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The World and Everything In It
7.4.25 Culture Friday on the Lia Thomas reversal, the seventh Jurassic Park movie, and fireworks for Jesus
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- [00:05]
Myrna Brown
Good morning. A stunning about face from Penn. Leah Thomas, former school now walking back its support and apologizing to female athletes for cheating them. What changed and why does it matter?
- [00:18]
Nick Eicher
Right? John Stonestreet is standing by for Culture Friday. Also today, dinosaurs on the loose again in the latest Jurassic park creature feature. Later, our editor in chief tackles discernment for K and a church that lights it up on the 4th of July.
- [00:35]
James Neal
We're just normal people who love Jesus and want to share that love with others.
- [00:47]
Myrna Brown
It's Friday, July 4th. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.
- [00:54]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Iker. Good morning.
- [00:58]
Myrna Brown
Up next, Kent Covington with today's news.
- [01:02]
Kent Covington
President Trump today will sign into law the legislation he has long referred to as the one big beautiful bill. House Republicans sent it to his desk with this vote on Thursday.
- [01:12]
Nick Eicher
On this vote, the yeas are 218, the nays are 214.
- [01:16]
John Stonestreet
The motion is adopted.
- [01:19]
Kent Covington
The bill will address a number of Trump's top priorities. The president helped to persuade several Republican holdouts to push the bill across the finish line. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries delayed the vote with an hours long marathon speech holding the House floor for eight and a half hours.
- [01:35]
John Stonestreet
Press on for democracy. We're going to press on until victory is won. I yield back.
- [01:46]
Kent Covington
It was the longest speech of its kind in the history of the House, but it only delayed the inevitable. Republicans had the votes to pass it and Speaker Mike Johnson says Americans will be better off for it. He said his party is doubling down on the economic policies of President Trump's first term. We did tax cuts and regulatory reform and that brought about a resurgence of the U.S. economy. That's about, that's what's going to happen here.
- [02:09]
John Stonestreet
It's about to happen on steroids.
- [02:11]
Kent Covington
The bill will extend President Trump's 2017 tax cuts. NGOP Congresswoman Lisa McClain adds no taxes.
- [02:18]
John Stonestreet
On tip, no taxes on overtime, tax relief to seniors, enhanced child care tax.
- [02:25]
Nick Eicher
Credits, elimination of the death tax. More ICE agents.
- [02:30]
John Stonestreet
We're finishing the border wall and funding the Golden Dome.
- [02:35]
Kent Covington
The Golden Dome is a proposed missile defense system for the US Homeland. But Democrats argue that the bill's passage is terrible news for Americans. Congressman Joe Morell.
- [02:45]
John Stonestreet
The driving force behind this entire legislative effort has been to grant handouts to those same billionaires and special interests, all at the expense of hard working families.
- [02:56]
Kent Covington
Democrats deride the bill as tax breaks for the wealthy and they object to new work requirements for Medicaid and food stamp recipients. They say millions will lose healthcare as a result of the bill. President Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin spoke by phone Thursday for around an hour, the White House says. They talked about Iran, Syria, possible energy cooperation and of course, the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin says Trump pressed for a swift end to the war, but that Putin said while Russia was ready to negotiate, it would not back down on core objections. Objectives in Ukraine, including Kyiv, never joining NATO and territorial claims. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce says the U.S. remains committed to helping negotiate a ceasefire.
- [03:38]
Myrna Brown
But we've also stated, as has Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that this now belongs in the hands of the parties. They must have that conversation and come to these decisions themselves, she said.
- [03:50]
Kent Covington
The United States continues to show support for Ukraine. Trump's call with Putin comes after the Pentagon paused the shipment of some weapons to Ukraine over concerns about stockpiles running low for domestic defense. In the Middle east, all eyes are on Gaza, where Hamas is reviewing a 60 day ceasefire proposal from the US to halt the war with Israel, at least temporarily. Israeli government spokesman David Mentzer says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to end the war permanently, but first the Israeli hostages must be released and Hamas must be defeated.
- [04:25]
John Stonestreet
The obstacle, as ever, lies with Hamas.
- [04:29]
Colin Garbarino
We are working through various means to overcome that.
