R. Albert Mohler Jr.'s Blog, page 376

The Briefing 02-20-14

1. Civil war threat in Ukraine and violence breaks out in Thai capital

New Ukraine clashes shatter shaky truce, USA Today (Olga Rudenko and Jennifer Collins)

Wave of Violence Grips Thai Capital, Wall Street Journal (James Hookway and Warangkana Chomchuen)

2. Boy Scouts lost 6% of membership amid new homosexual policy

Boy Scouts’ Ranks Drop After Year of Policy Change, Associated Press

3. Christians accused of applying Jim Crow laws with same-sex couples

Jim Crow Laws for Gays and Lesbians?, USA Today (Kirsten Powers)

Are Conscientious Christians the New Jim Crow?, DennyBurk.com (Denny Burk)

4. Faith healing couple in Philadelphia charged with murder

Murder Charges Retained Against NE Philadelphia Faith-Healing Couple, CBS Philly (Tony Hanson)

The Briefing 02-19-14

1. To raise the minimum wage or not: What leads to the greatest human flourishing?

Minimum Wage Increase Would Have Mixed Effects, C.B.O. Report Says, New York Times (Annie Lowrey)

Report on federal minimum wage of $10.10 heats up debate in Congress, Los Angeles Times (Jim Puzzanghera and Kathleen B. Hennessey)

Minimum wage report puts Democrats on defensive, Washington Post (Associated Press)

The CBO Foresees Lost Jobs From a Higher Minimum Wage, Bloomberg Businessweek (Peter Coy)

2. Income inequality. Who is really in the 1% and why do some get a pass?

Yes, the Wealthy Can Be Deserving,  New York Times (N. Gregory Mankiw)

The Truth About the ‘One Percent’, Wall Street Journal (James Pierson)

The Christian Leader in the Digital Age

The Digital Age is upon us. In the span of less than three decades, we have redefined the way humans communicate, entertain, inform, research, create, and connect – and what we know now is only a hint of what is to come. But the greatest concern of the church is not a technological imperative, but a Gospel imperative.

The digital world did not exist a generation ago, and now it is a fundamental fact of life. The world spawned by the personal computer, the Internet, social media, and the smart phone now constitutes the greatest arena of public discussion and debate the world has ever known.

Leaders who talk about the real world as opposed to the digital world are making a mistake, a category error. While we are right to prioritize real face-to-face conversations and to find comfort and grounding in stable authorities like the printed book, the digital world is itself a real world, just real in a different way.

Real communication is happening in the digital world, on the Web, and on the smart phone in your pocket. Real information is being shared and globally disseminated, faster than ever before. Real conversations are taking place, through voice, words and images, connecting people and conversations all over the world.

If the leader is not leading in the digital world, his leadership is, by definition, limited to those who also ignore or neglect that world, and that population is shrinking every minute. The clock is ticking.

Peril and Promise in the Digital Kingdom

The digital world is driven by its entrepreneurial and ideological pioneers and cheerleaders, and they are a multitude. The numbers are staggering. The World Wide Web is, for all practical purposes, less than twenty years old. It now reaches every continent and country, linking over 2 billion people.

There are now 5.9 billion cellular subscribers, and that means 87% of the world’s population. Cell phones, originally the toys of the very rich and powerful, are now more popular than landline phones in the poorest regions of the globe. The telephone pole will soon be an antique.

The blogosphere was unknown to humankind until the last fifteen years, but just one blogging platform (WordPress) logs over 300 million users each month, who blog more than 2.5 billion pages. The world now turns to Google before even thinking of reaching for a dictionary or encyclopedia. Most Americans under age 30 cannot imagine a time when you had to go to a brick and mortar library for information.

The central fixture of social media (for now), Facebook, was launched in February of 2004, and now links more than 900 million users worldwide. Twitter, the micro-blogging sensation was launched in May of 2006 and boasts 140 million users who post 340 million tweets each day. Even more amazing is the fact that more than 1.6 billion search queries are performed on Twitter each day. For many Americans, Twitter represents the leading edge of news and communication.

The digital kingdom is massive and transformative. Older media are migrating to the Web, even as social media increasingly supplant voice technologies. Smart phones are actually small computers, used occasionally for voice calls.

The digital world is the wild west of information sharing and conversation. Just about everything can be found on the Internet, usually within a couple of mouse clicks. This includes everything from preaching to pornography, with politics and entertainment added to the mix.

