Weekly Roundup for December 10, 2021

This is a roundup of news stories and conversations I found interesting this week. I provide some brief commentary to help view current events from a biblical worldview perspective.

• Weakness Leads to War: The U.S. Military in Peace Time. On Tuesday of this week, we remembered the 80th anniversary of the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor. This prompted some thoughts about the combat soldiers in times of peace. We are watching in amazement as the U.S. Military focuses on woke politics more than combat preparedness. The author G. Michael Hopf famously wrote, "Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times." We are in a time of military weakness right now that, if history rhymes, will lead us into hard times. The military is made for combat, and when we are in times of peace, there is a sifting of the ranks. Warriors are replaced by politicians. We saw this in the early stages following the United States' entry into World War II. The first year of the war, 1942, was a time of sifting as soft, weak officers who thrived in peacetime politics were replaced by warriors. Men like Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and Gen. Walter Short, who were in charge of U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, were relieved of their command and replaced by more capable warrior leaders like Chester Nimitz and William "Bull" Halsey. The reality is, stone-cold warriors do not thrive in a peace time military. The challenge for the United States is to survive a first strike from a determined enemy long enough for the warriors to get into positions where they can fight the battle.

• In a Post-truth World, Two Realities Exist. We see evidence all around us that the political divisions in America see two different realities. This is the result of the death of truth and the fact that it is permissible, even encouraged, for everyone to do what is right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). Another current example is posted by The Los Angeles Times following the guilty verdict for actor Jussie Smollett. The Times notes that the organization Black Lives Matter stated, "In our commitment to abolition, we can never believe police, especially the Chicago Police Department (CPD) over Jussie Smollett, a Black man who has been courageously present, visible, and vocal in the struggle for Black freedom. Black Lives Matter will continue to work towards the abolition of police and every unjust system. We will continue to love and protect one another, and wrap our arms around those who do the work to usher in Black freedom and, by extension, freedom for everyone else.” So, if I am interpreting this correctly, BLM is saying, "justice is what we say justice is." Put another way, reality is what we believe to be true.

• Life in America before and after the Trump “Peace to Prosperity” plan was delivered on January 28, 2020. Few would argue that 2020 and 2021 have been two of the most tumultuous years in this generation. Bill Koenig, a White House correspondent for more than 25 years and publisher of the weekly newsletter, Koenig's Eye View, published an extensive look at what he believes was the pivot point for America and the global community--January 28, 2020. This article, published in April 2020, looks at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the weeks following January 28. Why is January 28 the date to focus on? It was on this day that President Trump introduced his "Peace to Prosperity" plan for Israel and Palestine that included a map of a divided Israel. Bill Koenig recorded an interview on Dec. 8, 2021, talking about the importance of January 28, 2020, and providing some updated context. The interview is approximately 20 minutes long and worth the listen.

• And Then the End Will Come: An Interview with Douglas Cobb. A new book published in April 2021, And Then the End Will Come: The Completion of the Great Commission and Nine other Clues That Jesus is Coming Soon, by Douglas Cobb takes a fresh look a the end-times prophetic timeline from a pre-tribulation, pre-millennial perspective. Cobb went on The Steve Deace Show for an extended conversation about the times and the season in which we live and how he believes what we are seeing in the world today fits within biblical prophecy. Both the book and the interview are recommended.

• The FBI and Illegal Surveillance of Americans. I am currently reading Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires by Selwyn Raab. It never ceases to amaze me how history rhymes. Describing the history of the American Mafia, Raab focuses for a chapter on the FBI's illegal surveillance of Mafia members at all levels during the 1960s. What amazes me is we are often surprised to hear the government is listening in on our conversations when their illegal wiretaps are a part of documented history. The FBI couldn't do anything legally with the information they gathered via illegal wiretaps because it was inadmissible in court, but they did find ways of using the information. For example, the government would arrest a low-level member of a Mafia family and threaten him with extensive prison time if he didn't cooperate. Once the suspect agreed to cooperate, the FBI would feed the witness information received from its illegal wiretaps so it could be entered into court against a higher up in the family. No one in the legal system seemed to question how such an unimportant, low-level soldier in a crime family would be privy to such high-level information. Still, it was entered as evidence in court. An important side-note: it was not until Robert F. Kennedy became Attorney General in 1961 that the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover even acknowledged the existence of organized crime in America. Hoover the concept of a "Mafia" was a myth or conspiracy theory.

Leaving A Legacy: Cathedrals and Oak Trees

A thousand years ago when Christians were building a cathedral, it would take most of a man’s lifetime to complete a cathedral.

As part of the construction project, they would plant Oak trees.

Why?

It takes 200-400 years for an Oak tree to grow to maturity.

Those building the cathedral knew that at some point the cathedral would need repairs so they planted the trees necessary so hundreds of years later, they could be harvested for the wood needed.

Our generation has become short-term focused rather than legacy-focused.

Your greatest fruit may come from your great, great grandchildren, men and women you will never meet during this lifetime.

But your faithfulness in this generation is like planting oak trees to be harvest 200, 300, 400 years from now (if the Lord should tarry).

