← The World and Everything In It
The World and Everything In It
12.27.24 WORLD Books of the Year, a review of A Complete Unknown, and December’s listener feedback
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- [00:03]
Nick Eicher
Good morning. We are coming to the end of our year end giving drive and we do still need you if you've not given yet.
- [00:09]
John Stonestreet
Yeah.
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Myrna Brown
Would you do that today? Wng.org yearendgift what you give here at the end of the year makes such a difference for the year ahead. It's reporting worth supporting and I hope you will.
- [00:25]
Nick Eicher
Wng.org yearendgift meantime, I hope you enjoyed today's program.
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Myrna Brown
Good morning. Today on Culture Friday, the female athlete of the year, Caitlin Clark. Does she really have apologies to make? And we'll talk about a few of world's books of the year, one on marriage, one on discerning the times.
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Nick Eicher
Yes, we will. John Stonestreet is standing by.
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John Stonestreet
Also today, I hear Bob is playing electric now.
- [00:59]
Nick Eicher
Not on stage he isn't, but he is. A new biopic on Bob Dylan. World arts and culture editor Colin Garberino reviews the film the Complete Unknown. And later, your listener feedback.
- [01:17]
Myrna Brown
It's Friday, December 27th. This is the World and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.
- [01:25]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Eicher. Good morning.
- [01:28]
Myrna Brown
Up next, Mark Mellinger with today's news.
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Mark Mellinger
Investigators looking into the Christmas Day crash of that Azerbaijan Airlines flight in Kazakhstan have uncovered some unsettling possibilities. Russian military expert Yan Matveyev told the Associated Press it appears the plane was damaged by something very similar to an anti aircraft missile from a Russian air defense system. That's Matveyev saying Russia was using the air defense system to shoot Ukrainian drones in the Chechen Republic as the plane was flying through. He believes the plane sustained damage, but the crew kept going wrongly thinking they could safely land the plane at the airport in the Kazakhstan city of Oktau. Of course, the plane ended up crashing. A spokesman for Russian leader Vladimir Putin was asked about the possibility of the plane getting fired upon. Speaking there, he says only that the investigation is ongoing and it would be wrong to draw conclusions before it's complete. More than three dozen people died when the plane en route from Azerbaijan to a city in Russia crashed Wednesday. More than two dozen people on board survived. Israeli airstrikes meant to weaken Iran backed Houthi rebels in Yemen hit very close to a high level world leader. World Health Organization leader Tedros Gabryesus says he was just a few meters from a control tower, departure lounge and Runway that were damaged as he prepared to board a flight in the city of Sana'a. Gabrieyesus was part of a United nations delegation evaluating the humanitarian situation in Yemen. Israel's army says it was not aware of the visit. UN Leaders called Thursday's airstrikes especially alarming. UN spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay, the secretary general.
- [03:27]
John Stonestreet
Remains deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation in the region and reiterates his call for all parties concerned to.
- [03:36]
Myrna Brown
Cease all military actions and to exercise utmost restraint.
- [03:42]
Mark Mellinger
The UN says three people were killed and dozens more injured in the strikes. Crews are surveying the damage today to see when Gabe Reeseus and the UN delegation can leave. When Congress reconvenes January 3, the new Republican majority in the US Senate will briefly be one seat fewer than anticipated. That's because West Virginia Senator elect Jim justice will wait to take office until January 13, the day his successor as West Virginia governor is sworn in. I don't want to shirk any responsibility being your governor.
- [04:18]
John Stonestreet
At the same time, you were kind.
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Mark Mellinger
Enough to elect me as your senator.
- [04:22]
John Stonestreet
And I want to do the greatness for this nation and absolutely continue to try to do everything I can possibly.
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Mark Mellinger
Do for West Virginia as well. That's justice addressing his constituents over local TV on WCHS. His late start leaves less margin 52 GOP seats instead of 53 as the new Senate works to confirm President elect Trump's cabinet nominees. Had justice resigned his governorship early and joined the Senate on January 3, West Virginia would have had four governors in 10 days, thanks to a combination of West Virginia's succession protocol and the November election results. Justice wanted to avoid that add billionaire Frank McCourt Jr. To the growing number of US business people showing interest in buying the popular TikTok app from its Chinese parent company to avoid a coming ban, McCourt told Fox businesses the Clayman Countdown. The app is a national security threat.
