Thursday Morning Briefing (Apr. 3, 2025)

Good morning! Here are the things I have links for today:

Marriage Rate in the US Plummets - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1N9ZTF8HaW/

12 “senior priests” resign from UMC in Zimbabwe - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FRXZmHZHE/?mibextid=wwXIfr and https://www.thezimbabwemail.com/zimbabwe/methodist-pastors-quit-church-over-homosexuality-stance/

“Southern Baptist Turbulence” by Mark Tooley - https://juicyecumenism.com/2025/04/01/southern-baptist-turbulence/

“Nigerian faith leaders appeal to US to pressure their country on religious violence” by Fredrick Nzwili of Religion News Service - https://religionnews.com/2025/03/18/from-congress-to-nigerian-clerics-cry-out-over-religious-freedom-violations-as-calls-for-u-s-sanctions-rise/

“Strange Bedfellows: In Arkansas, gambling opponents took over $21M from Choctaw Nation to fight competing casino” by Kim Roberts of Ministry Watch - https://ministrywatch.com/strange-bedfellows-anti-gambling-groups-led-by-church-leaders-partner-with-casino/

———————————

If you would like to join my Locals community, where I give a full morning briefing (where this came from), go to plainspoken.locals.com and become a supporter!

If you would like to subscribe to my pastoral Substack, where I publish articles on topics pertaining to pastoral ministry and Methodism, you can go to jeffreyrickman.substack.com.

If you would like to subscribe to the PlainSpoken Podcast Substack, where I publish articles, video, and audio pertaining to Methodism and the culture war, you can go to plainspokenpod.substack.com.

If you're not interested in any of that stuff, but you want to give directly to my church, you can go to https://tithe.ly/give?c=2198808 and make a donation there. Thanks!