We go again to Eric Church’s challenge to the graduates of University of North Carolina:

The people who tend to their faith in ordinary seasons do not come undone in the extraordinary ones. They still hurt. They will still sit in hospital waiting rooms asking unanswerable questions at 3 in the morning, but they have a foundation to return to. – Eric Church

Some people are really put to the test. David and Alicia Lloyd were missionaries to Haiti, running a children’s home in Port Au Prince. Their son, Davy, in his early 20s, had recently married a lovely Christian girl, Natalie, and they were enjoying serving in Haiti together. After all, Davy grew up there.

On March 23, 2024, Davy and Natalie, along with Judes (pronounced “Jude”), a Haitian staff member, were brutally murdered by one of the (too) many gangs that operate virtually unimpeded in Port Au Prince. The parents, again, David and Alicia, worked with my friend and accomplished Christian author Dean Merrill to write a book about their mission, their son and his wife, and their murder.

Strong to the End is short (June and I both read it the same day), but it’s a brutal read. Satan-inspired sin is real and ugly:

The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy… (John 10.10)

When I say “brutal and ugly,” here’s an example. The bodies of Davy and Natalie were flown home for burial in Missouri. Judes was buried in Haiti, of course, but in his casket was the part of Davy’s leg that was cut off by the murderers.

The Foreword of Strong to the End opens with:

There are stories that shape our faith, and there are stories that test it. The pages you are about to read do both. – Mike Pence, 48th Vice President of the United States

Test our faith? You bet:

• Why do the good ones die early?
• Why does God allow the deaths of two of the finest, most dedicated people of their generation?
• Why do their godly parents have to go through the pain of burying their children?
• Why are there no guarantees of outcomes when we give our lives to God’s service? (Of course there are no guarantees of outcomes any time. See the story of my friend Bob Edelstein. He didn’t know the end game when he married Theresa, maybe, 10 years ago.)

And so it goes. But it’s not a new story. Read Acts 12. James dies. Peter lives. Stephen’s martyrdom is reported in Acts 7, at the hands of Saul of Tarsus who later becomes the Apostle Paul. I’m praying that some of those gang members meet Jesus in this life.

And the counsel of a country singer still stands:

The people who tend to their faith in ordinary seasons do not come undone in the extraordinary ones. They still hurt. They will still sit in hospital waiting rooms asking unanswerable questions at 3 in the morning, but they have a foundation to return to. – Eric Church

You can read about the book Strong to the End, along with as yet not completely updated info about the work at https://www.missionsinhaiti.com/.

…Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. (Hebrews 11.35 – 40, ESV)

It’s the 82nd anniversary of the Allied invasion of Europe. A reminder that freedom isn’t free and homage to all the soldiers over whom millions of people rejoiced on May 8, 1945, less than a year later.

It’s worth a pause to remember that freedom isn’t free. Over 4,000 allied soldiers died that day. The opening scene of Saving Private Ryan (9+ minutes) captures some of the horror of it:

Here are a few of the comments posted on this film clip:

Imagine living for 18-30 years, then going through weeks of demanding training, just be shot dead immediately after the landing boat door opens.

This is thought to be the most accurate depiction of war ever put to film. Hundreds of veterans walked out of seeing it in theaters because it was too much to take in.

I’d like to say a thanks to all the brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice on June 6th 1944, lest we forget.

I can’t improve on those.

Here is a first-person account from a 101-year-old veteran of D-Day. Jake Larson passed away on July 27, 2025, at the age of 102.

Wright Bryan, a graduate of my alma mater, Clemson University. broadcast the the first radio report of the invasion. He went on to have a distinguished career in journalism and was Vice-President for Development at Clemson when I was a student. (Of course, none of us undergrads knew any of that history.)

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15.13, ESV)

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5.8, ESV)

Note: this blog originally posted here on June 6, 2024, the 80th anniversary of the invasion. It reappears with minor edits.

The story of Johanan, hero of chapter 41, continues. They ask Jeremiah for direction…

Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan… and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the LORD your God for us, for all this remnant…that the LORD your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.”

…and promise to obey:

Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the LORD your God according to your request, and whatever the LORD answers you I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you.” Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the LORD your God sends you to us. Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.”  (Jeremiah 42.1 – 6, ESV)

So after 10 days, Jeremiah gives a clear answer:

Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. Do not fear the king of Babylon…for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. (Jeremiah 42.9 – 11, ESV)

The story continues in chapter 43. To recap:

• People: Jeremiah, should we go to Egypt? Whatever you tell us, we’ll do.
• Jeremiah: No. Don’t go to Egypt. That’s a really bad idea. (See Jeremiah 42)

So, naturally, the people said, “Your word from the Lord is clear. We won’t go to Egypt.”

I crack myself up. Here’s what they really said:

When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the LORD their God, with which the LORD their God had sent him to them, Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The LORD our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to live there.'” (Jeremiah 43.1, 2, ESV)

They acted immediately:

But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven— the men, the women, the children, the princesses, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the LORD. And they arrived at Tahpanhes. (Jeremiah 43.5 – 7, ESV)

So Jeremiah has to deliver another message of judgment:

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his royal canopy over them. He shall come and strike the land of Egypt, giving over to the pestilence those who are doomed to the pestilence, to captivity those who are doomed to captivity, and to the sword those who are doomed to the sword. (Jeremiah 43.10, 11, ESV)

An obvious lesson.

Don’t merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says! (James 1.22, NIV)

Most of the people from Judah have been taken to Babylon, but not all, including Jeremiah. Now begins an interesting section: what happens to those left behind? It begins:

Jeremiah is offered a choice: to stay in Jerusalem or move to Babylon. Jeremiah chooses to stay in Judea.

If you remain, then return to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever you think it right to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go. Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land. (Jeremiah 40.5, 6, ESV)

Gedaliah is appointed governor, and he instructed the Israeli soldiers who had not been taken to Babylon.

Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. As for me, I will dwell at Mizpah, to represent you before the Chaldeans who will come to us. But as for you, gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” (Jeremiah 40.9, 10, ESV)

And so they did…

Likewise, when all the Judeans who were in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over them, then all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance. (Jeremiah 40.11, 12, ESV)

Then, a warning:

Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and said to him, “Do you know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them. (Jeremiah 40.13, 14, ESV)

It’s not clear why Gedaliah didn’t believe the warning, but it was true. Johanan wanted to kill Ishamel…

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael.” In the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. As they ate bread together there at Mizpah, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there. (Jeremiah 40.16 – 41.3, ESV)

Then Ishamael killed 70 of 80 men who had come down from Shechem. And…

Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.

Ishmael is NOT a good guy! But Johanan to the rescue!

But when Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. They came upon him at the great pool that is in Gibeon. And when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. So all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. (Jeremiah 41.10 – 14, ESV)

Note, “When all the people…saw Johanan and all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced.” There is a time for war, and those who fight are heroes who bring joy.

As long as there is evil, there will be a need for war and soldiers to fight it. We’ve just celebrated Memorial Day, the day we remember all those who died fighting for others. Coming up shortly is D-Day, a day that resulted in A LOT of soldiers to remember on Memorial Day, but which paved the way for rejoicing when the Allied Forces finally liberated Europe.

Armed forces used for good:

When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people. (Genesis 14.14 – 16, ESV)

Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way…

Behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled. David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all. (2 Samuel 30.1, 2, 16 – 19, ESV)

Continuing in Jeremiah, we need to tie up loose ends on King Zedekiah. We saw him in the story of Jeremiah being thrown into the cistern. First Zedekiah gives permission for his officials to do that, then he listens to Ebed-Melech and has him pulled out of the cistern.

Jeremiah gives a final warning to Zedekiah: surrender to the Chaldeans:

But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” (Jeremiah 38.18, 19, ESV)

Zedekiah is more afraid of his own countrymen, doesn’t surrender to the enemy and meets a bad end in Jeremiah 39.

When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls; and they went toward the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, at Riblah, in the land of Hamath; and he passed sentence on him. The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. (Jeremiah 39.4 – 7, ESV)

It’s hard to know what the best application is for this story other than God’s purposes will stand, and maybe fear-motivated decisions are sometimes (maybe, usually) not the best.

At any rate, Zedekiah’s capture puts the punctuation mark on the captivity. For Judah, it’s over, at least for 70 years!

See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. (Deuteronomy 30.15 – 18, ESV)

The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy. Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. (2 Chronicles 36.15 – 21, ESV)

I wrote yesterday about my disappointment with people who might experience “grief, frustration, and loss” over a few simple changes to service times. I don’t think we’re doing a good job of producing robust and resilient disciples.

They seem to be doing a better job in China. An article by Brian Spegele in the May 20, 2026, Wall Street Journal has this headline: China Is Throwing Christians in Jail, but This Pastor Refuses to Back Down and this subtitle: Ezra Jin kept his church going—and growing—through years of government intimidation. Now confined to a cell, his defiant faith is still rousing believers. The lengthy article, worth the read in its entirety, opens:

Pastor Ezra Jin was just finishing dinner with his elderly mother-in-law in the Chinese city of Beihai last October when more than a dozen police appeared at the door. 

They stormed the apartment, confiscated his phones and computer, and hauled him off to jail.

Since then, he’s been confined to a dank cell at Beihai’s No. 2 Detention Center, cut off from his flock and his family, 8,000 miles away in the U.S. His sin: leading a church that Xi Jinping couldn’t bring to heel.

Here’s the climate in China under Xi:

Authorities once tolerated Jin and others like him, back when China’s economy was thriving and the country was gradually opening up to the world. 

Then Xi took power and began tightening the screws. Officials interrogated churchgoers, threatened they could lose their jobs and pressured landlords who rented space to churches. Authorities demanded surveillance cameras be installed at Zion. Some of Jin’s assets were frozen, and he was barred from leaving China.

Jin refused to back down. After authorities raided Zion in 2018 and shut it down, he took his preaching online using Zoom and other digital tools—and reached more followers than ever, placing the pastor on a dangerous crash course with Xi’s government. 

His arrest was part of one of China’s biggest crackdowns on Christianity in decades. Jin is being held for suspected “illegal use of information networks” related to Zion’s online ministry, along with 17 others associated with the church. 

And how are the believers handling it? The article continues:

The struggle is about more than one man’s stubborn refusal to surrender his faith. 

To a degree many observers thought impossible when China’s leader took power more than a decade ago, Xi has succeeded in using digital surveillance and tough jail sentences to silence activists, lawyers and business leaders who speak out of turn. But he still can’t fully control Christians, who number in the tens of millions in China.

In fact, many believers say the more authorities seek to suppress Christianity in China, the more the faith will spread and grow stronger.

“It’s the highest honor for a Christian, for people like Pastor Jin, being put in prison,” said Sean Long, another pastor at Zion. “That’s exactly the mark of following Jesus.” 

As I say, you can read the article in its entirety, but I think you get my point: I can’t imagine these people being upset about a change in service times!

…so that we may no longer be children…we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. (Ephesians 4.14, 15, ESV)

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5.11, 12, ESV)

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4.12, 13, ESV)

I will probably get in trouble for this post, but I am really disturbed about this announcement in a church’s email to its members:

As a reminder… Our new Worship and Sunday Community times go into effect June 7.

• Sanctuary will be at 8:30a and 10:15a.
• Worship Center will gather at 9:30a and 11a.
• Most of our Sunday communities will span 9:45a-10:45a, but several will gather earlier or later.

As we’ve already mentioned… grief accompanies any change. As the church works to smooth out wrinkles over the coming months, please be especially sensitive to those experiencing frustration or loss. Be ready to listen authentically, encourage openness to new things, and pass along relevant comments.

What am I disturbed about? Do you see it?

We are a wealthy, spoiled country whose churches have raised up weak, self-centered “disciples” if changing service times causes someone to experience “frustration or loss.” The rest of the members are called to “listen authentically and encourage openness to new things…”

“…grief accompanies any change.”

Really? What kind of change are we talking about?

• 8:30 Sanctuary, no change.
• 10:00 Sanctuary, goes from 1000 – 11:00 to 10:15 – 11:15. Whoa! 15 minutes later.
• 9:00 Worship Center, goes to 9:30 – 10:30, a whopping 30-minute change.
• 11:00 Worship Center, no change.

I’m having trouble mustering sympathy for “grief” and “frustration or loss” on changing service times. I wrote on May 24 about a mother who came home from a business trip to find her 3-year-old son shot to death by his father who then committed suicide. THAT is worth experiencing “frustration and loss” over! NOT changing service times by a few minutes. (Maybe those of you with pastor’s hearts can help me with this.)

Let’s change the comparison: there are millions of Christians in China who would be delighted to have a building to meet in, and a chance to meet without the threat of their pastor or any of the members being hauled off to prison. More on that tomorrow. Please stay tuned.

Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11.35 – 38, ESV)

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2.3, 4, ESV)

Scripture is filled with examples of little-known people who made a big difference. Paul’s nephew comes to mind. He heard men plotting to kill Paul…

Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” (Acts 23.16 – 21, ESV)

We don’t even know his name! How about Ebed-Melech, the Ethiopian? Heard of him? Me neither until I read Jeremiah 38.

King Zedekiah doesn’t seem to be much of a guy. First he listens to his officials and has Jeremiah imprisoned:

Then the officials said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.” King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.” So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. (Jeremiah 38.4 – 6, ESV)

Then, Zedekiah rescues Jeremiah at the bequest of “Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian.”

When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate— Ebed-melech went from the king’s house and said to the king, “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.” Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” (Jeremiah 38.7 – 10, ESV)

So Ebed-Melech forms a team…

Then they drew Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. (Jeremiah 38.13, ESV)

Jeremiah is still confined but not at the bottom of a cistern! And what does Ebed-melech get for his trouble? A blessing!

The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard: “Go, and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. But I will deliver you on that day, declares the LORD, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, declares the LORD.’ ” (Jeremiah 39.15 – 18, ESV)

“You shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid.” Ebed-melech was afraid, but he trusted God and acted in spite of his fear. Therefore, “I will surely save you…because you have put your trust in me, declares the LORD.”

The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. (Nahum 1.7, ESV)

Returning to Jeremiah, we have the story in chapter 36 about how NOT to listen to God’s Word. It opens with Jeremiah dictating God’s words to Baruch who reads it in several public venues. Well-meaning men recognize that repentance is called for, and they also recognize the danger:

And they said to him, “Sit down and read it.” So Baruch read it to them. When they heard all the words, they turned one to another in fear. And they said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?” Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me, while I wrote them with ink on the scroll.” Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.” (Jeremiah 36.15 – 19, ESV)

Then they read the scroll to the king:

Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary. And Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. It was the ninth month, and the king was sitting in the winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, nor did they tear their garments. Even when Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. (Jeremiah 36.21 – 25, ESV)

Not only no repentance, blatant defiance. The strategy was “Shoot the Messenger” in Jeremiah 18. Here it’s Burn the Scroll. Of course, burning the scroll won’t make the judgment go away:

Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the LORD, You have burned this scroll…

And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’ ” (Jeremiah 36.27 – 31, ESV)

And there is more work for Jeremiah and Baruch!

Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire… (Jeremiah 36.32, ESV)

There will always be kings who think they’re in charge and don’t need God. But it’s not just kings. We all need to read the Word with understanding, repentance and transformation.

Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says! (James 1.22, NIV)

PS There’s another way to “burn the scroll.” So-called Progressive Christianity (should be Progressive Non-Christianity) has been burning the scroll for some time. See When Marcuse replaced Moses: How progressive seminaries and denominations radicalized and collapsed by Travis Hearne.

