FATHERHOOD, FAMILY, AND GOD

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With a powerful win and an even stronger message, Scottie Scheffler and Nike have spotlighted fatherhood as the true measure of greatness in a culture that often overlooks it.

Fatherhood and family — which are often portrayed negatively in popular culture — received a rare moment of glory recently, thanks to Nike’s heartwarming ad celebrating pro golfer Scottie Scheffler’s win at The Open Championship in Northern Ireland.

Posted on X, the ad featured two photos of Scheffler. The first showed the world’s top-ranked golfer playing with his one-year-old son Bennett on the green, with the caption, “You’ve already won.” The second image captured Scheffler mid-swing, paired with the words, “But another major never hurt.”

It would have been great to have God, the creator of families get a mention from Scottie Scheffler as we know he is openly Christian and speaks frequently about his faith. He identifies as a Christian and has stated that his faith is what defines him most, even above his golf career. He actively connects his faith to his golf, stating that he competes to glorify God and that his identity is in Christ, not in his achievements on the golf course, according to Christians in Sport. 

JOE ROGAN IS IMACTING MILLIONS FOR CHRIST

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Podcast veteran Joe Rogan, once an atheist, is now attending church. His spiritual trajectory mirrors a broader spiritual revival among Gen Z and young men worldwide. Raised Catholic but long agnostic, Rogan is now rethinking some of life’s biggest questions — and his public platform means millions are along for the ride.

As of this week, The Joe Rogan Experience boasts 14.5 million followers on Spotify, making it by far the most popular podcast on the platform. Of course, since Spotify ended its exclusivity deal with Rogan in a multi-year agreement signed last month, the podcast is also now available on other platforms, including Apple Podcasts. The number only accounts for his Spotify audience, but his reach across platforms is staggering. Joe Rogan’s engagement with Christianity is becoming hard to ignore. Once a self-described atheist, he’s now asking serious questions about Jesus, the soul, and Scripture — often in front of millions.

In a recent discussion with Michael Kruger, Daniel Wallace and Michael Horton on the Know What You Believe podcast, Huff confirmed, “I can tell you for a fact that he is attending a church, and that has been a consistent thing.”

Huff, who serves as Central Canada Director for Apologetics Canada, said he’s maintained a line of communication with Rogan since their three-hour conversation on Christianity and the Bible. “He’s a very inquisitive individual,” Huff noted, adding that Rogan has been actively seeking out trustworthy sources on Christianity and Scripture.

Rogan’s personal journey is taking place in the midst of a broader, global resurgence of interest in Christianity — especially among Generation Z men.

“We’re seeing somewhat of a resurgence in interest in these topics,” Huff told the Know What You Believe audience, citing evidence both statistical and anecdotal. “We had young people walking into a Christian bookstore saying, ‘I want a Bible. All my friends are reading this thing.’”

The trend to which Huff referred is measurable. According to Barna’s 2025 State of the Church report, weekly church attendance in the US has risen from 28% in 2024 to 32% in 2025, driven primarily by Gen Z and Millennials. Remarkably, young men are now more likely to attend church than their female peers — a reversal of historic patterns.

Similar growth has been observed in the UK. A Bible Society study titled The Quiet Revival reports that regular church attendance has grown by 50% in the past six years, adding two million new attendees. The most dramatic rise has come from 18–24-year-olds, whose church participation jumped from 4% to 16% — with young men increasing from 4% to 21%.

Australia is seeing similar stirrings, though among an older crowd. McCrindle Research’s An Undercurrent of Faith found that from the 2016 to 2021 Census, more than 784,000 Australians shifted from “no religion” to identifying as Christian. Contrary to assumptions, the growth is not fuelled by immigration but by Australian-born citizens — most significantly among those over 55.

SCOTT MORRISON’S TESTIMONY OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

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Love this quote from Scott Morrisons’ new book Plans for Your Good – A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness.

“It doesn’t matter what your vocation is, what job you have, what you’re doing in life. The prize is Christ and His presence. That’s what will sustain you always in everything.”

The former prime minister of Australia explained to The Christian Post how God sustained him when he led his country through an especially tumultuous time, and explained how he has learned to find his value not in power, but in God’s love for him.

Scott Morrison, a Christian who served as Australia’s 30th prime minister from 2018 to 2022, detailed his faith journey in his 2024 book, Plans For Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness.

The book posits three main questions based on Jeremiah 29:11, exhorting readers to consider “Who am I?,” “How should I live?,” and “What should I hope for?” The book provides pastoral reflections on how to answer such fundamental questions while weaving compelling stories from his own life and time in office. Morrison emphasized to CP that the book is not a political memoir, but rather a message of hope to readers facing their own doubts and struggles.