The Internet and digital technologies connect people, and disconnect them. So much information and entertainment is available so instantly that it seems that the entire globe is developing an attention deficit problem. At the same time, these technologies have led to the greatest democratization of communications since the advent of spoken language. Christians can take the Gospel into China, leaping over the “Great Firewall,” as many Chinese citizens refer to the efforts of their government to keep information out. North Korea struggles to isolate its people from the outside world, but cell phones (from Egypt!) are increasingly common, though illegal.

But the Internet has also disrupted the stable hierarchies of the old information age. A teenager with a computer can put out a blog that looks more authoritative than the blog written by the CEO of a Fortune 500 corporation – and perhaps read by more people as well. Most of what appears on the Internet is unedited, and much of it is unhelpful. Some is even worse.

And yet, if you are not present on the Internet, you simply do not exist, as far as anyone under 30 is concerned. These “digital natives” rarely receive and even more rarely write letters. They know nothing but instant information, and studies indicate that they multitask by instinct, utilizing several digital devices at once, often even when sitting in a classroom.

The digital world is huge and complicated and explosive. It contains wonders and horrors and everything in between. And it is one of the most important arenas of leadership our generation will ever experience. If you are satisfied to lead from the past, stay out of the digital world. If you want to influence the future, brace yourself and get in the fast lane.

Developing an Internet Presence

By now, just about every church, corporation, business, school, or organization has a presence on the Internet. If not, realize that you just do not exist, so far as untold millions of people are concerned.

If you are a leader, you are responsible to see that your organization’s Internet presence is useful, attractive, inviting, and well designed. If you need help, get help. The first impression on the Web is often the only impression you will make, so make it count.

Content is king. People come to your Web site because they are looking for information. Make sure they can find it, and make certain it is worth finding. Your Web presence advertises to the world who you are, what your organization is all about, and the seriousness of your commitment to that mission. The information on your site must be up to date, regularly updated, and worthy of attention. If your Internet presence looks stale, visitors will assume that your organization is stale as well.

As a leader, consider establishing your own Internet presence as a part of your organization’s Internet site. If this seems self-aggrandizing, just recognize that this comes with the territory when you are a leader. Visitors want to know what you think, how you communicate your organization’s mission, and whether you inspire trust.

You have a message to communicate, and there is absolutely no virtue in failing to communicate that message. Make it serve the mission of your organization and drive visitors into its Web pages. Offer good content, and visitors will come back again. Let it grow old, and they will go elsewhere. This means a loss for your organization and its mission. Never forget that.

Make certain that visitors can find you and your organization. If search engines do not know you exist, only those who already know your Internet address can find you. That is not a growth strategy.

The Gospel Imperative in the Digital Age

The church is assigned the task of sharing the Gospel, taking the message of Christ to the world, making disciples of all the nations. Christians have been about this task for more than 2,000 years, and we are now witnessing a resurgence in Great Commission vision and vigor in a new generation of Gospel Christians.

Just as the Gutenberg Revolution granted the generation of the Reformation unprecedented new opportunities to communicate their message, the Digital Revolution presents today’s believers with tools, platforms, and opportunities that previous generations of Christians could not have imagined.

Christians – and Christian leaders in particular – should be taking advantage of blogs, social media, and every available platform for communicating our message. We should be exercising stewardship in new opportunities to learn, teach, and study online, recognizing that no generation before us had such rich opportunities.

At the same time, the Christian leader must be aware of the dangers and seductions of the digital world, knowing that every new technology can be used for both good and evil.

But our imperative to fulfill Christian leadership in the digital world is not technological. We should not use this technology simply because it is there. Our driving motivation must be a Gospel imperative – to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the full wealth of Christian conviction, and the comprehensive reach of the Christian worldview set before a sinful world. In other words, the Christian imperative in the digital domain comes down to this – sharing the light in a world of darkness.

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/albertmohlerFor further thoughts on this issue see my chapter, “The Digital Leader” in my book,  The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership that Matters  (Bethany House Publishers).