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John Stonestreet
We don't want to see this ban. We want to see this, this app continue just on a clean American stack with China having no backdoor, no ability to surveil American citizens, no ability to manipulate 170 million Americans.
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Mark Mellinger
Earlier this year, Congress passed a law banning TikTok in the US unless the app's Chinese parent company sells it. The ban is scheduled to take effect January 19, but TikTok is appealing to the Supreme Court with oral arguments slated for next month. A lot of people will be getting home from Christmas celebrations later than planned, especially if holiday travel took them south. Stormy weather wiped out more than 700 flights Thursday. Most of those headed into or out of Dallas Fort Worth. National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Hurley describes the threat likelihood in some areas of.
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John Stonestreet
Getting 6070 mile an hour wind non tornadic as well as potentially some large hail as well.
- [06:22]
Mark Mellinger
Several people in Texas captured video of possible tornadoes on their smartphones. All told, 20 million Americans were under a severe storm threat Thursday. From Texas to Louisiana, California now has a new tool in its arsenal to fight shoplifting. The State's new Proposition 36 law is now in effect. Voters just approved it in the recent election. The law creates tougher penalties for shoplifting and drug trafficking. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer told Fox and Friends.
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Nick Eicher
We have the ability to charge felonies for repeat shoplifters.
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John Stonestreet
We can accumulate the dollar amount for.
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Nick Eicher
Repeat thefts by an individual so we.
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John Stonestreet
Don'T have to wait for it to hit 950. We can use all of their open.
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Nick Eicher
Cases against them to add up to the cumulative 950.
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Mark Mellinger
$950 is the threshold for thefts to become a felony in California. Close to 70% of voters cast their ballots in favor of the legislation, which, in addition to theft, also targets homelessness and addiction. I'm Mark Mellinger. Straight ahead, a few of World's Books of the Year on Culture Friday with John Stonestreet, plus, your listener feedback. This is the WORLD and Everything in it.
- [07:56]
Myrna Brown
It's Friday, 27th December. Glad to have you along for today's edition of the World and Everything in It. Good morning. I'm Myrna Brown.
- [08:05]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Iker. It's CULTURE Friday. Joining us is John Stonestreet, the president of the Colson center and host of the Breakpoint Podcast. John, good morning.
- [08:15]
John Stonestreet
Good morning.
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Nick Eicher
Well, World's Books of the Year are out. John, I know some of these books you got a lot out of, and two in particular I'd like you to comment on. First, the Brad Wilcox book titled Get Married now. Per our book's editor, Colin Garberino, the Wilcox book demonstrates no matter what the cultural elites may say, marriage provides the foundation for a healthy social order. And then second, life in the Negative World, a book by Aaron Wren. But let's begin with Wilcox. What do you say about that?
- [08:49]
John Stonestreet
John Brad Wilcox's book was really, really important and is making a case that the church, by and large hasn't made for a long time. We've kind of done a whole lot on things like how to do marriage, but we don't talk about the good of marriage. And we actually, you know, miss the whole conversation on the definition of marriage. And so but even the good of marriage. And so you have this narrative, of course, that has been promulgated around the culture that marriage is the ticket to misery. That Marriage is the ticket to bondage. It's particularly true for women. It's the quickest way to be unhappy. It's the quickest way to be sexually unsatisfied and poor and everything else. And that you can't be your true self, especially if you're a woman. And none of that's ever been true. There's never been a shred of data that actually could be considered legitimate and universal to back up that narrative. But it has been really, really powerful. And, you know, I guess we could blame the shows of the 90s. After 80s television was dominated by the Cosby show and Family Ties and family matters, the 90s with friends in Seinfeld and Will and Grace. And then it just went downhill from there. And that narrative stuck and it stuck in all kinds of different ways. And it needs to be unseated because it's profoundly bad for people to think that marriage is bad, because marriage is profoundly good. And nobody's done this research better than Brad Wilcox and the Institute for Family Studies. He is the expert I look at on this fantastic book. Two thumbs up.
- [10:27]
Nick Eicher
Two thumbs up. Well, on the Aaron Ren book Life in the Negative World, our reviewer Hunter Baker said that Ren's insights remain relevant despite the unexpected political success of Donald Trump in 2024. Some might see it as a reversal of Ren's negative world thesis, but not Hunter Baker. He argues that Trump's win, achieved as it was with a diminished pro life focus and a post Christian Republican Party, rather highlights the complexities of Christian cultural engagement in modern America. What do you say?