Morrison is also very open in his book about how he began to suffer anxiety attacks while serving as prime minister that required medication in 2021. He urged Christians not to be ashamed if they need help with their mental health amid what he described as “an anxiety crisis, particularly in Western society.”

“Anxiety is human,” he said, adding that his anxiety was not caused by policy challenges or security threats, but rather “physical exhaustion combined with the tenacious, relentless, personal, vindictive attacks — principally through secular voices in the media and opponents.”

“We’re all flesh and blood, mind and spirit,” he said. “And these things can affect us.”

“I say to Christians that you take a pill for a headache, and your mental health is no different,” he said. “The stresses that we labor under at times need that sort of support.”

“I was on my knees at that time, I was praying, I was seeking the counsel and support of Christian friends and others, but there are physical things that happen that can affect your mental health, and you’ve got to be mindful of those things.”

Morrison also said Christians should acknowledge the spiritual aspect of anxiety by casting their anxieties on the Lord.

“As Christians, we need to learn how we can just hand these things over to God; the anxieties are real, the things we’re anxious about are real,” he added. “We can’t pretend they’re not there, and we’ve just got to deal with them and hand them over to Him and allow Him to give us peace.”

‘Constant source of strength and wisdom’

Morrison stressed the importance of having a community of believers who upheld him in prayer while he was in office, including a tight-knit group of pastors.

“You can’t live your faith other than in community of brothers and sisters in Christ, and that’s intentional by design, I believe,” he said.

“God helps us when we’re on our knees in prayer; He helps us when we’re reflecting on His work, and He also encourages us and supports us through those he puts around us. I’ve always been blessed with that, and, frankly, sought it out.”

Morrison suggested the increasingly secular nature of Western societies makes Christian fellowship even more vital.

“You can’t live in a secular society faithfully and strongly if you’re not in a community of those who love Christ,” he said. “They are a constant source of strength and wisdom and support and love, and to be in such a community is one of the great joys and blessings of Christian life.”

‘We don’t have to prove anything’

A section in the third chapter of Morrison’s book delves into the many setbacks and failures he has suffered, starting with when he was fired from his job in the country’s tourism agency during his late 30s. He claims he was fired for political reasons by then-Prime Minister John Howard, with whom he had a good relationship and whose campaign he worked for.

The experience, he writes, was “humiliating and soul destroying,” but revealed to him how much he was placing his self-worth in his own accomplishments instead of in God’s unconditional love for him.

“We don’t have to prove anything to God, even the things we think we are doing for Him,” Morrison writes. “God’s love has nothing to do with what we think we can offer. He loves us just as we are, in all our brokenness.”

“God’s love is transformational if you allow it to be. It’s one thing to accept it; it’s entirely another to let it transform you and allow you to see yourself through His eyes instead of through the perspective of what you have or haven’t accomplished.”

That lesson would prove invaluable throughout the rest of his life and steel him to experience other losses, including ultimately losing reelection as prime minister in 2022. He writes that while some politicians who lose begin to crave the “relevance” they lost, he is free from such an “affliction.”

Morrison suggested to CP that one of the greatest lessons he has learned is God’s faithfulness regardless of what vocation to which he is called in the different seasons of his life.

“I just found God faithful to me in every walk of life, whether it was as prime minister, as a treasurer, as a cabinet minister, a member of parliament, a father, senior chief executive, all these sorts of things that I’ve done over the course of my life,” he said.

PLANS FOR YOUR GOOD: A PRIME MINISTER’S TESTIMONY OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS 

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Plans for Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness is not a traditional political memoir, but rather it is a recounting of his “spiritual journey” as it intersected with his time as prime minister. This includes the role his faith played during crises like the Covid pandemic, during major decisions such as the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact, and amid political challenges like his accession to the prime ministership at the expense of Malcolm Turnbull. It is a unique blend of the prayer and scriptures that influenced him as prime minister as well as the retelling of selective key moments of his four years as the country’s leader from 2018 to 2022.

“Most politicians write books about what they’ve done, this story is about what I believe God has done for me,” says Morrison.

There he is in photos and on television, Scott Morrison, our Prime Minister, in an open-neck shirt, right arm high in the sky, palm forward, eyes closed, swaying in song and prayer, at the Horizon Pentecostal church that he and his family have attended since they moved into Sutherland Shire on Sydney’s southern beaches.