The Briefing 02-18-14

1. Where does religious liberty intersect and sometimes collide with the business world?

In Kansas, Right Joins Left to Halt Bill on Gays, New York Times (John Eligon)

TN Bill Let Vendors Turn Away Same-Sex Ceremonies, Tennessean (Chas Sisk)

2. Marijuana illegal federally, even as fed issues guidelines for marijuana industry

U.S. Issues Marijuana Guidelines for Banks, New York Times (Serge F. Kovaleski)

3. Critics of Common Core curriculum from both sides of ideological spectrum

Common Core Curriculum Now Has Critics on the Left, New York Times (Al Baker)

The Briefing 02-17-14

1. Virginia federal court strikes down gay marriage ban as judges rush to “ratify society’s progress”

A Steady Path to Supreme Court as Gay Marriage Gains Momentum in States, New York Times (Adam Liptak)

2. Romantic love, in the modern age, sought after to replace gospel of Jesus Christ

The Irresistible Appeal of the Romantic Ideal, Financial Times (Simon May)

3. 25% of all Americans born between 1945 and 1954 have been married at least twice

Modern Love often means ‘I Do’, Then ‘I Do Again’, Wall Street Journal (Neil Shah)

Ask Anything: Weekend Edition 02-15-14

1) What is the difference between Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology?

2) Should you leave a congregation if a woman is ordained as an elder?

3) Which theologians and pastors have had the greatest impact on your life and ministry?

Call with your question 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: 1-877-505-2058

The Briefing 02-14-14

1) Facebook now offers 50 gender options, but even that won’t be enough

New Gender Options for Facebook Users, Associated Press (Martha Mendoza)

2) Belgium removes age restrictions, extending euthanasia to children

Belgium Extends Euthanasia Law to Kids, Time (Charlotte McDonald-Gibson)

3) In Sweden children cannot be spanked, and they are taking over families

Is Sweden raising a generation of brats? Wall Street Journal (Jens Hansegard)

4) Answer to prayer: Brain-dead Canadian woman’s son is born

Brain-dead Canadian woman dies after son’s birth, CNN (Paula Newton)

The Briefing 02-13-14

1) Kentucky Federal Judge overturns will of the people on same-sex marriage

The Other Shoe Drops in Kentucky: Federal Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage in the Commonwealth, AlbertMohler.com

Kentucky ban on gay marriages from other states struck down by federal judge, Louisville Courier-Journal (Andrew Wolfson)

Gay marriage | Kentucky still opposed, but acceptance growing, Bluegrass Poll says, Louisville Courier-Journal (Tom O’Neill)

2) Court considers overturning Texas same-sex marriage ban

U.S. court hears suit to overturn same-sex marriage ban in Texas, Reuters (Jin Forsyth)

Same sex couples ask federal judge to stay Texas’ anti-gay marriage amendment The Dallas Morning News (Robert T. Garrett)

3) Pray for husband of brain dead woman on life support carrying his unborn child

Brain-Dead, a Canadian Woman Remains a Silent Partner Awaiting Birth, New York Times (Ian Austen)

4) What’s holding back American teenagers? High school is boring and not challenging

What’s Holding Back American Teenagers?, Slate (Laurence Steinberg)

The Other Shoe Drops in Kentucky: Federal Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage in the Commonwealth

“As far as this Court is concerned, no one should be fooled; it is just a matter of listening and waiting for the other shoe.” Those are the words of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, drawn from his dissent in the case United States v. Windsor, handed down last year. In that case, the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, ruling that the United States government could not refuse to recognize same-sex marriages. The Court struck down a law passed by massive majorities in both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996. While the Court did not rule that all fifty states must immediately legalize same-sex marriage, it set the stage for this eventual result. Justice Scalia made that point clear in his dissent.

Now, Justice Scalia’s prophecy has come to pass in Kentucky. Today, U. S. District Judge John G. Heyburn declared that Kentucky’s ban on recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states violates the equal protection clause of the U. S. Constitution. Judge Heyburn did not rule that Kentucky must now marry same-sex couples, but that the state must grant full recognition to same-sex marriages legally performed in other states. Nevertheless, Judge Heyburn recognized that his decision points to that eventual result, stating that “there is no doubt that Windsor and this Court’s analysis suggest a possible result to that question.” If anything, that is an understatement. As with Justice Kennedy in his majority opinion in Windsor, Judge Heyburn now clearly points to the striking down of any state’s prohibition on same-sex marriage. As Justice Scalia predicted, we did not have to wait long for the other shoe.

Within hours of Judge Heyburn’s decision, advocates of same-sex marriage announced their intention to file a challenge to what remains of Kentucky’s marriage amendment.