- [11:02]
John Stonestreet
You know, I appreciated Aaron Ren's thesis when it was an article before it became a book, just because I think it's always helpful when people, especially in a time of great cultural upheaval, try to do a you are here. You know, they kind of lay out the timeline and try to give you both the ideas that are dominant, where those ideas are going to take you, but also where the present situation came from. Ideas have consequences. Bad ideas have victims. Ideas also have histories and antecedents. And knowing that sort of frame, it can be really, really helpful. I think that's what the Bible actually tries to do. I think Jesus talks about that sort of thing when he says the signs of the time. So any attempt I always take as helpful, even if it's something that I ultimately think is misguided or not accurate or imprecise in some way or another, or just misses some. Some details because I see things a little bit differently, that probably is where the thesis itself comes in for me. The negative world thesis that Ren proposed and that he wrote about in the book. I think, you know, I'd have a different timeline. I might use a couple different adjectives. I might, you know, change the. The framing of it a little bit. But honestly, this is the sort of project that has created so much conversation. It's like the Benedict option, in a sense, from Rod Dreher. Right. Which I always joke with Rod that I'm for the Bene Kuyper option. Benedict and Kuyper have a baby, which I know is a loaded reference today, but that's what, you know, that's the thesis that we need to go to in terms of cultural engagement. But the fact that he wrote the Benedict option has stood up to time and created the sort of conversation that the church needed to have and was. Was long overdue. I think Ren's work has played that same role. Just the punching bag that he threw it out as and say, you know, let's take this seriously, and he defends it and people push back. That's made us all better. And so two thumbs up on that. As far as Baker's assessment that the success of Donald Trump doesn't necessarily disprove that. Now, as far as Baker's analysis that the election of Trump doesn't negate that, and that's because not all of life is political, I would agree with that. I mean, there's a whole lot more to culture and the cultural hostility than politics. And to be honest, at least on a couple really, really, really important cultural issues for Christians, it's not clear where Trump's gonna land in the long run. I don't think it disproves that framework, but I think that also remains to be seen a little bit.
- [13:28]
Myrna Brown
Okay, John. From books to basketball. Just this week, Caitlin Clark was named the AP Female Athlete of the Year on and off the court. And a few weeks ago, Time magazine honored her with its Athlete of the Year. I want to get your take on Clark's comments after the Time Magazine recognition. So here's a snippet of what she said. I've earned every single thing. But as a white person, there is privilege. A lot of players in the league that have been really good have been black players. The league has kind of been built on them. And then she goes on to say, the more we can elevate black women, that's going to be a beautiful thing. Now, before you weigh in, John, let's listen to a pastor in Chicago. His name is Cory Brooks. And here's what he had to say about Clark's comments.
- [14:26]
John Stonestreet
We've been through all of this before. I remember a reporter asking Red Auerbach, the legendary Celtics owner, if Larry Bird was the new great white hope. Auerbach looked at his cigar and then said, no, great hope. Bird himself had to deal with these questions his entire career. Most people my age remember when Isaiah Thomas said if Bird were black, he would just be another good guy. I remember the way Bird handled it with great character. He refused to take the bait and rolled above it all. That is the discipline that we're missing from our hyper racialized society.
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Myrna Brown
Okay, some people took it as an apology. But John, how did Clark's comments about white privilege leave you?