- [04:35]
Kent Covington
Hamas is believed to still be holding around 20 living hostages and the remains of dozens of deceased captives. Under the latest proposal, hamas would free 10 of the living hostages and transfer the remains of 18 of the dead. Humanitarian aid would also ramp up in Gaza with the UN and the Red Crescent, and Israel would begin partial pullbacks of its troops from the Gaza Strip. The proposal also calls for talks to begin immediately on a full and permanent ceasefire. The US Supreme Court will take up two cases testing whether male athletes who identify as female can compete in women's sports. World's Benjamin Eicher has more.
- [05:15]
Benjamin Eicher
Justices agreed Thursday to hear challenges from Idaho and West Virginia. In Idaho, the law bars men from joining women's teams at state funded schools. It was challenged by Lindsay Hecox, a man who identifies as a woman who wanted a run on the Boise State women's Track team. West Virginia's law faced a lawsuit from the parents of an 8th grade boy who wanted a run on the girls team. Both cases argue that the law violates the 14th Amendment and Title IX protections. Supporters claim that letting men compete is unfair and takes scholarships from women. The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments this fall and issue a ruling next year. For World I'm Benjamin Eicher, the US.
- [05:57]
Kent Covington
Job market has delivered more surprising growth. The economy added 147,000 jobs in June. That was a modest increase of only a few thousand from May, but it soundly beat expectations of 118,000, which is what economists had forecasted. Analysts say the job report may not be quite as strong as it appears at first glance. Private companies, for example, hired just 74,000 workers last month. That's only about half of the 137,000 they hired the month before. But overall, most experts say the economy remains solid. I'm Kent Covington. Straight ahead, johnstonestreet reflects on patriotism during Cold Culture Friday. Plus, ask the Editor with Les Sillers. This IS THE WORLD and everything in it.
- [07:06]
Nick Eicher
It's Friday, the 4th of July. Happy Independence Day. Glad to have you. For today's edition of the World and Everything In It. Good morning. I'm Nick Iger.
- [07:16]
Myrna Brown
And I'm Myrna Brown. It's Culture Friday. And joining us now is John Stonestreet. He's president of the Colson center and host of the breakpoint podcast. Good morning to you, John.
- [07:28]
John Stonestreet
Good morning.
- [07:29]
Myrna Brown
Well, this is major news. The University of Pennsylvania has agreed to a reverse course on the whole Lia Thomas matter, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. And at the White House this week, the university will be sending a personal apology to every female athlete who is forced to compete against a man, an apology for sending out a mediocre male swimmer who identified as a woman to dominate a pool full of women in competition. Thomas broke at least five pen records, and even that is being walked back. You know, what's striking is how thorough the reversal is acknowledging wrongdoing, restoring titles and pledging safeguards. John, I'd love your thoughts, not just on how this happened, but on what it reveals about the whole arc of this issue.
- [08:24]
John Stonestreet
Boy, there is a lot to talk about. The fact that the quote, unquote deal, which was I saw the headlines of University of Pennsylvania agrees. And I feel like you need to put that word agree in a lot of quotation marks because this was a you will not do this anymore. And it included an apology to the athletes that were wronged by this man who pretended to be a woman and also making sure that it never happened again and returning the rightful titles and the wins and all that in the right direction and protecting the spaces. I mean, this was pretty thorough. There's really a lot to talk about here. I think the first thing is that many people were surprised by how quickly even an absurd idea like that can seem overwhelming and quote, unquote Inevitable. And then also that it's not inevitable. That claims to inevitability, particularly by those who have vested interest in making these claims seem inevitable, that that usually is just a tactic to silence people. And unfortunately, it worked for a lot of people, Praise God. It didn't work for Riley Gaines, praise God. It didn't work for other people involved in this story. Paula Scanlon, who was one of the teammates of Will Thomas, took a lot of shots for that. We think of somebody, for example, like J.K. rowling. We think of Ryan Anderson early on. We think of Abigail Shrier, whose book just was gargantuan in this. And then we also think of a lot of people who weren't willing to take a stand. We think of a lot of pastors that left parents hanging out to dry, left moms isolated, accused of bigotry for not going along with their child's delusion when they knew their kid better. There's just so many aspects of this story, and it continues to develop. But listen, unless we come to some sort of grips on a cultural level with a anthropology that we can all agree on, then this fad is going to be replaced by another one. And lest we're tempted a year from now, whenever the next thing takes hold like this, to think there's nothing we can do, that that idea is inevitable, that we're on the wrong side of history, that we don't want to offend anybody or hurt any feelings, let's learn from this, that claims of inevitability are just that, claims, and that this is really an illusion. Because there is this thing called reality. And the Christian worldview actually gets us closer to reality than anything else. And let's trust that, let's believe that, and let's have the courage to speak out.