It is a striking image, one we’ve not seen before. Prime ministers at prayer are normally solemn, not to say po-faced, in the front pew of an Anglican or sometimes Catholic cathedral, at the funeral of a fellow politician, or at Christmas or Easter, well dressed in a suit and tie. We rarely see them in their own regular worship. Very few of our nation’s leaders would admit to the following: “There is also repentance I must come to terms with – things I have said, things I could have said better … and some policy decisions I regret.

The terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka remind us that Christianity is the most heavily persecuted religion in the world. The persecution of Christians doesn’t gain the attention it should in mainstream Western media because that media is still in thrall to the idea that Christianity represents a powerful establishment, whereas in most places it is likelier to represent a marginalised people.

It is also the case that Christianity, though in decline in the West, is on fire with new growth and conversions in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

It would be absurd to suggest Christians in Australia face active persecution, but there is an increasing atmosphere of hostility and contempt for Christianity. Yet Morrison, as a frank and open Pentecostal Christian, the first in the world to lead a major developed democracy, may be doing something to change that, at least incrementally, at the margin. Let us do what we can to publicize his book and even purchase copies for selective distribution.

CHRISTIAN PRIME MINISTER SAYS FAREWELL TO PARLIAMENT

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Scott Morrison delivered a magnificent farewell speech in parliament, full of emotion, splendid gratitude, love of family, faith and country, plenty of substance, and a brilliant little riff, requested by his daughters, on Taylor Swift album titles. Anthony Albanese’s response was equally generous and gracious.

This is a good moment in our politics. The battle of ideas should be ferocious, the battle of people should be civil, decent, and full of human regard. Morrison and Albanese both deserve our thanks for this.

On foreign affairs and national security, Morrison was an effective national leader who left a strong legacy. The big failure across the Coalition’s decade in office was in not producing new defense capabilities. But beyond his share of that failure, a failure fully continued by the Albanese government, Morrison had a lot of positive achievements.

One of his biggest national ­security achievements came before he became PM. Under then-prime minister Tony Abbott, Morrison as immigration minister secured our borders and put an end to dangerous waves of unregulated boat immigration from the north.

As prime minister, his biggest single foreign policy achievement in Greg’s view was not AUKUS, but standing up to China. Beijing made a cold, calculated decision that, using all its coercive power short of military intervention, it would intimidate Australia and force a change of policy on us in a range of policy areas – the ban on Huawei in our NBN, laws against foreign interference, national security limits on Chinese investments in critical infrastructure, closer defense co-operation with the US and a raft of other matters.

The Morrison government resisted this aggression absolutely and pursued policies in Australia’s national interest. I think Scott’s government’s language was sometimes a bit too strong, but this was a pivotal moment in our national story. It was the right thing for Australia and it won enormous international respect, not least in Washington.

Scott Morrison says “authoritarians and autocrats win” if the ­nation’s embrace of secularism ­allows it to drift into a “valueless void”.

In an at-times emotional valedictory speech to parliament on Monday, the former prime minister thanked his family and constituents for their support during his 16-year parliamentary career, quoted the bible and referenced every single Taylor Swift album and some songs after being challenged to a Swift bingo game by his daughters.

He touched on his government’s pandemic response, which he said ensured Australia emerged with “one of the strongest economies through Covid”, and reflected that politics was an imperfect project.

The member for Cook, whose resignation will trigger a by-election later this year, declared respect for human rights has its roots in religion, warning of a decline in Judaeo-Christian values in Australian society.

“You don’t need to share my Christian faith to appreciate the virtue of human rights,” he said.

“I’m not suggesting you do, but equally, we should be careful about diminishing the influence and the voice of Judaeo-Christian faith in our Western society, as doing so risks our society drifting into a valueless void.

“In that world, there is nothing to stand on. There is nothing to hold on to, and the authoritarians and autocrats win.

“In the increasing Western embrace of secularism, let us be careful not to disconnect ourselves from what I would argue is our greatest gift and most effective protector of our freedoms – the ­Judaeo-Christian values upon which our liberty and society were founded.”

This article reporting Scott Morrison’s (former P.M.) farewell speech in the Australian Parliament appeared in The Australian by Greg Sheridan

HOW DO WE RESPOND TO INCREASING PERSECUTION?

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As we see the final days approaching, how do we respond? Do we get overwhelmed by the looming threats to our daily lives? Are we overcome with fear when thinking of the things that are soon to come upon this Earth? Do we look inward and despair or do we look upward to Christ with hope?

“The steps of a man are established by the LORD when he delights in his way; though he falls, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.” Psalms 37:23-24

As believers, we have confidence knowing that our steps are guided by the one who purchased us at Calvary. We have the certainty that our good Shepherd will lead us through the most difficult of times. Why? Because He said He would.