- [15:10]
John Stonestreet
Right? I mean, I don't think she owed anybody an apology. And I do appreciate that a number of times through her career, at some level she's taken the credit. You know, she's actually said, even in that interview that raised so many hackles, including my own, she did say, you know, I would refer to my run as historic. And it was. There's nothing like it, what she did, other than the Larry Bird, Magic Johnson entrance into the NBA. And it remains to be seen whether it'll have that sort of long term financial impact and whether there'll be a Michael Jordan to follow, you know, a Michael Jordan of the WNBA to follow the Caitlin Clark, whoever, you know, she is. But listen, she doesn't need to look, she's a product of the University of Iowa. Maybe she got those ideas honest, from, from the University of Iowa. They're bad ideas. They're. It's part of the critical theory mood. Maybe she's being humble and also trying to thank the people that she feels needs to be thanked. I wouldn't use terms like white privilege. And, you know, that's one of the things we talk about all the time at the Colson center around Worldview, is that the words you choose to use and what you mean by those words smuggles in ideas all over the place. And I think that's why so many people had problems. But she's also a 20 some year old, you know, kid. And in our celebrity driven culture, one of the problems we have is putting people way too early up on pedestals about everything because they're a celebrity. You know, somehow it was historic. I was watching TV after the DNC when they announced that Taylor Swift was going to endorse Kamala Harris and called it historic and how excited they were. And you're just like, why? She's a singer. I remember When Johnny Depp condemned the invasion of Iraq during the Bush administration. And I thought, well, he can have an opinion, but why do we care what the pirate says about the war in Iraq? None of this was really clear except in a celebrity driven culture. Part of me wants to go back and say, let's not expect too much. And because we do, maybe we should all go back and read Neil Postman a couple more times. I sometimes think about that line from Narnia where the professor is saying, plato, Plato. It's all in Plato. And I look at these stories and I want to say, postman, Postman. It's all in Postman in terms of how we kind of think in a celebrity driven way. But listen, I'll keep watching. Her remarkable talent never followed women's basketball, other than my daughter's basketball team, of course. But Caitlin Clark has changed that for me. And it's a lot of fun when you see somebody bring that level of innovation to the game as a big basketball fan. So hopefully she'll get some wise voices in her life too.
- [17:57]
Nick Eicher
Yeah. Hey, you know, John, if it's a matter of accuracy, I mean, if that matters, I do want to say this. Hey, kid, how about some thanks? Not so much to the black women of the wnba, but the black men of the NBA who are subsidizing the wnba. There is no free lunch. And the only way the WNBA can keep losing money as it does, even with the boost that Caitlin Clark has brought, it's because the NBA is covering the debt.
- [18:25]
John Stonestreet
You know, I mean, look, a lot of people have noted that it's completely legitimate. You don't have a WNBA without the NBA. You don't have an NBA without an awful lot of money that has been generated and raised around the world. And you don't have that without Michael Jordan. I was rewatching the growth that he brought to the league around the world. It's just unbelievable. And they're riding on that, and they have been for a long time. And they haven't even been close, haven't even been close to having any sort of way forward that was profitable or even break even until Caitlin Clark. So it's unnecessary for her to talk about white privilege or anything like that. She's doing something that nobody else did and doing it really well.
- [19:06]
Nick Eicher
Okay. Well, what a year we had, John. We do not Talk again until 2025. So here we say farewell to 2024 and happy new Year, my friend.
- [19:17]
John Stonestreet
Well, yes, goodbye to 2024. I agree in some ways, good riddance. But happy New Year, there is hope. Christ is risen. Additional support comes from Asbury University. Enrollment is now open for January online grad and undergrad classes Asbury where Christ.
- [19:48]
Colin Garberino
Is central.
- [19:51]
Nick Eicher
And from season two of Eyewitness Silent Night, this student led podcast.
- [19:57]
John Stonestreet
Drama following time travelers to the first Christmas on podcast apps or at the letter I witnesspod.com.
- [20:34]
Nick Eicher
Today is Friday, December 27th. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Nick Iger.
- [20:42]
Myrna Brown
And I'm Myrna Brown. Coming next on the World and everything in It World Arts and Culture editor Colin Gabbarino has a review of that Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.
- [20:57]
John Stonestreet
Where have you been my blue eyed son?
- [21:03]
Colin Garberino
Director James Mangold achieved critical acclaim with his biopics Walk the Line and Ford versus Ferrari. His new movie, A Complete Unknown, is about Bob Dylan's early career. Loosely adapting Elijah Wald's book Bob Dylan Goes Electric, viewers get a glimpse into the life of the only songwriter to win the Nobel Prize in Literature as well as the music scene he reshaped. The film takes place over the four years between Dylan's arrival in New York City in 1961 and his controversial set at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. During this brief time span, Dylan went from being a complete unknown to a cultural icon whose mere presence could elicit shrieks from young female fans. Tussle haired Timothee Chalamet offers a gifted, understated performance as Bob Dylan. He even does his own singing throughout the film. I was young when I left home. I've been out of rambling around. The film begins with Dylan making a pilgrimage of sorts to Greystone Park Hospital to visit his idol Woody Guthrie, who's suffering from Huntington's Disease. While visiting Guthrie, Dylan meets fellow folk singer Pete Seeger, who takes the young Bobby under his wing.
