Monthly News Roundup (03.30.23)

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Plain Bible Teaching Podcast

This episode is our monthly news roundup for March. In this episode, we’re talking about the recent Nashville school shooting, the connection between drinking alcohol and one’s sense of purpose, and what changed Rick Warren’s mind on women leadership in the church.

STORY #1 – What We Know about the Covenant School Shooting in Nashville

“Six people were killed at a small, private Christian school just south of downtown Nashville on Monday after a shooter opened fire inside the building of about 200 students, police said.

“Police received a call about an active shooter at The Covenant School — a Presbyterian school — around 10:15 a.m. Authorities said that about 15 minutes after that call to police, the shooter was dead. The remaining students were ferried to a safe location to be reunited with their parents.

[…]

“Police gave unclear information on the shooter’s gender. For hours, police identified the shooter as a 28-year-old woman and eventually as Audrey Hale. Then at a late afternoon press conference, the police chief said that Hale was transgender. After the news conference, police spokesperson Don Aaron declined to elaborate on how Hale identified.

“In an email Tuesday, police spokesperson Kristin Mumford said Hale ‘was assigned female at birth. Hale did use male pronouns on a social media profile.’”

[…]

“Police Chief John Drake said Hale’s parents were unaware that Hale had obtained most of the weapons. They told police Hale was under a doctor’s care for an undisclosed emotional disorder, Drake said.” (AP News)

Related material:

STORY #2 – Want to Stop Drinking Alcohol? All You May Need Is a Greater Sense of Purpose

“Neurologists from the University of Pennsylvania say that reevaluating your life’s purpose could curb the overwhelming craving for alcohol. The findings open up new non-pharmaceutical strategies to reduce binge drinking among young adults.”

[…]

“When the researchers considered a person’s life purpose, however, they found an interesting trend. People who reported having a strong purpose in life did not drink more after seeing alcohol cues — even when their brains showed they were strongly craving alcohol. On the other hand, people who did not have a purpose were more likely to drink after craving alcohol.” (Study Finds)

Related material:

STORY #3 – Rick Warren Shifts Perspective on Church Leadership: ‘What Changed My Mind Was Scripture’

“Two years after three women were ordained as pastors at Saddleback Church, Southern California preacher Rick Warren is explaining his shift in perspective on female leadership.

“Warren, who recently stepped down from his senior pastor role at Saddleback, has faced a lot of criticism for his decision to allow female leadership within the church. In fact, earlier this year, the Southern Baptist Convention voted to oust the Lake Forest congregation — its second-largest member church — because a woman is on the pastoral staff.

“The best-selling author briefly explained his change of heart in a column for Premier Christianity.

“‘Most people think that if you change your mind on the issue of women in church leadership, you must be caving in to culture,’ he wrote. ‘You must be becoming a liberal. You must not believe the Bible anymore.’

“Warren, 69, said ‘none of those things’ are true of him. Rather, he explained, it was his study of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) and the recounting of the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21) that led to his shift in perspective.

“He wrote: ‘There are four verbs in the Great Commission: go, make disciples, baptize, and teach. Men and women are to do all four things. Women are to go, women are to make disciples. Women are to baptize and women are to teach. You can’t say: “Well, the first two are for men and women, but the second two are only for men.” The Great Commission was given to every person; not just men and not just ordained people.’” (Faithwire)