in the affirmative, including majorities of conservatives (79%), voters who supported President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election (77%), Republicans (72%), independents (59%), and moderates (53%).  The only demographic subgroups where holding pharmaceutical companies and doctors who promote puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones liable for long-term side effects did not receive majority support were Hispanics (49%), voters who supported President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election (45%), Democrats (45%), those who supported Democrats on a generic congressional ballot (45%), voters who approve of President Joe Biden (44%), African Americans (43%) and liberals (42%).  With the exception of liberals, where an additional 42% did not approve of holding pharmaceutical companies and doctors who push puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones liable, all other demographic subgroups had a higher share of respondents who supported doing so than those opposed.

“From TV to TikTok to drag shows and trans curriculum in schools, our children and grandchildren are being bombarded daily with the transgender ideology,” said SM President Jeff Myers.  “It doesn’t stop there — doctors are now routinely prescribing powerful drugs to kids as puberty blockers without [Food & Drug Administration] approval for such use.  This polling shows that the American public is rightfully concerned, angry, and want accountability for the targeting of kids.”

The poll from SM coincides with the release of the free e-book, Exposing the Gender Lie: How to Protect Children and Teens from the Transgender Industry’s False Ideology, which Myers co-wrote with The Christian Post’s Brandon Showalter.  “In our new book, we show that the intentional targeting of children with transgender messaging results in serious psychological and physical harm,” Myers added.  “Children are being subjected to dangerous risks and lifelong side-effects, all to promote a radical ideology and reap massive profits for the transgender medical industry.  Thankfully well-reasoned Americans are starting to push back, and this book is designed to equip them with the resources they need to protect their children from this medical and social scandal.”

The American College of Pediatricians (ACP) has highlighted the side effects of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.  The long-term impacts of puberty blockers, as identified by the “national organization of pediatricians and other healthcare professionals dedicated to the health and well-being of children,” include “osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, cognitive impairment and, when combined with cross-sex hormones, sterility.”  As explained by the ACP, cross-sex hormones can “put youth at an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, blood clots and cancers across their lifespan.”  

Concerns about the long-term impact of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones have influenced public policy in the U.S., with eight states banning the use of such risky and experimental drugs and procedures on minors in some or all cases as well as prohibiting sex-change surgery: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah.  In one case, a detransitioner who once experienced gender dysphoria and previously identified as a member of the opposite sex before her gender dysphoria subsided, has already signaled an intention to sue the doctors who advised her to undergo life-altering sex-change surgeries that included cutting off her breasts. Last year, 18-year-old Chloe Cole announced her plans to sue these doctors, citing the double mastectomy she received at age 15 as a strain on her mental health.  Specifically, Cole recalled that despite promises from healthcare professionals advising her that “the distress she experienced because of her gender dysphoria would resolve as she transitioned,” she found that her “distress always came back worse” following an “initial relief” that occurred after “each phase of transition.”  She listed suicidal tendencies as one of the adverse effects of her double mastectomy.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Praying Football Coach Is Now Back on the Job After SCOTUS Victory

A Washington state high school football coach who was fired for silently praying on the field after games has been officially reinstated after he won his U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) case last June.  

Coach Joe Kennedy’s legal battle with the Bremerton School District began in 2015.  The district claimed that his prayers violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. But the high court ruled that Bremerton School District actually violated Coach Kennedy’s First Amendment rights.  As CBN News reported, the SCOTUS ruled 6-3 last June that the public school district violated the coach’s free speech and free exercise rights when it barred him from praying on the field after games.  

Then a U.S. district judge issued an order in November instructing the Bremerton School District to reinstate him before March 15, 2023.  The order enjoined the school district to reinstate Kennedy to “his previous position as assistant coach of the Bremerton High School football team on or before March 15, 2023.”  The court's order also said, “Bremerton School District shall not interfere with or prohibit Kennedy from kneeling at midfield to engage in a brief, quiet, personal religious ritual during the period after a football game in which the coaching staff are free to attend to personal matters.”  In addition, the court also noted, “Bremerton School District cannot retaliate against or take any future adverse employment action against Kennedy for conduct that complies with the terms of this order.”

Kennedy was reinstated to his former position on March 8, according to MyNorthwest. Coach Kennedy was represented in his legal fight by First Liberty Institute (FLI), a nonprofit legal organization that protects religious freedom, based in Plano, TX.  “We are thrilled that Bremerton and Coach Kennedy are back together, and we hope they go undefeated,” FLI Executive General Counsel Hiram Sasser said in a statement.  