We may not save our church, our community, or our country from the evils of the Socialist/Fascist Spirit of the Age now assaulting this world, but we can plant the seeds of the gospel in the hearts of our children, grandchildren, and, if the Lord blesses, our great-grandchildren that those seeds may bear fruit.

Reflection On Traveling Mid-2021: Inflation is Real

We are finishing our first vacation post-COVID. We traveled to Winter Park, CO where our family owns a timeshare. We traveled by car and spent one night in a hotel. Here are some real examples of inflation as we traveled:

• Gasoline is expensive. In Winter Park, the average price-per-gallon was $3.79.

• Hotel rooms are expensive. We stayed at a La Quinta Inn in North Platte, NE, and the room cost $130 for the night. In years past, this hotel would cost less than $100 per night.

• Food is expensive. Whether eating at a fast-food restaurant, a dine-in restaurant, or buying food at a grocery store, everything is expensive. For our family with six adults and one child, the average meal would cost $150. Keep in mind this is not fine dining. This could be at a sit-down restaurant where burgers, fries, salads, and some entrees filled out the menu. The average cost of a hamburger with fries is $15 ($10 for a "meal" in a fast-food restaurant).

Conclusion: inflation is real. Based on the average increase in travel cost, prices seem on average to be 30 percent higher than when we made this trip two years ago.

What Is "Sermongate" All About?

Regardless of your views on the plagiarism scandal surrounding newly minted SBC President, Ed Litton, here is a good article from the New York Times that provides a fairly neutral perspective in describing the issue.

TL;DR - preaching another pastor's sermon is not new. It is a grey area where there are differing opinions. While not condemned, it certainly diminishes a pastor's credibility when discovered.

This quote by Scot McKnight probably best describes the sense of betrayal church members feel when they discover their pastor is not preaching his own material:

For many churchgoers, a sermon is not just a clever speech but proof of the pastor’s deep spiritual life. “A sermon is a person studying the Bible, encountering God in their own life and history, and then spewing it all out on Sunday morning for the good of the people of God.”

The article also points to the possible root of the issue with the various pastors involved: they all employed a company called Docent Research Group.

On their website, Docent describes their services:

We do everything from demographic research to help plan for a new campus launch or church plant to sermon series preparation and planning. We help churches craft position papers to articulate beliefs, and we write custom curriculum for small groups, Bible studies, and Christian education programs. If you need it, we can do it!

J.D. Greear was an endorser of Docent Group until the scandal broke, and his endorsement has been removed.

Still, all of the players involved in the plagiarism scandal are on public record as clients of Docent including Tim Keller, J.D. Greear, Matt Chandler, and Ed Litton.

Perhaps its not so much an issue of plagiarism as it is all of the pastors mentioned are drinking from the same well, which unfortunately is The Docent Group, not the Bible.

This scandal has also exposed perhaps some previously unknown schisms within SBC leadership. Danny Akin and Adam Greenway have both tweeted in support of Ed Litton, basically saying, "nothing to see here, move along," while Jason Allen tweeted a statement condemning plagiarism without mentioning Litton specifically. Al Mohler has remained silent on the issue.

SBC Adopts Vision 2025

On June 15, the 2021 SBC messengers adopted Vision 2025 as amended – a call to reach every person for Jesus Christ in every town, every city, every state, and every nation.

Vision 2025 was presented to the convention by Executive Committee President, Dr. Ronnie Floyd. The initiative is built around six key strategic actions:

• Strategic Action 1: Increase our total number of full-time, fully funded missionaries to a net gain of 500, giving us 4,200 full-time, fully funded missionaries through IMB.

• Strategic Action 2: Add 5,000 new churches to our Southern Baptist family, giving us more than 50,000 churches. This number will include new church plants, campuses, and existing non-SBC churches that seek to join the SBC.

• Strategic Action 3: Increase our total number of workers in the field through a new emphasis on “calling out the called,” and then preparing those who are called out by the Lord.

• Strategic Action 4: Turn around our ongoing decline in reaching, baptizing, and discipling those under the age of 18.

• Strategic Action 5: Increase our annual giving in successive years to reach and surpass $500 million given through the Cooperative Program to achieve these Great Commission goals.

• Strategic Action 6: Prayerfully endeavor before God to eliminate all instances of sex abuse and racial discrimination among our churches.

Vision 2025 Prayer Team

Vision 2025 can only be achieved through the power and work of the Holy Spirit through our churches. Towards this end, we are encouraging every pastor and every church member to make Vision 2025 a focus of prayer.

The Vision 2025 Prayer Team launched immediately following the adoption of the initiative by the 2021 SBC Messengers and currently has more than 5,500 Southern Baptists committed to pray.

You can become a part of this army of prayer warriors by texting VISION to 90885.

A response will be sent that confirms you have joined and a brief description of what to expect as a member of this Prayer Team. We want to know every single one of you by name so we're going to ask you for your name. And that's it.

You will begin this journey with us by praying through each initiative for the first 7 days. Following this, prompts will come periodically during specific strategic prayer emphases that call us to unified prayer.