- [22:14]
John Stonestreet
Think of yourself as a folk musician.
- [22:16]
Nick Eicher
Although.
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Colin Garberino
Yeah, well, I don't think to myself.
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John Stonestreet
As a folk singer.
- [22:20]
Colin Garberino
You know, folk music thing. I mean, I do sing folk music.
- [22:23]
John Stonestreet
When I do, it's sort of a modified version.
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Colin Garberino
Ed Norton gives a phenomenal performance as Seeger, and he too does his own singing. Seeger introduces Dylan to New York's folk scene, and it doesn't take long for people to notice Dylan's genius. One of those people is Joan Baez, with whom he strikes up a romantically charged collaboration. Another is Sylvie Russo, played by Elle Fanning. She's a lightly fictionalized version of Dylan's girlfriend at the time, who can be seen clinging to him on the album cover of the Freewheeling Bob Dylan. Sylvie works as an activist, and after meeting Bobby at a church concert, she begins to look on him as another cause that needs her attention.
- [23:03]
Myrna Brown
There's a lot I want and you do too.
- [23:06]
John Stonestreet
You're ambitious.
- [23:07]
Colin Garberino
I think that scares you. Part of the plot revolves around the Sylvie Bob Jones love triangle. But the film isn't primarily driven by Dylan's love of women. It's driven by his passion for music. Throughout the film's 2 hour and 20 minute runtime, the young troubadour constantly scribbles in notebooks and feels out chord changes as he works on new songs. His genius comes from a fearless dedication to his craft and he craves songs with feeling. At one point he calls Baez's songs too pretty. It seems as though he's flirting with the more established folk singer, but he's actually offering a real critique.
- [23:44]
John Stonestreet
You tried too hard to write. Really?
- [23:49]
Mark Mellinger
Yeah, if you're asking.
- [23:52]
John Stonestreet
I wasn't.
- [23:54]
Colin Garberino
Chalamet's Dylan doesn't mince words when he speaks his mind. Yes, he's a genius, but he's also a little bit of a jerk. The film is rated R for bad language and near constant cigarette smoking, but it's a fairly mild R. The language isn't pervasive, and director Mangold shows admirable restraint in depicting Dylan's love life. We never really see the true Dylan, but that's sort of the point. The movie plays fast and loose with the facts, but the real Bob Dylan has been lying about his past for his whole career. The film's title comes from the song Like a Rolling Stone, and it's a good metaphor for the enigmatic bard. He's inventing and reinventing himself. And we get the sense that in 1961 not even Bob Dylan knew who he really was. The young Dylan longs to live free of the expectations of others. He finds himself in a perverse situation, wanting to be known, while at the same time wanting to hide himself from fans and friends alike. The more he feels the world is constraining him, the more he wants to escape, even though he doesn't know what he wants to escape to. It's not long before Dylan feels that folk music itself has become too constraining.
- [25:04]
John Stonestreet
You know I sent you in advance of my new record? Sure, yeah.
- [25:09]
Mark Mellinger
So I got it.
- [25:13]
John Stonestreet
Did you ever listen to the music you're telling me not to play?
- [25:17]
Colin Garberino
A complete unknown shows how Dylan almost single handedly reshaped the American music landscape. And part of the film's genius is that it deftly uses the songs to help tell the story. In the 1950s, folk music was considered subversive. A man or woman alone with a guitar speaking truth to power. Folk musicians believed their social movement, much of it tinged with socialism, derived moral authority by singing songs of the people in a stripped down style. In the 21st century, it's easy to forget this Land Is yous Land was a protest song. All this leads to his electric set at the Newport Folk Festival.
- [25:57]
John Stonestreet
I hear Bob is playing electric now. Not on our stage he isn't.
- [26:02]
Mark Mellinger
There is no rock and roll in Newport.
- [26:04]
Nick Eicher
Don't need to be dogmatic, okay?
- [26:08]
Colin Garberino
The film sets up the true believing, soft spoken Seeger as the foil to Dylan. Bob's less interested in social justice than he is in his art. Dylan's mercurial personality and musical experimentation were seen as a betrayal by the folk music scene that had made him a star. The folk established had no idea that the times they are changing. I'm Colin Garbrino from writers and critics.