The Bremerton School District released a statement on the district’s website on March 6. “Mr. Kennedy will be an assistant football coach for Bremerton High School for the 2023 season. Mr. Kennedy has completed human resources paperwork and we are awaiting the results of his fingerprinting and background check.  Mr. Kennedy will need to complete all training required by WIAA.  Football coach contracts are approved by the Board at the August 3, 2023, board meeting, and begin in mid-August.  As with any other assistant coach, Mr. Kennedy will be included in coaching staff communication and meetings, spring football practice and other off-season football activities,” the statement said.

In addition, the district said it has reached an agreement in principle to settle the attorney fees claim in the case for $1,775,000.  The agreement must still be formalized, which requires it to be approved by the board of directors in an open public meeting.  The agreement will be presented to the board on March 16.

“It’s been a long road,” Kennedy said in an interview with KOMO-TV on Monday.  When asked why he wanted to return to a district where he was unwelcome at one point, Kennedy replied, “Yeah, that’s a tough one.  A lot of it has to do with the principle of it.  I stood up and fought to be a knight, and that meant everything to me.”  “I have the utmost respect for everybody to be able to speak their mind, and I just hope and pray that everybody in America starts doing that with each other,” the coach said.

Kennedy and his wife currently live in Pensacola, FL, but expect to be back in Bremerton for spring football this May.  He’s just waiting for the schedule to become finalized, according to KOMO.  “Even if it’s just for that season is just to be able to go back and be able to retire on my own terms instead of somebody else’s,” Kennedy told the outlet. Kennedy also told KOMO he was on a speaking tour.  He said his book and movie are scheduled to be released this fall.  

Following the SCOTUS’s ruling last summer, Kennedy told CBN News his faith has sustained him through a long legal battle, now he’s ready to get back on the field.  “My faith has grown so much, not just in God and the closeness of that, but the faith through my family, we’ve become a lot tighter as a family of Christians, and also everybody in the nation.  It’s just great to see how God works in these ways,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy’s case attracted nationwide attention from the media, Hall of Fame coaches and players, and even former President Donald Trump.  In its ruling, the SCOTUS pointed out that teachers and students alike still maintain their freedom of speech, even if they’re working at a state-funded school.  “When it comes to Mr. Kennedy’s free speech claim, our precedents remind us that the First Amendment’s protections extend to ‘teachers and students,’ neither of whom ‘shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate,’” the majority opinion stated.  Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority, “The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike.”  There was a question in the case of whether Coach Kennedy was praying in his capacity as a government employee or a private citizen.  Justice Gorsuch said it was clear that Kennedy’s prayers were private speech, not government speech.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

West Virginia Governor Signs Law to Protect Religious Freedom

The governor of West Virginia has signed a law to protect religious freedom across his state. The other week, Republican Gov. Jim Justice signed the Equal Protection for Religion Act— a piece of legislation aimed to prevent the government from “more restrictively” limiting individuals engaging in religious practices than “comparable conduct.”  The law will “amend the Code of West Virginia” by “forbidding excessive government limitations on exercise of religion; forbidding government from treating religious conduct more restrictively than any conduct of reasonably comparable risk; [and] forbidding government from treating religious conduct more restrictively than comparable conduct because of alleged economic need or benefit.”  “No state action may substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion unless applying the burden to that person’s exercise of religion in a particular situation is essential to further a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest,” the law states.

Governmental entities in West Virginia are also prohibited from “treat[ing] religious conduct more restrictively than comparable risk” and doing so “because of alleged economic need or benefit.”  Citizens whose religious freedom is violated are permitted the opportunity to “assert such violation or impending violation, including against the state or its political subdivisions, as a claim or as a defense in any judicial or administrative proceeding.”  Taking legal action against the government includes the condition that requested “relief is limited to injunctive or declaratory relief and reimbursement of costs and reasonable attorney fees.”  

Additionally, the legislation states that “nothing in this article may be construed to create a cause of action by an employee against a nongovernmental employer,” “constitute a defense to any claim based upon a refusal to provide emergency medical services,” and “protect actions or decisions to end the life of any human being, born or unborn, including, but limited to, any claim or defense.”