- [10:53]
Nick Eicher
John, earlier you named some of those who spoke out, some of those courageous voices who resisted this movement early on, the heroes. But what about the villains? Those behind the movement, those who enabled the movement, those who didn't stand up to the movement? There were people in positions of trust who stayed silent or caved in. Talk a bit about the failure of leadership there. And what kind of reckoning, if any, do you think should follow?
- [11:24]
John Stonestreet
It's a good question. I think there are kind of ideological villains because, you know, you could say all of this is in Rousseau or all of this is in Freud, or all of this is the result of some of the worst thinking of the sexual revolution and that these ideas aren't just theoretical ones on paper, but that ideas can grow legs, schaeffer talked about the line of despair where ideas begin with thought leaders, shape academic culture, and then shape popular culture and then the popular imagination. We certainly saw that happen in a hurry. I think we can also talk about the activists, the bullies, the villains, because this is really something where people who lead a movement like what was the gay rights movement, are now even dismissing these people. But there's also the state officials, everyone from department heads to school boards to administrators, all that at some level or another, work for the government. I'm thinking of civil rights commissioners, like in Colorado. I think of even the medical doctors who knew better and basically issued the threat to thousands of parents. Do you want a dead son or a live daughter or vice versa? There's a lot to pay for here, and I don't think the goal here should be revenge. I think the goal here is that we can somehow come up with a framing of this issue and a framing of what happens so that we don't let so many children in particular get harmed the next time around. And I don't know that we have the ideological ground for that. I think the deep mistrust that has been sown in this issue, I mean, people talk about the medical establishment and the trust that was lost in Covid. I'm not sure that measures up to the trust that was lost because of those in the medical profession who just made up things like wpath. And then of course, you have villains who are, who are doubling down on this stuff. For example, the American Psychological association who quickly commented on the ruling in the Scrometti case that states actually could protect their own children from this nonsense. So, yeah, ideas die long. I'm not sure that this one's fully dead. It is unbelievable to see the speed at which this one took over the world and is now being discredited so widely. So, yeah, we do need to have some kind of a culture wide deep six on this so that we can know exactly what happened, where we were duped, and how we can never do it again. And specifically, I think the church needs to have a deep six on. On what it means to have courage. I won't use the word villain, although I'm tempted to, to leaders who are just absolutely clear that we should speak out about some things, but never this. And I think there needs to be at least some level of a reckoning on this.
- [14:12]
Nick Eicher
You know, John, this has been one of the most consequential Supreme Court terms in recent memory. You mentioned Scarmetti there, but there were multiple rulings that touch on Fundamental questions in the culture. You stay pretty closely conn. Kinds of developments, I know, but of all the decisions that came down in recent weeks, what stands out to you the most?
- [14:36]
John Stonestreet
Oh, man, it's a lot. This was a really consequential Supreme Court term. But I do think that one of the best things that we saw was in the Mahmoud decision having to do with the Montgomery county school board. And given the fact that school boards and other state officials have so brazenly, and I would say evilly place themselves between children and their parents so often and so completely over the last several years, for the Supreme Court basically to say, no, you cannot just brainwash students as if parents do not have a role in this process. Now, look, I think that the narrative has become so thorough that education belongs to the state, that it actually has led many parents to think about education as belonging to the state and not to them. And therefore, the necessary kind of tail end of that idea is that the children actually are citizens more than their children. And that is a damnable idea. That is an anti biblical idea. That's one that's particularly dangerous. And this was a pushback on that. Now, again, the nuances here were much more specific. But listen, if you don't think that there are actually educational leaders in America who think that they own your kids, they know better than you, you're just not paying attention. You don't hate this as much as you should. And I don't mean you, Nick, I mean, or you, Myrna. I mean, like, in general, we don't quite understand just how bad it is. We had this glimpse during COVID Thanks to the Loudoun county school board. We have another glimpse here. And I know we're going to get people writing in and saying, well, you know, there are good people who work in the public school system. I agree. I think Christian adults should go to the public school system as missionaries. You're going to face a lot of trouble if you do but go there. But to subject children to that right now just seems unconscionable if you have any other alternative, because it ideologically is built on a vision of what it means to be human that is so absolutely dominated by the sexual revolution and its worst ideas, that parents are not just in the way anymore, they're considered the bad guys. I mean, there has never been a better opportunity right now to disrupt the status quo when it comes to education in America. And God help us do it in every way that we can. We need as many alternatives as we can. We need the alternatives especially Christian schools, to be really good at what they do. And right now that's a mixed bag. And we need to point out over and over the ideology that shapes this practice. It's got to be exposed because it is as bad as you think and worse.
