The Weekly is a highlight of the work the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is doing to strengthen you and our churches for God’s glory.

5 Facts about the State of the Union Address

On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump gave his third State of the Union address, and the 97th such in-person address in American history.

Here are five facts you should know about this constitutionally-mandated presidential message:

This Week at the ERLC

Dan Darling was in Missouri speaking at Hannibal-LaGrange University. He also wrote about preaching and race in Lifeway’s Facts & Trends.

What You Need to Know

Josiah Presley, one of the abortion survivors featured in a 30-second ad that Fox Sports chose not to run during the Super Bowl, is a Criswell College graduate and a youth pastor at Galloway Avenue Baptist Church in Mesquite, Texas. “Can you look me in the eye and tell me that I shouldn’t be alive?” Presley asks in the ad made by Faces of Choice.

Caring for those who are suffering from addiction is not an endorsement of sin, gluttony, or the use of illicit substances. When Jesus called us to care “for the least of these” (Matt. 25:40), I believe it includes those who are in destitute and destructive situations. Being present in the lives of those who struggle with addiction provides us with a beautiful opportunity to love people in the midst of their affliction and point them to the One in whom true satisfaction is found.

Finally, this moment is a reminder that Christians ought to work diligently for the preservation of religious liberty in the U.S. and abroad. The case brought against FTS is only a symptom of a bigger issue at play in society. Whether in higher education, politics, or popular culture, many people want Christians with biblical convictions contrary to the ever-changing wisdom of the current age to retreat from the public square.

News From Capitol Hill

The second session of the 116th Congress is underway, and the ERLC is active with the work of speaking from our Southern Baptist churches into the legislative process. Throughout 2020, the ERLC will continue to work to make progress on core areas of our agenda, such as pro-life and religious liberty legislation. The ERLC will also work to advance targeted pieces of legislation with broad, bipartisan support on the federal level.

The 2020 Legislative Agenda lays out the ERLC’s core legislative priorities for the coming year to serve Southern Baptists and all of our neighbors.

Further, the ERLC will continue to advance our agenda through regulatory activity before federal agencies as we expect the Trump Administration to continue to issue a number of regulations that uphold human dignity and religious liberty, and we will support those regulatory actions. We will also continue our advocacy before the federal judiciary, including submitting amicus briefs at the Supreme Court on foundational cases.

In the midst of a challenging political environment, the ERLC will continue to defend existing protections for life and religious liberty while seeking opportunities to advance the issues Southern Baptists care about in Washington, D.C.

During the State of the Union Address, President Trump addressed the sanctity of life and the foundational responsibility of government to protect the unborn. ERLC President Russell Moore emphasized why upholding human dignity ought to be a priority for all Americans:

"I am thankful to President Trump for raising the issue of the sanctity of human life at this years State of the Union. He is right that the abortion culture is an injustice that should be ended. The dignity of all human beings, regardless of age, development, or power, should be a priority for all Americans and should transcend all ideological, partisan, or geographical divisions.

We should hope for the day when justice is done in this area, and when vulnerable mothers and their babies receive the care and support they need. I look forward to working with the president and other elected officials toward that end in terms of policy. Moreover, I look forward to churches continuing to minister through alternatives to abortion, care for women in crisis, adoption and foster care, and other avenues of service to those who deserve better than what the abortion industry offers."

The ERLC will also bring our advocacy to the state level, working with state leaders and pastors. We will continue to take our advocacy to the international stage, bearing witness before the United Nations, where few other similar organizations are working consistently.

We know the task before us is immense and beyond what any human organization or institution can accomplish. Yet we serve a God who possesses all of the power in the universe and who is actively building his Kingdom. And so, we invite Southern Baptists to join us in prayer and action as we seek together to be used by God for his purposes on earth.

To learn more, you can download our 2020 Legislative Agenda here.

Featured Podcasts

On The Way Home podcast, Beth Moore joins Dan Darling to talk about her love for the Bible and when she first realized she wanted to teach the Bible. She also shares how the church was a refuge for her as a child growing up in an abusive home. Moore is the author of the brand new book Chasing Vines: Finding Your Way to an Immensely Fruitful Life. Listen to their conversation here.

From The Public Square

Religious Liberty: Not Just for Social Conservatives
David French, The Dispatch

The worst way to approach American civil liberties is to support or oppose them based on your limited understanding of who, exactly, will benefit from freedom.

Cohabitation: Safety Net or Stability Threat?
Institute for Family Studies

Not only does cohabitation fail as a divorce-prevention safety net, it may also be associated with increased marital infidelity.

Community leaders call out elected officials, schools for lack of classroom education to prevent human trafficking
Christina Carrega, ABC News

Every year the number of boys and girls that are identified as victims of human trafficking increases around the world and in the United States, yet, there's only one state that requires students to learn how to prevent becoming a victim.

Africa’s Young Christians Face Danger From Islamic Extremism
Nina Shea, Religion Unplugged

An ongoing Islamic extremist project to exterminate Christians in sub-Saharan Africa is even more brutal and more consequential for the Church than it is in the Middle East, the place where Christians suffered ISIS “genocide,” as the U.S. government officially designated.