The new law will go into effect on May 29, 2023.  Meanwhile, the United States federal government remains under fire for the targeting of pro-lifers and Catholics in violation of federal laws protecting both freedom of speech and religion.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has faced consistent backlash since its heavily armed raid of Catholic, pro-life author and father of seven, Mark Houck, who was charged with violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE Act).  Although Houck was acquitted of all charges in January, his case sparked outrage of unfair treatment from the government.  

In the aftermath of the leaked U.S. Supreme Court opinion regarding the Dobbs case, violence and threats against faith-based crisis pregnancy centers skyrocketed.  Data from after the historic overturning of Roe v. Wade found that pro-life groups experienced 22 times more violence than pro-abortion groups.  Even FBI director Christopher Wray admitted that nearly 70% of abortion related violence since June 24 was targeted against religious and pro-life organizations.  

More recently, an FBI whistleblower revealed that the agency had plans to monitor Catholics and compared those who attend the Latin Mass to “white nationalists.”  Earlier last week, another whistleblower from the federal entity suggested that the FBI had even shifted its threat tag to focus on pro-lifers following Roe’s reversal.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Satanist After-School Clubs Forming Across USA

As curriculum awareness grows across the United States, parents are now sounding the alarm over The Satanic Temple (TST)’s efforts to create after-school clubs for students. Parents say they are worried about the impact it may have on young children’s view of faith.

In December of last year, a TST “After-School Satan Club” was approved at a Virginia elementary school, resulting in backlash from parents distributed by the push to indoctrinate young children into Satanism.  Since then, TST has announced plans to create new clubs in New York, Pennsylvania, and Colorado, with religious advocates taking note of the trend.

Speaking to the Daily Caller over this issue, Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America, said that a satanic club is the “antithesis of religion.” “Groups like this have free speech rights, but Satanism is not a religion.  The fact that there are more of these clubs popping up means kids are searching for something to believe in.”

According to experts like Delano Squires, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family, the move to promote TST in schools is a “concerning development in districts across the country,” she said to the Daily Caller.  “This group has no more ‘right’ to students and schools as a Neo-Nazi club demanding representation.  Schools should use wisdom and discernment about decisions related to extracurricular activities,” Squires told Daily Caller.

On Twitter, TST argued that a future vote at a Virginia school would decide whether or not the club would be on “equal footing” with other religious clubs.  

In a 2022 Reddit Post, shared by TST’s National Campaign Director June Everett, the organization said that students would be engaging in puzzles, games, arts and crafts, and nature activities while being taught “benevolence and empathy, critical thinking, problem-solving, creative expression, personal sovereignty, and compassion.”  The post claimed that the program does not “attempt to convert children to any religious ideology” but that students are instructed in the tenets of TST.  Everett told a local news outlet that the organization’s religion is a “scientific, rationalist and non-superstitious worldview.” According to the National Campaign Director, the purpose of the TST is to go to schools with other religious clubs to provide an alternative.

Officials familiar with TST’s religious beliefs and stances, like Family Research Council assistant director Arielle Del Turco, say that the goal of the organization is to undermine religion.  “It’s always a concern when people try to use kids to gain attention or legitimize themselves,” Del Turo told the Daily Caller.  “Treating The Satanic Temple as a religion undermines the credibility of religion and its role in American society, but that’s their point. They are so desperate to advance a secular vision of society that they created a fake religion to challenge the role of Christianity in our public institutions.”

Experts like Del Turco and others said that the TST’s clubs are really trying to get schools to refuse them so that they could say they faced religious discrimination, allowing them to “push Christianity and other religions out of the public square.”  

Recently, TST said on a Twitter post that concerned parents who protested the Chesapeake club’s acceptance in Virginia was criminal activity.  “Unfortunately, some individuals made violent threats in response to our request to use school facilities and to be treated the same as other groups,” the post said.  “Anyone who has sought to block the After School Satan Club from meeting at B.M. Williams — even after the club and school were threatened should ask themselves why they are siding with criminal actors over children and families gathering in fellowship.”

Despite their announcement to expand their activities in schools throughout America, parent groups continue to raise concerns about TST, calling on state, local, and school officials to consider the impact the organization will have on students.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation

While Christian parents may have laid a Christlike foundation in their children’s lives, today’s public school youth are being forced to fight a battle that is unlike any other in American history.

New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz says that if your kids attend public schools, they are not alright.  The left is waging an all-out battle on the American family, and it continues to intensify daily.  Markowicz says today’s “woke” agenda is leading your children to question every building block of society and to rebuild their concept of reality. If they can make your children change their values, the left agenda would consider it a victory.  