- [17:22]
Myrna Brown
Well, John, as we talk today, of course, it's the 4th of July, a summer holiday, yes, but also a deeply significant anniversary. We're marking the signing of a document that put the founders at odds with the most powerful empire on earth. You know, we don't often reflect on the danger they face, but treason, you know, against King George could have cost you your life. That is the kind of courage we celebrate. So what does this mean for Christians who love their country? I mean, how do you think rightly about patriotism from a Christian worldview perspective?
- [18:04]
John Stonestreet
Well, listen, in general, when I think about patriotism and what does it mean to have national identity, I think of something that Father Richard John Newhouse wrote in First Things years ago. He said, when I meet God, I expect to meet him as an American. He got in some trouble when he said that. And he wasn't saying that the only way to meet God is as an American, or you have a better chance if you're an American, or that God was an American. He wasn't saying that either. He was just saying that part of our identity, part that we did not choose one of the givens if we were going to use the same word that we use on so many of these other issues of anthropology, is where we're born, the nation to which we belong. And there's an implied stewardship there. So I think in the terms of patriotism, I think we can accept this as part of the sovereignty of God and then say, well, then what does God expect? And that's different than any sort of supremacy that's rightfully denounced. On the other hand, I think it's also easy to miss how remarkable the Declaration was. When I speak to students and young adults and there are people from other countries and I start the line, we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal. Even the non American students know this. It's a remarkable line. It's not as remarkable to us because we're pretty familiar with it, but it was really remarkable. Then Luke Ferry says that it's one of the Christian innovations and contributions to the world. And it's significant that he says it as a secular humanist philosopher from the University of Paris. Basically that Christianity, he said, was to introduce to the world the idea of equality that humans were equal in dignity, not on the outside, but on the inside. And that gave birth to our entire modern democratic inheritance, he said. It is a remarkable line because honestly, it's not been self evident historically that humans are equal. I mean even in the American context it was an aspirational idea. It was something to which America was now going to strive but never reach and actually had a long way to go from our national original sin of slavery to our contemporary national sin of abortion. We don't live that ideal out, but the ideal itself is remarkable. And the only way you have equality is not because it's self evident by any characteristic we share on the outside, because there is no characteristic we share on the outside. It's the second part of that line which is so important that they are endowed by their Creator. You only get all men are created equal if all men have been endowed by their creator. And that is an important observation to remember on this day that we recall how the founders at the continental Congress in 1776 on this day adopted the Declaration, Declaration of Independence.
- [20:50]
Myrna Brown
We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal. Yes. John Stonestreet, President of the Colson center and host of the breakpoint Podcast. Thanks again John.
- [21:02]
John Stonestreet
Thank you both.
- [21:25]
Kent Covington
Additional support comes from Dort University, whose online MBA and MPA programs prepare leaders for lasting impact. Dort University until all is made new from the Issues Etc Podcast expert guests, expansive topics extolling christ. More@issuesetc.org and from Ambassadors Impact Network, inviting entrepreneurs with a mission to connect with faith based investors who share their vision. More@ambassadorsimpact.com.
- [22:16]
Myrna Brown
Today is Friday, July 4th. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I'm Myrna Brown.
- [22:24]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Iker. Coming up next on the World and everything in it, a summer blockbuster stomps back into theaters. The Jurassic park franchise roars to life again with a brand new installment. World Arts and Culture editor Colin Garberino now takes us to Jurassic World Rebirth.
- [22:45]
Colin Garbarino
Steven Spielberg invented the summer blockbuster 50 years ago with Jaws, but in 1993, he gave us what could be considered the quintessential summer blockbuster. With Jurassic park, the movie had everything. Plenty of action characters you cared about and the kind of jaw dropping special effects that audiences had never seen before. Now we're on the seventh Jurassic park movie. And more than three decades later, the franchise still can't figure out how to recapture the magic of that first film. Jurassic World rebirth takes place 32 years after dinosaurs returned and the planet is starting to find its new normal. The giant beasts have found the Earth's climate inhospitable, and they've started to die out again. Those that survive live in a narrow band in the tropics. Even more surprising, the public's interest in dinosaurs is waning. Dinosaurs aren't cool anymore. Perhaps it has something to do with their causing a string of disasters. In the previous movies, the world's governments have forbidden any contact between humans and the remaining dinosaurs. But one pharmaceutical company sees an opportunity in dinosaur DNA.