Once again, we face a federal court striking down a constitutional amendment that had been overwhelmingly adopted by the citizens of a state. Judge Heyburn acknowledged the significance of this fact in his decision. In his words: “To the extent courts clash with what likely remains that majority opinion here, they risk some of the public’s acceptance.” He must recognize that the entire experiment in democratic government requires that courts act in this way rarely and carefully. So why did he rule against the moral judgment of the people of Kentucky?

As his decision demonstrates, he did so because of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Windsor. Repeatedly, Judge Heyburn cited Windsor in his decision. “To resolve the issue, the Court must look again to Windsor,” he wrote. And he looked to Windsor again and again. “Ultimately,” he wrote, “the focus of the Court’s attention must be upon Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion in Windsor.”

Thus, those who argued that in Windsor the Supreme Court had effectively paved the way for legal same-sex marriage coast to coast are vindicated in their warnings. Justice Scalia offered that warning from his seat on the Court. Many others offered that warning from other sectors. Sadly, the warnings were validated even sooner than most had expected.

By most counts, Judge Heyburn’s ruling is the tenth state or federal court ruling on the issue of same-sex marriage handed down since Windsor. In just the past several weeks, three federal courts have struck down state prohibitions on same-sex marriage with similar rulings. As Judge Heyburn remarked, “to date, all federal courts that have considered same-sex marriage rights post-Windsor have ruled in favor of same-sex marriage rights.” He added: “This Court joins in general agreement with their analyses.”

“In a democracy, the majority routinely enacts its own moral judgments as laws,” wrote Judge Heyburn. “Kentucky’s citizens have done so here. Whether enacted by a legislature or by public referendum, those laws are subject to the guarantees of individual liberties contained within the United States Constitution.” In striking down the moral judgment of the people of Kentucky, Judge Heyburn cited, once again, the trajectory of court decisions that he traced through the singular and decisive influence of one judge — Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Judge Heyburn noted that his decision in this case points to the eventual requirement that Kentucky legalize same-sex marriage. He did not note that it likely points also to the radical redefinition of marriage itself. In Utah, a federal judge in Utah struck down that state’s laws against polygamy, fast on the heels of another federal judge in the state who had struck down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage. There will be other shoes to drop. Once marriage can be redefined to allow for same-sex “marriage,” other forms of what will be called marriage will soon follow. If Judge Heyburn, following the lead of Justice Kennedy, will root all opposition to same-sex marriage in religious animus, opposition to the recognition of any and all forms of human relating will soon pass away — or at the very least be dismissed as of no legal significance. Soon we will face very real challenges to religious liberty made inevitable by this decision.

Of the rectitude of his decision, Judge Heyburn is certainly convinced. So much so, in fact, that he asserted that, in time, even the critics of his decision will be won over, “sometime in the not too distant future.”

Christians who affirm the biblical understanding of marriage as the union of a man and woman must now recognize that we can no longer count upon the government and its laws to reflect that understanding. Even the proponents of same-sex marriage must surely recognize the radical legal and moral shift in Western civilization and human history this change implies. Christians understand that marriage is one of God’s greatest gifts to humanity and that marriage, as defined by the Creator, is fundamental to human flourishing.

We now know that the government cannot be counted on to affirm this message. As a matter of fact, we have to face the reality that the government — even in the Commonwealth of Kentucky — may teach a radically different message through its laws. But the real question for Christians is not whether the government gets the question of marriage right, but if we do. In the grand scheme of things, that is the Church’s real challenge.

I am always glad to hear from readers. Send me an email at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/albertmohler.

Gregory Bourke, et. al. v. Steve Beshear, et. al., United States District Court, Western District of Kentucky at Louisville, Civil Action Number 3:13-CV-750-H, Judge John G. Heyburn, Wednesday, February 12, 2014.  http://juryverdicts.net/BourkevBeshea...

United States v. Windsor, Supreme Court of the United States, Wednesday, June 26, 2013.  http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/...

 

The Briefing 02-12-14

1) President Obama delays ObamaCare implementation

Obama Rewrites ObamaCare, Wall Street Journal (Editorial)

Health-Law Mandate Put Off Again, Wall Street Journal (Louise Radnofsky and Theo Francis)

Obama’s Boil the Frog ObamaCare Strategy, Investor’s Business Daily (Editorial)

2) The welfare state is taking over the government

The End of Government, Washington Post (Robert J Samuelson)

3) Camel bones prove the Bible isn’t reliable? Here we go again…

Camels Had No Business in Genesis, New York Times (John Noble Wilford)

Will camel discovery break the Bible’s back?, CNN (Joel Baden)