But, Markowicz says, we can’t let the “wokeness” of our culture win.  The leftist agenda says parents have no business telling schools what they should teach our children. Never mind that Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the LGBTQ agenda has engulfed the public school systems, attempting to erase the innocence of our youth in an attempt to indoctrinate a generation.  Schools with pornography in their libraries are apathetic to the damage being done to our children.

“It is a right-wing bogeyman,” Markowicz wrote in a column for Fox News Digital.  “Yet parents at school after school keep discovering these books at the school library.”  As Markowicz frankly puts it, “Wokeness pushes a separation between parent and child. We are seeing it happen in America today.  Kids are told to keep secrets from their parents, and sometimes the secrets are life-changing.

One Christian teacher stood up to her school district for refusing to comply with the mandates of the district’s gender policies, and she was promptly fired for it.  She simply would not compromise her Christian values and lie to the children she had been entrusted with.

Markowicz regales the story of a Long Island teacher who had transitioned a child from a girl to a boy, behind the backs of the parents.  The child is nine years old.  The teacher assigned the student a new boy name and referred to the child as a boy.  The parents did not know about it until their child began to have “suicidal ideation.”  “Parents who think they are safe from the reaches of wokeness because they live in a conservative area have to think again.”

Markowicz’s new book titled, “Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation,” says that as concerned parents and American citizens, we have to understand what truly is going on in our schools to do something about it.  “‘Stolen Youth’ provides an urgent deep dive into issues surrounding the woke indoctrination happening in politics, education, medicine, mental health, entertainment, and culture.  Markowicz says, “We must now go on the offensive to protect our kids. This book sheds a bright light on the reason why.  We can no longer afford to stay ignorant. Our children’s lives and the survival of our families are at stake.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Fallible Human Leaders

When Icarus flew too close to the sun, his wax wings melted, and he plunged to his death.  So goes the classic myth, which has been used since antiquity to remind the young and the reckless not to become too ambitious lest they fall to their ultimate demise.  Ultimately, the purpose of this story is to impart humility to its listeners.

This Greek myth is paralleled by the wisdom preached within the Bible, which commands Christians to “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Humility is a crucial value that is supported by Biblical authority, not just in terms of age and wisdom, but also in terms of our comparative insignificance next to God.

This is evident in the innate fallibility of human beings.  While we typically think about human fallibility in the context of sin, it is also evident in the simple failures in human decision-making that have negative impacts on large numbers of human beings.

This was illustrated in the revelation that President Joe Biden kept documents with classification markings in an unsecured office space.

As far as the public knows, none of the information contained in these documents had negative consequences for the American people.  Nonetheless, this incident did not inspire any confidence.

The White House’s damage control on the first incident failed spectacularly when Americans learned that a second batch of classified material, also dating to Biden’s time as vice president, had been found in search of his home in Delaware.  This detail was communicated to the Justice Department (DOJ) on December 20.  And yet the White House didn’t disclose that until the week of January 9-14 when it spoke about the initial documents found last year in an office Biden previously used at the Penn-Biden center in Washington.  This made it look like it was willing to come clean to the DOJ, but not the public.

The problem with human beings holding a high-stakes position of leadership, like that of President (and then Vice President) Biden, is that it presents many opportunities for damaging and sometimes catastrophic failures.  This fact should serve as a reminder that we must put our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, not in human political leaders.

This story illustrates exactly why Christians turn to Christ as their infallible king and leader.  Echoes of this are visible in the history of the word “gospel,” which referred to “good news”— specifically in the context of good news about a new king.

God’s plan is not only free from error, but it is also intended to undo the devastating human error that introduced sin and death into the world.  As 2 Corinthians 5:21 teaches, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

We should take this story as yet another reminder that our ultimate faith belongs in Christ, our Lord and Savior, not the President, or any other flawed human being.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

A Christian College’s Request

A legal challenger of federal overreach is hoping for the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to agree that the president has “no business” forcing female college students to share private spaces with males.

The Missouri-based College of the Ozarks is asking the court to review a decision by the Eighth Circuit that said the college cannot sue the Biden Administration for seeking to force the college to violate its religious beliefs.  The appeals court ruling agreed with a district court ruling that the college lacked standing.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is representing the College of the Ozarks in its case. Attorney Julie Blake says President Biden is targeting religious schools and organizations simply because of their beliefs about biological sex.  “Shortly after taking office, President Biden, through his Department of Housing and Urban Development, issued a directive that requires virtually all colleges and schools – including religious ones – to open their dormitories, their shared shower spaces, and more to members of the opposite sex,” Blake notes.  But she points out that faith-based institutions have a right to operate according to their beliefs and to protect the young women on their campuses.  “The schools can face ruinous fines – up to six figures in attorneys’ fees,” Blake explains.  “The government has no business forcing … young women to share private spaces with males, let alone bedrooms, showers, or roommate assignments.”

The SCOTUS has until the end of this term in July to look at and decide this request.  If it does not issue a decision by that point, then it has until the end of September to reconsider.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Mississippi Makes REAP Act Official

Conservative leaders and legal minds are pleased that another state is protecting children who are confused about their gender from prematurely making permanent changes to their bodies.

Last week, Governor Tate Reeves (R) signed House Bill 1125, or the Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (REAP) Act, into law, protecting minors from being the guinea pigs of the transgender movement.  Speaking at the bill signing in Jackson, Gov. Reeves said it comes down to two positions.  “One tells children that they’re beautiful the way they are, that they can find happiness in their own bodies.  The other tells them that they should take drugs and cut themselves up with expensive surgeries in order to find freedom from depression.  I know which side I’m on,” he declared.  “No child in Mississippi will have these drugs or surgeries pushed upon them.”

He also acknowledged that most members of the medical community have become wise to the harms of subjecting young people to surgical and hormonal mutilation. “Healthcare is about healing, not hurting,” he said.  “The principle of do no harm should never be forgotten, and that’s why I’m thankful for the many parents and medical professionals who are loudly speaking out on this issue.”

The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh, creator of “What Is a Woman?” – a documentary about gender and transgender issues – was present for the signing and was “grateful for the chance to say a few words.”  “The people who support and advocate for this butchery are not petitioning to lower the drinking age,” he pointed out.  “You don’t hear them calling for laws to make sure that kids have access to tobacco or firearms.  They aren’t marching in the streets demanding that 13-year-olds should be able to get tattoos or open credit card accounts or take out mortgages.”  Because children are not mature enough to make such decisions, they are legally prohibited from doing so.  So, Walsh reasons that minors should likewise not be allowed to irreversibly mutilate their bodies in a futile attempt to become the opposite gender.  The law goes into effect immediately. And while many are unhappy with Gov. Reeves for signing it, the world’s largest legal defender of “your most cherished liberties” says he did the right thing.  

Matt Sharp of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) explains that the legislation bans any person from knowingly providing gender transition procedures to a person under 18.  It also prevents public funds or tax deductions for prohibited gender transition procedures, places enforcement procedures on the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure, and it stops Medicaid from covering gender transition for persons under 18.

Other states are in court over following the science and passing similar laws, and early last month, supporters of “trans youth” held a rally at the Mississippi State Capitol to say the bill is “dangerous” and discriminatory and prevents children from being their true selves.  

But Sharp says ADF is grateful that Mississippi’s leaders are “taking this strong stand for truth” and for the protection of children.  “Denying the truth that we are either male or female hurts real people, especially vulnerable children,” he asserts.  “Mississippi is right to stop the injection of political agendas into the healthcare system by ensuring that children are protected from life-altering, experimental procedures and drugs.”  ADF is helping defend a similar law in Alabama.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

God is Speaking

God is speaking.  On February 8, 2023, Asbury University students didn’t leave when the chapel service was dismissed.  Students continued to worship.  After nearly three weeks the event has become a legendary, spontaneous revival.  Is the sight of this small university near Lexington the start of a great awakening?

They come from all over the country.  Thousands of students heading to the worship experience of a lifetime.  Is the timing of this spiritual event due to the fallout from the unsettling years of COVID19, or the great need of young people to find a source of peace and forgiveness?  It will be analyzed by spiritual leaders everywhere but the truth of it is that God speaks, and young people are flocking to listen.

Social media has taken the revival viral.  Youth groups are loading up buses and pastors and leaders are driving for hours.  Young and old are arriving daily.  Tables have been set up complete with scannable QR codes for those needing housing.  Snacks and water are offered.  Vans of food are delivered, and volunteers stand at the doors helping.

Unlike the well-rehearsed fog and light display of many modern worship services, the lights in the chapel are low and the music is quiet, spontaneous, and often just a lone guitar with drums.  A popular quote was spread, “no glitz, just God.”  People are praying, singing, and crying.  One reporter who attended the service mid-morning on Valentine’s Day viewed all ages of people.  “Seniors in college in the front row with senior citizens. Families with multiple children, rows of teenagers, babies, men in their early thirties, college athletes - and so many were singing.”