- [23:55]
John Stonestreet
This would be a medical breakthrough that could save countless lives.
- [23:58]
Colin Garbarino
A drug manufacturer thinks it can cure heart disease by making medicine from dinosaur tissue because, you know, dinosaurs have big hearts. That's a silly setup, but it gets even sillier because they need samples from three certain the biggest land dinosaur, the biggest aquatic dinosaur, and the biggest flying dinosaur. And what a surprise. All three can conveniently be found at the same island. So Big Pharma hires Scarlett Johansson's Zora Bennett to infiltrate the forbidden island. Survival is a long shot.
- [24:30]
John Stonestreet
That's kind of our specialty.
- [24:32]
Colin Garbarino
Zora is a special ops veteran who now provides private security, that is, she's a mercenary. Accompanying her on the mission will be a drug rep, a paleontologist, and a group of her mercenary friends. Don't worry about learning their names. They're mostly in the movie to give the dinosaurs something to chew on.
- [24:49]
Myrna Brown
Mr. Roark here didn't tell us everything.
- [24:51]
John Stonestreet
That we need to know.
- [24:52]
Colin Garbarino
Complications arise when the team learns that the beasts on the island aren't your garden variety T. Rexes and raptors.
- [24:58]
John Stonestreet
Look, this island was a laboratory of sorts. They conducted experimental work here.
- [25:04]
Kent Covington
What kind of experiments? Cross breeding of species.
- [25:07]
John Stonestreet
Engineered entertainments, they call them.
- [25:09]
Colin Garbarino
It's pretty challenging to make audiences care whether dinosaurs eat mercenaries, so the script throws a hapless family on to the island to give us someone more sympathetic to worry about.
- [25:19]
John Stonestreet
Dad.
- [25:21]
Colin Garbarino
Where's Xavier?
- [25:22]
John Stonestreet
What happened?
- [25:24]
Colin Garbarino
Dad.
- [25:25]
Nick Eicher
Where is he?
- [25:26]
Colin Garbarino
The parallel stories of the family and the mercenaries require us to jump back and forth for most of the movie. And watching the family successfully navigate the jungle while the trained mercenaries get picked off one by one strains credulity. It's not a good sign when your credulity gets strained in a movie with dinosaurs.
- [25:44]
Kent Covington
The titanosaur herd should be right across this valley.
- [25:47]
John Stonestreet
They're herbivores, right? Yeah, that's good, but the things that hunt them aren't. Oh, great.
- [25:54]
Colin Garbarino
Scarlett Johansson does what she can to save this film, but she doesn't have much to work with. The script is a mess, the plot doesn't make much sense, and the dialogue is predictable. Then we have to suffer through many lectures on contemporary social issues. There's the PTSD awareness scene, the obligatory eco babble in which we learn that the earth won't put up with humanity's bad behavior for much longer. And of course, pharmaceutical companies are painted as the epitome of evil. Also, the screenwriters don't seem to understand how tax write offs work.
- [26:25]
John Stonestreet
The average cost of a created species is $72 million. What would you do? Kill it and have to tell your bank? Or just carry it forward under R and D? What would I do with mutant dinosaurs.
- [26:35]
Kent Covington
From an accounting perspective?
- [26:36]
John Stonestreet
Is that really the question?
- [26:38]
Colin Garbarino
But the movie isn't all bad. No homework required. You can understand what's going on even if this is your first Jurassic park movie. Also, the foul language is pretty mild for a PG13 movie, and Jurassic World Rebirth has the same director as 2014's Godzilla and Star Rogue One. He manages to give the film an attractive visual style, but in the end, it's all technique and no inspiration. In Jurassic World Rebirth, the average person has become uninterested in dinosaurs. It's an apt metaphor for the state of this venerable franchise over the last 10 years. Each installment has made less money than the one before it. That's what happens when you repeatedly rely on spectacle while neglecting the story. There's still a certain pleasure in watching dinosaurs chase people through the jungle, but if that's what you really want to see this weekend, you would do better to just queue up the original. I'm Colin Garbarino.
- [27:53]
Nick Eicher
Next up on the World and Everything in It. Ask the Editor Editor in chief Les Sillers tackles a timely listener question. How do we raise kids to tell truth from lies? In a world flooded with online deception, the information landscape is changing fast and parents are feeling the pressure.
- [28:17]
Les Sillers
Listener Becky Mannering wrote in to observe that parents are rightly concerned about things their kids can access online, from gambling to pornography. But her question is a little different. She pointed out that the days of everybody getting their news from mainstream sources are long gone. There's a lot of damaging trash and nonsense out there posing as news and helpful information, she wrote.
- [28:39]
Myrna Brown
I want to know, how do I teach my kids to evaluate resources for truth telling? I know how to catechize my children, but how do I help move them beyond recitation and into application when it comes to evaluating truth?
- [28:57]
Les Sillers
Becky, it sounds like a two part question. I think you're asking in a digital world, how do we know whom or what to trust? Second, how do we help our children to actually use discernment? Those are among the most important questions facing our culture today. And you're absolutely right. We need to teach our children and grandchildren how to figure this out for themselves, because it's going to get a lot harder. And a list of 10 tips for protecting your children online is not going to get it done. Before the Internet, figuring out who to trust was often easier. We got much of our information from people we knew personally, family, people we worked with, went to church with, people with whom we had history. We knew from experience whether we should believe them and whether they could be trusted. Information about the outside world came to us from various newspapers, networks, books, movies, and so on. These were difficult and expensive to produce, but some reached many, many people. A writer or broadcaster had to have a certain amount of credibility, reliability, so it was easier to evaluate sources. But today, anybody with a cell phone can combine personal charisma with worldwide reach. Digital technology made possible the age of the influencer and the coin of the realm is authenticity. If you can fake that, you've got it made. And these people look into the camera and say, hey, this is who I am. You know me, you can trust me. And if they're smart and believable and appealing enough, they can peddle any kind of garbage they want. And now we have AI. It raises a lot of questions, but the obvious point is that we can no longer presume to take at face value anything digital. Things that we used to presume were basically accurate depictions of reality, images, voices, and videos. Those days are over. So back to the original question. How do we figure out who to trust? My best suggestion is to treat online sources with the same skepticism we'd give a stranger approaching us at midnight in a dark alley. Do not think in terms of authenticity. Don't ask, does this person seem really genuine, attractive, appealing? Rather ask, who is this person? Why do they want my attention? What motives do they have for telling me this? Do they have a history of being reliable? Do they use reliable sources themselves? Is their message consistent with reality? Those aren't easy questions to answer about either a podcaster or a national network, but we have to ask them relentlessly. This doesn't mean we don't ever believe anything new. It's a weird world out there, and we don't want to be like Those dwarves in C.S. lewis's the Last Battle, closing our eyes and ears to the reality unfolding around us. But just don't be gullible. As for helping our children learn to be discerning, this is the most useful thing I can suggest. Be for your children a source of reliable and trustworthy information. Be clear eyed about the world around you. Measure all claims against Scripture. Discuss with your children important topics in an age appropriate way. Explain to them this is why I believe this is true and that is false. And don't traffic and nonsense yourself. Finally, show your children what trust looks like in a healthy community. Build trust with your family, friends and brothers and sisters in your church. Be honest and kind. Admit mistakes. Give your children a model of what life can be like in relationships where people have integrity. Show them in all of your life how to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. If you have a question for Ask the Editor, I'd love to hear from you. You please feel free to send an email or voice message to me@editorng.org and one more favor, if you hear a good story on this program, would you mind sharing it with a friend or two? Thanks and thanks for listening. I'm Les Sillers.
- [33:09]
Myrna Brown
Today is Friday, July 4th. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Myrna Brown.
- [33:17]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Eicher. Finally today, fireworks churches across the country will host outreach events this weekend, but one congregation goes all world.
- [33:28]
Myrna Brown
Associate correspondent Elizabeth Schenck recently visited a congregation that doesn't just attend the fireworks, they host them.
- [33:43]
I
Even at dusk. It's still over 80 degrees in Dunn, North Carolina. The air is full of glow sticks and music. Nearly 2,000 people have gathered to see a free fireworks show at Central Baptist Church.
- [33:56]
James Neal
You talk to people like, hey, we're the Central Baptist Church. And some people are like, oh, you're the fireworks church.