A bit long, but stay with me…

I closed yesterday’s “analytics” blog with the idea that the church needs to do more than just count the bodies in the building. Jesus challenged us to be salt and light in the world. An influence. And we can’t do that if we remain isolated.

My friend Mike Metzger pointed out in a recent essay that Pope Leo XIV’s first “encyclical,” Magnificent Humanity: on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence attempts to do just that – exert an influence.

Mike’s essay: Dense, Overlapping Networks is short and worth the read in its entirety. He argues that in order to minister well to particular groups of people we should be networking with people from those groups. As one of my math professors would say, “An obviosity.”

By contrast, a number of years ago Mike was a guest at a “faith and work” conference about which he observed, “There didn’t appear to be any businesspeople in attendance at the faith and work conference.”

Striking about Pope Leo’s Encyclical’s debut was that on stage with Leo was Anthropic [an artificial intelligence company] co-founder Christopher Olah. Mike writes:

Leo and Olah, a 33-year-old atheist tech leader, might seem to make an unlikely duo in championing a partnership in developing safeguards for the development of AI. They’re not. For the last 10 years, the Vatican has partnered with networks of tech leaders to address the challenges and opportunities that AI presents. Olah is part of this partnership. On Monday, he highlighted the need for tech leaders to be in dialogue with people who are not motivated by the vast sums of money AI tech companies are chasing — some estimates put Anthropic’s value at about $300 billion — while Pope Leo said the “gravity of the moment” meant the church must lend its moral voice. – Mike Metzger, May 27, 2026 

Mike goes on to point that the church used to exert such influence. He quotes from James Hunter’s 2010 book To Change the World:

Hunter asserted that we’re not changing the world as the early and medieval Church did. She had global impact, changing the world by partnering with dense, overlapping networks of elites and the institutions that they lead – be they people of faith, no faith, or differing faiths.

Back to the encyclical, I can’t say I agree with everything Pope Leo said in the encyclical. For starters, it’s about 90 pages long, so I haven’t read all of it! Some that have like parts of it and have a few reservations. Others wholeheartedly endorse Pope Leo’s overall theme. This piece by Russell Moore of Christianity Today is worth the read in its entirety.

I have read the concluding section, and I really like his personal challenges to believers. I offer you snippets without comment (The numbers refer to section numbers in the document, and I have added bullets for clarity):

• 237. Let us remain faithful to the truth! …
• 238. Let us invest in education, beginning with ourselves! …
• 239. Let us cultivate relationships! …
• 240. Let us love justice and peace! …

241. As we look to the future, I would like to recall the image of Nehemiah whom we chose as our companion and guide at the outset. Nehemiah

• heard the cry of a devastated city,
• brought that pain to prayer,
• discerned before God,
• asked for help,
• received permission to return,
• organized the work,
• confronted internal and external resistance and
• rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem with the assistance of the people, brick by brick.

In this era of digital transformation, I see in him a striking parable of our own vocation, which is not to be passive spectators of social and cultural fractures, nor mere commentators on what is crumbling, but men and women prepared

• to enter the construction sites of history — research laboratories, technology companies, schools, the media, institutions and local communities — in order
• to rebuild what has collapsed and
• protect what is threatened. Like Nehemiah, we too are called
• to unite listening and courage, prayer and responsibility,

so that, even when a technocratic mentality or partisan interests seem to prevail, the human city may become a more fitting place to live.

243. After having considered

• faith, which contemplates the Father’s loving plan;
• love, which unites us …
• hope, which sustains our actions in the world,

the fourth pillar of this program for Christian life is prayer.

Catholic or not (Mike Metzger is, and I am not), this is good stuff. His application of Nehemiah parallels mine in my book Everyone on the Wall.

To return to our original challenge, let’s not be content to win on “analytics.” Let’s be about making a difference through what James Hunter calls “faithful presence.”

You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world. – Jesus (Matthew 5.13, 14)

Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision. – Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2.17, ESV)