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John Stonestreet
Who prophesize with your pen and keep.
- [26:42]
Colin Garberino
Your eyes wide the chance won't come.
- [26:45]
John Stonestreet
Again and don't speak too soon for the wheel still in spin and there's no telling.
- [27:03]
Myrna Brown
Today is Friday, December 27th. Good morning. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported world radio. I'm Myrna Brown.
- [27:12]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Iker. Time now for listener feedback. And we begin with a quick correction Back on December 11th. It was a story about wildfires in Southern California. We misidentified public safety officer Robert Luna as a chief of police, which is wrong. He is rather sheriff of LA County. Next, some were confused by our use on a recent double take of the term unthaw. Some say it's incorrect, redundant at best, contradictory at worst. Because after all, to thaw is to move from frozen solid to frozen no longer. So in this sense, to unthaw would be to do the opposite. But at world we follow AP style. Except of course in the case of the myriad exceptions and AP's authoritative dictionary, and therefore ours is Merriam Webster. Here's the entry. Although unthaw as a synonym of thaw is sometimes cited as an illogical error, it has persisted in occasional use for more than four centuries. First known use 1598. So there you go, the final word until it's not okay.
- [28:29]
Myrna Brown
Speaking of double take.
- [28:32]
John Stonestreet
Hi, this is Brett calling from Tennessee. I just finished listening to the two part series in Glass on IVF and embryo adoption and I just really appreciate that you guys covered this story. I'M actually early in the pregnancy right now through embryo adoption. So I appreciate both the thoughtful and critical discussion that was had around it. And I just think Christians just really need to have a knowledge and a theology about this and it starts by having conversations like this. So I just wanted to say thank you for doing, doing that report and I did share it with a couple of the gals I know that also went through embryo adoption. They have listened to the first part and they appreciated it.
- [29:16]
Nick Eicher
Listener Ian McAllister from Hinsdale, Massachusetts, left us a voicemail about a story this month about a woman who took the first dose of a chemical abortion pill, then had second thoughts, but struggled to find the information she needed to reverse the process. I just listened to Leah Sevis's excellent.
- [29:37]
John Stonestreet
Compelling piece on abortion toll reversal.
- [29:39]
Nick Eicher
Just wanted to thank you for that. Really fascinating, well put together. We've heard a lot of that material before, but never put together that way in such a amazing kind of all in one story like that. So thank you very much for the great work you do.
- [29:55]
John Stonestreet
Keep up the good work and we'll keep listening.
- [29:57]
Nick Eicher
All right. Our technical production guys are an absolutely crucial part of our team working late, working holidays, and, you know, they don't say much, but the work that they do makes quite a statement. I love it when listeners recognize the skills they bring.
- [30:14]
John Stonestreet
Matthew Tuck, Los Gatos, California Special praise for the music editors who chose Live and Learn as the outro Music for Colin Garbarino's review of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Fans of the video game franchise will recognize that as coming from Shadow's first appearance and Shadow being an important character in that film. I wanted to praise you for your attention to detail. Thanks so much.
- [30:49]
Myrna Brown
After last week's shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, we featured excerpts of a prayer service held at City Church. Here's listener Scott Roberts of Branson, Missouri.
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John Stonestreet
It was so precious to be able to listen to those people, and it.
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Mark Mellinger
Was as if I was there being.
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John Stonestreet
Able to mourn with those who mourn.
- [31:16]
Mark Mellinger
Thank you for all you do.
- [31:19]
Nick Eicher
Well, next, Matthew Wagoner of North Carolina left us a voicemail after finding out that Bob Case was coming back with his occasional series on the Great American Songbook.
- [31:30]
John Stonestreet
You guys have been part of the family, and each morning when I listen, I just feel like I'm hanging out with my family. Thank you so much for your ministry. Even though it's 19 degrees this morning, my heart is so warm because I heard that you guys are going to be bringing Bob Case back occasionally. Bob reminds me of my deceased Uncle David. Just such a warm, jolly fellow and I am really looking forward to hearing his voice again and hearing from the American songbook. Thank you guys so much for all you do. I love you. We're praying for you and we so enjoy supporting your ministry. Love you guys. Bye bye.
- [32:07]
Nick Eicher
That's kind and you know, I'm glad to hear it said like that because the work we do, of course is motivated by love for Christ and love for his people. So that love does definitely flow both ways. So thank you all so very much.