Joshua Swanson, Editor-in-Chief of Worship Leader for Authentic Media expressed his encounter with Asbury as “revival was thick in the room.”  He goes on to state that the room was full of humble hearts displaying the body of Christ.

Teenagers are seekers.  They are hungry to fill their needs, figure out life, and make sense of themselves in the world.  The Barna Group Research says 1.2 million will leave their faith in 2023.  70% of kids will lose their faith in their freshman year of college.  The awakening of the Holy Spirit in the lives of thousands who have and are experiencing the work of God at Asbury has a far-reaching potential to change lives for this generation. Similar revival-type movements are beginning to take root in other colleges and universities.

Rob Fultz, the campus pastor at Lee University in Cleveland, TN said “revival started breaking out at his school Monday morning … we’ve seen salvation, deliverance, healing over the last 24-hours.  It’s just been a phenomenal, humbling, incredibly delicate move of God.”

God is moving through a very different mode of communication than the days of Billy Graham.  Tik-Tok has spread the word to millions via #asburyrevival.  No matter, God is talking.  Pray that the movement will continue and reach millions more worldwide.

For this is what the high and exalted One says— He who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Isaiah 57:15).

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Core Integrity

What is a core value?  According to Webster’s Dictionary, core refers to that which is central and foundational, distinct from the enveloping parts.  It goes on to say that core is the internal memory, such as in a computer.  It provides the common background for all that exists on the surface.

Taking these definitions and applying them to the “core values” of the United States should provide the cohesive building blocks for our nation.  If ideas, politics, actions, etc., do not fit with the original core, then they do not fit with the nation.  Both political camps claim to have the interest and security of America at the heart of their concerns regarding the other camp.  So, how do we know which side is correct in knowing what those foundational and core values are?

As in all history, it is extremely important to study original sources.  Further, it is also important to understand the perspectives and word meanings of the time that is being examined.  In other words, what was life like?  What issues, difficulties, and circumstances surrounded and contributed to the needs being addressed?

At the core of America, we find our founders and the founding documents they wrote establish the core of ideals, philosophy, and politics that make this nation function and continue.  Without the core in place, the nation fails.

Today, the core of our nation is torn apart and improperly mixed in a solution of false history and misunderstood foundational values.  In our current American political arena, the core of our nation is being purposely broken down.  Philosophies like CRT (Critical Race Theory) and organizations, such as BLM (Black Lives Matter) are tearing apart our core foundations.

Psalm 102:25 and Hebrews 1:10 both remind us that, “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, the heavens are the work of Your hands.”  The more we know and understand the Creator, the more we understand what He has made.  It follows that the more we know and understand our national founders and what they produced, the more we keep our core values solid and operational.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Deceptive Ways

There is a saying that goes, “If something is a good thing, then no one should need to be forced into it.”  We might also add, “… or apply shifty and deceptive methods to coerce others.”

The LGBTQ crowd are mastering the art of “deceptive, furtive and subversive” methods to bring their lifestyle into the public … and into our children’s lives.

Some time ago, an article by Bob Unruh documented these methods being applied to a 10-year-old girl when she went to a school counselor/therapist for help with her anxiety issues. During the “counseling” process, she was removed from her parent’s supervision to keep them from realizing what was going on.  The counseling staffer “diagnosed” her with “gender dysphoria,” changed her name to a boy’s name, and also changed her pronouns and wardrobe.  Praise God, the parents were eventually able to rescue their daughter away and bring her back home.  They were successful in defeating the “therapist’s” goals of turning this child into a transgender.  

In the article we learn of the typical 5-step process that is used:

1. Exclude parents (isolate in hospital for six days to indoctrinate).

2. Leap to gender dysphoria diagnosis.  The therapist did not listen to the parents and their knowledge of their daughter.

3. Affirm cross-identity (new name, pronouns and wardrobe).

4. Address the patient by the opposite gender name.

5. Vilify anything that challenges the “trans” agenda.

It is interesting that sinful beliefs and lifestyles always work to discredit and change God’s design.  Satan is the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).  Beware of things done in secret, of those who are deceptive, of those who call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20; Psalm 90:7-8; Ephesians 5:11-14).  

Warn parents, educate the children in God’s truth, be diligent to protect those whom God has put under your care.  Shine His light so truth is known.

“Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the Word of God.  On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 4:2).

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel