Episode 442

ERLC Urges Congress to Uphold Beliefs, Churches Paying for the Use of X & Baptisms Are the Best

Sep 22, 2023

Life, religious liberty, conscience protections and opposition to gender transition are among top priorities the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission advocated to Congress approaching the 2024 funding cycle. When it comes to X (formerly Twitter), church leaders may soon get the opportunity to truly take it or leave it. And, Jeff Iorg, president of Gateway Seminary in California, says baptisms are just the best.

Transcript

Life, religious liberty, conscience protections and opposition to gender transition are among top priorities the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission advocated to Congress approaching the 2024 funding cycle.

The ERLC urged leaders of the Senate and House appropriations committees to keep taxpayer dollars from causes objectionable life and human flourishing. They also included areas of support and areas of concerns as Congress debates 2024 appropriation bills.
The letter followed a Sept. 14 letter appealing to the Senate and House armed services committees to prevent the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) from funding abortion and gender transition procedures and to prioritize parental leave policies.
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When it comes to X (formerly Twitter), church leaders may soon get the opportunity to truly take it or leave it.

Comments on Sept. 18 by the platform’s CEO, Elon Musk, included requiring users to pay a “small monthly payment,” something he has hinted at for some time.

“It’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots,” he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the livestreamed conversation.

Bots are automated programs designed to mimic human users on social media. They are most often associated with being used in dishonest or nefarious ways and work at a pace not possible for human users. Hence, they are a major contributor to online negativity.

Churches tend to focus their social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Accounts on X exist, but generally lag in activity compared to those of pastors and other church leaders. And even for the latter two categories, the way X is used makes a difference as to the need to pay for it.

Most of the pastors we talked to said they wouldn’t see the benefit to pay for the ability to post on X.
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Good News for Today is made possible through our friends at The Voice of the Martyrs, a nonprofit organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. Founded in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, VOM is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission — no matter the cost. Find out more and sign up for their free monthly magazine at vom.org/goodnews.
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Jeff Iorg, president of Gateway Seminary in California, says baptisms are just the best.

On Baptist Press he writes, “Baptism is a powerful declaration of public witness, not just for the baptismal candidate but for the church gathered as people remember their own baptismal moment. When new believers invite their friends to their baptism, they will often come. The event then becomes more than a religious ritual. It becomes a gospel-declaring event.”

You can read the full piece and learn more about our daily emails at Baptist Press.com.

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