- [32:22]
Myrna Brown
Yes indeed. One last voicemail this morning. This one came in from another grateful listener, Carlin Windler, a medical missionary who listens in Burundi. He sent us this voicemail along with a poem that he wrote.
- [32:39]
John Stonestreet
Thank you guys for all that you do at the world and everything in it. You educate, inform, inspire and actually give a little modicum of peace in a world that is always torn apart by so many conflicts and challenges.
- [32:55]
Colin Garberino
I thank you guys.
- [32:56]
John Stonestreet
I wanted to read you this poem for Thanksgiving. I'd actually love it if George Grant.
- [33:01]
Colin Garberino
Would read it, but I think maybe that's not possible.
- [33:04]
John Stonestreet
It's called How Will a Stone Praise you? From Luke 19:40.
- [33:08]
Myrna Brown
Okay, I'll jump in right here to say our producer Paul Butler sent his poem over to George, who not only enjoyed it but did record it. So that's how we'll end the year of listener feedback. Here's George Grant.
- [33:25]
F
How Will a Stone Praise you? By Carlin Windler Some birds can whistle, warble call While kid and lamb bleat in their stall Colt and mare snort, whinny and neigh Calf and cow low amidst their hay Frogs will croak while chirp the crickets and squeak the mice of field and thicket the bees they bustle, buzz and hum and lizards slither when they run Quacks and honks and cries and roars Creation's praise mounts, it soars but how will a stone praise you? Leaves can rustle, crumple, crack and brushing branches veer and tack Rain can beat and drum and flow While shushing is the fall of snow the waves they batter, lap or bash as peals of thunder clap and crash the rushing river sounds applause and glaciers grind and pop their flaws howls the wind or whispers near all things are heard to maker's ear. But how will a stone praise you? A thrown stone whizzes A dropped stone clacks with ruckus down a valley's cracks or finds a pond to plunk and splash and gurgle gargle, breathe its last. Great stones groan and grate and grind While small stones gravel grovels fine schiffs, Sands will sweep and swish and lava grumbles with a hiss. Yet you have chosen in your grace the human voice to give you praise. And though you gave us great surrounds, all you ask are grateful sounds. So breathe again into this clay and raise a note of joy today Replace with flesh this heart of stone and let it beat a thankful tone. We thank you for the gift of life, for coming down amidst our strife. We thank you for the cross and grave and path of pardon that they pave. We thank you for your family's name for union though we're not the same. We thank you that the son of God was hidden in an earthly clod so how could a stone not praise you?
- [36:17]
Nick Eicher
Well, thanks so much to everyone who wrote and called this year 2024. We are grateful for the time you give to listen each day and for your feedback. And we do love it when you interact with what you hear on the world and everything in it. If something we've reported makes you think, makes you act, raises a question maybe you hadn't thought of before. If it helps you to understand something you didn't, please join the conversation.
- [36:44]
Myrna Brown
You can email us editorwng.org you can include an audio file and attach it to your email. You can even phone it in at 202-709-9595. And that's listener feedback.
- [37:08]
Nick Eicher
All right, we have come to that time when it's time to say thanks. But first, thanks to you if you've made your gift to our year end giving drive. If you haven't, there still is time. Wng.org yearendgift and now thanks to the team members who helped to put the program together this week. Mary Reichert, David Bonson, Emma Purley, Mary Muncie, Grace Snell, Bob Case, Lindsay Mast, Janie B. Chaney, Bonnie Pritchett, Juliana Chan Erickson, Travis Kercher, Cal Thomas, John Stonestreet and Colin Garbarino. Thanks also to our breaking news team, Kent Covington, Mark Mellinger, Lindi Langdon, Travis Kercher, Lauren Canterbury, Josh Schumacher and Christina Grube. And thanks to the guys who stay up late to get the program to you early, Johnny Franklin and Carl Peets.
- [38:03]
Myrna Brown
Our producers are Paul Butler, Kristin Flavin and Harrison Waters, with assistance from Lauren Dunn and Ben Jeiker. The world and everything in it comes to you from World Radio. World's mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires. The psalmist writes, the Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Psalm 145, verses 17 and 18 Be sure and worship with your brothers and sisters in Christ in church on the Lord's day. And Lord willing, we'll meet you right back here on Monday. Go now in grace and peace.