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Greetings!

The goal this week is to be “short and sweet” with my DHD. Let’s see if I succeed. And I welcome your feedback whether you approve or disapprove.

  1. Billy Donovan new Thunder Coach

Two weeks ago, I said don’t believe the Thunder will get rid of Coach Scott Brooks. Last week, I said I was concerned about the Thunder pursuing a coach with no NBA experience. This week, I’m starting to like the Thunder announcing Billy Donovan as the new head coach. Let’s see how contradictory I can be next week.

  1. Supreme Court Marriage Trial

Big stuff happened this week with the Marriage Trial beginning in the Supreme Court. Please continue to pray, and let’s see God move in a way that only He can through this historic hearing. Also, check out Russell Moore’s post “10 questions about marriage from the Supreme Court arguments.” It’s the best, Jerry, the best!

  1. Baltimore Riots

It’s been a heavy week in Baltimore. I know there’s a lot of confusion, frustration and politicization happening. But there are small elements of encouragement coming from the chaos. The single mom publicly chastising her 16-year-old son; the little boy offering a bottle of water to a police officer; the older men showing support by standing in front of the police blockade. Trillia Newbell has a great article in the Washington Post, sharing other “good news” from Baltimore.

  1. Walker Moore on Bruce Jenner

Walker Moore is a regular columnist for the Baptist Messenger. If you are not familiar with his column, you need to be. He has offered light-hearted yet Gospel-centered articles for many years. A sneak preview for the May 7 Baptist Messenger, Walker’s column may be one of his funniest yet inspiring pieces I have ever read, as he shares his recent experience of “Nursery Duty.”

But that’s not what I wanted to share right now about Walker. He did a “Messenger Insight” with Brian Hobbs this week on the topic of “Bruce Jenner, the Bible and our sexual identity.” Find out what Walker means when he said, “Every man is waiting for another man to speak ‘into’ him.”

  1. Ben Carson not speaking at SBC’s Pastors Conference

Last week it was announced that possible presidential candidate and well-known neurosurgeon Ben Carson cancelled his appearance at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Pastors Conference in Columbus, Ohio in June. As Trevin Wax explains, this is to be a setting of communicating the Gospel of Jesus instead of unity around a political platform.

To be clear, this decision was not to discredit Dr. Carson or give a sign the SBC is not concerned about political issues. Those in charge thought it was causing a distraction against uniting the Convention, and since there is a great emphasis to draw younger Southern Baptist leaders, both Carson and the Pastors Conference leadership agreed to not have the conservative political figure speak this year. I hope all involved will be understanding and supportive. The SBC needs to maintain influence both now and even more so in the future.

  1. Pacquiao proclaims his Christian faith

Tomorrow night will be the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, which is being promoted as the Fight of the Century. Boxing has lost its luster of the past few decades, so I understand the billing and the significance of this fight, even though I don’t know much about these two fighters. But I was pleased to find a video that is being distributed of Manny Pacquiao sharing his faith and proclaiming “There is no other way of salvation except through Jesus Christ.”

Watch this two-minute clip: