It was a Lifeway Research report earlier this spring that “triggered” my interest on church security. Most of us in the faith community seem to go about our weekly church business not too concerned about safety at our house of worship. Fortunately, others take this quite seriously. Church security is a broader topic than one might think. I recall my membership in a Dallas megachurch in the 1980s where building and parking garage security was a must. Occasional visits from relatively non-threatening types often needed to be escorted from the premises. Even the pastor had a personal security detail present before and after services. Times have changed.

I recently had a speaking tour through three South American countries. As I talked with many Christians in these nations, I heard a lot of discouragement. They feel they simply don’t have the influence they need to see positive change occur. In some of the countries, Marxism has taken root and has a stranglehold on politics and economics. Many Protestant Christians I talked to there are hoping to start Christian schools and desire to legalize homeschooling. This seems daunting as Protestants make up only 10-20% of the population.

In a recent article, I addressed the claim that abortion gives women the power to avoid a family burden when they don’t want it. I showed the other side of the story that is rarely, if ever, mentioned: accessible abortion strips women of the power to demand family security when they need it. Drawing analysis from a 1994 study co-authored by the current (pro-choice) U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, I explained how an industry based on "choice" doesn't always give that choice to the mother.

Tim Ballard has recently become a celebrated hero in the war on sex trafficking through the film “The Sound of Freedom”, which portrays his life and the organization he founded, Operation Underground Railroad. As you know the IFI has long been a champion of anything which supports Christian values and which strengthens and supports the traditional family, and certainly coming against child pornography and child sex trafficking is consistent with that mission. But as members of our staff have researched Tim Ballard and his organization OUR, many concerning facts have come to light.

Accessible abortion gives women power, or so they say. As they put it, a baby on the way potentially jeopardizes a woman's professional career or even her social life. In short, if women aren't able to decide when to—excuse the euphemism—"terminate their pregnancies," then they are necessarily reduced to second-class citizens who cannot control their future.

In our recent discussion of fatalism contrasted with the biblical worldview, we saw that physical resources are only as good as the theology that wields them. That is, some otherwise wealthy cultures are shackled by fatalist worldviews positing that there is little point in trying to improve anyone’s lot in life—people are irrevocably bound by their social class or by their circumstances. Societies like these might be given the resources to help those in need, but if they fatalistically refuse to help the lowly or distressed, the suffering may very well go on suffering.

No problem can be solved unless you can see it clearly. Too often, people jump in and act without having any real understanding of the problem--its nature and scope, its scale and dimensions. They make assumptions and conclusions, without proper investigation and clarity. The result is always the same when you act without understanding. Failure.

Kings and others have used the Bible and assumptions based upon narratives in it to support the divine right of monarchs, but their arguments were weak. History is largely the story of governments coming and going, kings and rulers rising and falling. It is a rather bleak narrative and is not complimentary to humanity. It begs the question, “Does the Bible address human government?”

Why is there so much enthusiasm by so many people to celebrate non-heterosexual sexuality? For a whole month? It was June 11, 1999 that President Clinton proclaimed June as “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.” President Obama changed it to “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month” on May 31, 2011. Why do we even have it? Why are certain groups selected to have a day or a month dedicated to their recognition, celebration, honor, or just acknowledgment?

Children don’t exist in the mind of the radical Left...Every one of these is an example of forcing concepts, causes, and irreversible, life-altering decisions upon minds and bodies that are too young to correctly handle, process, or act on them. But since most of the Left believes children are simply miniature adults, this isn’t a problem for them. As a result of this tragic lie, in our nation, childhood gets shorter and shorter with every passing year, with innocence no longer considered a gift to be protected or a value worth upholding.

Chloe Cole is a self-described “former trans kid” who de-transitioned after undergoing years of puberty blockers and an irreversible double mastectomy at the age of 15.

Politicians and government officials have debated about LGBT issues for quite some time now. Decades in fact. Bathroom and locker-room laws, "don't-ask-don't-tell" in the armed services, and whether or not to apply anti-discrimination laws to sexual orientation have all flashed across the national stage at various points in time. The decisions politicians and judges have made in situations like these have had far-reaching consequences for our nation.

Propaganda has rather negative connotations. Because it is generally used in pursuit of an agenda, truth may be irrelevant or even an obstacle. Whether you agree with the terminology, it is considered propaganda when a country prepares its citizens and military for war. Because it is not generally acceptable to want to kill another person, the military mostly trains its soldiers to hate the enemy.

Did you know a lot of people on the left now deny wokeism exists? They are saying that it can’t be defined and just means whatever you want it to mean. Therefore, they say, wokeism is merely another conservative mantra for whatever policy one disagrees with. Politicians in Illinois have been saying that a lot these days in order to pass (you guessed it) woke legislation.

On May 15, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced two bills to the U.S. Senate—one that would prohibit federal funds from supporting gender transition procedures, and another that would altogether ban such procedures on minors.