- [34:01]
I
That's James Neal, the discipleship pastor for this church of over a thousand.
- [34:05]
James Neal
And we'd rather be known as the Fireworks Church than the mean church or the Cult church because that way, again, it's an inroad for us to share the gospel.
- [34:15]
I
Neal is the one in charge of huge outreach events like this. He starts preparing in January.
- [34:23]
James Neal
This is purely a first foothold for a lot of people in this community to get on this campus and to also see that we're just normal people who love Jesus and want to share.
- [34:36]
John Stonestreet
That love with other people.
- [34:46]
I
This is the second year Neil and his crew set up a stage in all the sound equipment outside with one eye on the sky as a heavy cloud cover rolls in.
- [34:54]
James Neal
The weather, I guess is sometimes the thing that you hate the most. Because you have absolutely no control over.
- [34:59]
I
For the first 20 years, choirs and preachers coaxed people into the air conditioned church. Only the fireworks and hot dogs stayed outside. Bringing the singers and gospel message outside gets them directly to the people and the elements.
- [35:13]
James Neal
Thankfully, I think out all these years we've only been rained out once, which is just a blessing and I take it by faith every year. I don't even really look at the weather after a while or I don't put a lot of faith in it.
- [35:28]
I
The fire department is stationed at the far end of the field behind the launching site. Firefighter Buddy Muns is keeping a close eye on the pyrotechnics.
- [35:36]
John Stonestreet
We usually have us some hoses, lines.
- [35:38]
Les Sillers
And water cans on standby if anything happens.
- [35:41]
I
Law enforcement vehicles idle in the parking lot while the church's volunteer security team, headed by Larry Williams, scans the crowd. Williams and his family started attending Central Baptist after coming to the fireworks show and he wants it to continue despite the recent targeting of Christian gatherings.
- [35:57]
Nick Eicher
The last thing we want to do is prevent outreach from our church. We feel like the posture that we have right now is working for us. And so we're just going to continue to maintain our vigilance and pray that the Lord will always protect us.
- [36:12]
I
Over the years, the fireworks show has become an integral part of the church's community outreach effort.
- [36:17]
James Neal
We've actually had people say that their first exposure to our church was through the patriotic explosion.
- [36:25]
I
Every year the church reviews the budget and every year they pray for the funds to do one more show. And that has always meant hiring Zambeli Fireworks to run the pyrotechnics.
- [36:33]
James Neal
I think that if we said, hey, we're not having fireworks, there might be like an uprising, not within just the community, but within our own church.
- [36:41]
I
For over two decades, the church hasn't lacked the money or the volunteers, and families like the Williamses have made Central Baptist their church.
- [36:48]
James Neal
As a result, I've learned through all these years that it might look different than I expect. But what God does and God accomplishes, accomplishes through our team and through these events, then that is something that we can celebrate. And they in turn give all the glory to God because he's the one that deserves it. Anyways.
- [37:11]
Colin Garbarino
This coming Sunday, God bless you.
- [37:13]
John Stonestreet
Have a great night.
- [37:15]
I
Reporting for world, I'm Elizabeth Schenck in Dunn, North Carolina.
- [37:32]
Nick Eicher
All right, time now to name the team and thank the team that helped to make it happen this week. Jenny Ruff, Mary Reichard, David Bonson, Emma Eicher, Travis Kercher, Emma Freire, Daniel Darling, Leo Braceno, Jenny Lynn Schmidt, Hunter Baker, Mary Muncie, Cal Thomas, John Stonestreet, Colin Garbarino and Elizabeth Schenck. Thanks also to our breaking news team, Kent Covington, Mark Mellinger, Christina Grube, Steve Klosterman and Lindy Langdon. And thanks to the guys who stay up late to get the program to you early, Benj Eicher and Carl Peetz. Harrison Waters is Washington producer, Lindsay Mast and Lee Jones standing in as features editors. Paul Butler is executive producer. Les Sillers is editor in chief. I'm Nick Eicher.
- [38:23]
Myrna Brown
And I'm Myrna Brown. 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 Bible says you are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a stand and it gives light to all in the house in the same way. Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Verses 14 through 16 of Matthew, chapter 5. Your weekly reminder. Now go to a Bible believing church this weekend because the Christian life is to be lived together. Be encouraged and be an encourager and Lord willing will be right back here with you on Monday. Go now in grace and peace.