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

We have the assurance that Christ will be with us until the very end. Though many will fall away and betray one another, we can always rely on Christ to remain with us – His sons and daughters.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:9-14

If you doubt the Lord’s provision, let me remind you of the one who led His people out of Egypt and fed them with manna for 40 years in the wilderness. How about the one who fed the 5,000 with just five loaves and two fish?

The one who did these things is also the one who says, “I am with YOU always.” We have no reason to fear the coming days. For if we delight in the Lord and His ways…He will guide our steps.

Pray that we may serve Him well until the very end Maranatha!

GREAT TESTIMONY FOR JESUS CHRIST

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Legendary American TV host Kathie Lee Gifford first encountered Jesus as a young girl in a movie theater — a moment that forever transformed her heart and mind.

Listen to Gifford detail her journey to Jesus on “The Prodigal Stories Podcast“.

Kathie Lee Gifford arrives at the Pre-Grammy Gala And Salute To Industry Icons at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The popular TV show host offered a passionate call to fellow Christians to reach others with the Gospel.

“The devil doesn’t own the airwaves. … the Lord does,” Gifford said. “Everything belongs to God, and we need to reclaim them for His Kingdom.”

The entertainer, set to release a new film titled “The Way,” a one-night-only Fathom Event on Sept. 1, encouraged fellow Christians to create stellar content.

“We have got to stop putting out dreck (junk) and call it ‘Christian’ and expect it to be blessed,” Gifford said, calling believers to “excellence” when creating entertainment.

She believes her latest film fits that bill. “The Way” is a musically driven movie promising to bring the Bible to life “as you’ve never seen before,” with oratorios (narrations set to music) driving the experience.

The TV host spoke passionately about her love for the Lord and said she feels called to Christian storytelling, which she will pursue for the rest of her life after retiring in 2019 from daytime TV.

“I just know how to put myself in the hands of the Holy Spirit and get out of His way,” she said, explaining how past Bible-based projects led her to realize what God wants for her life. “I realized, ‘Oh my Gosh, this is what I’m supposed to do for the rest of my life.’”

Gifford added, “I’m supposed to take these unbelievably powerful, epic stories of people in the Bible and bring them to life in a brand new way that no one’s ever seen before.”

I love to hear stories from Christians that know they have heard from the Holy Spirit about what they need to be doing with their lives. Moreover, I, for one, look forward to seeing what the Lord produces through Kathie Lee Gifford in the years ahead.

OBEDIENCE NO MATTER WHAT THE OUTCOME

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John Chau

On Nov. 15, 2018, John made first contact with the Sentinelese. Later that day, a Sentinelese boy shot an arrow at John that lodged in the Bible he was holding.

John retreated and prayed for wisdom. Should he keep going? Should he turn back?

“God, I don’t want to die,” John wrote in his journal that evening. “WHO WILL TAKE MY PLACE IF I DO? Forgive [the boy who shot me] and any of the people on this island who try to kill me, and especially forgive them if they succeed.”

On the morning of Nov. 17, the fishermen who had dropped John off saw tribesmen burying John’s body on the beach.

“I believe that the measure of success in the kingdom of God is obedience,” John Chau said shortly before his death. “I want my life to reflect obedience to Christ and to live in obedience to Him. I think that Jesus is worth it. He’s worth everything.”

John Chau was one of whom the world was not worthy of. I remember when the news of him got onto the media, people mocked his decision and said it was his fault that he died, sadly even some people who profess the faith condemned his actions. What a beautiful life he lived for the Lord. He reminds me of how Korea got the gospel through Missionary Thomas who got killed on the shore even before he got to preach the gospel just like John Chau, but through that death, a great revival was brought forth upon Korea. May the blood of John Chau bring great revival upon the Sentinelese people. Just like what God’s word says in John 12:24, “Truly, truly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Truly humbled by what John Chau realized as he gave his life to serve the Sentinelese people. Thank you, VOM for this beautiful video!

WE MUST SHOW OUR CHRISTIAN COLOURS

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Cooper Kupp’s team, the Los Angeles Rams, ended up winning the Super Bowl, and Kupp was named Most Valuable Player. But regardless of that, even if they’d lost and Kupp had not played well, he says it would have still been his best year in football ever. In fact, in the interview, Kupp says that because of his growth in his walk with Christ, even if his team hadn’t won a single game it still would have been his best year in football ever! (Here’s an article) about Cooper Kupp and his wife Anna Marie. She says, “We have prayed for a season to glorify our Savior Jesus Christ and you are doing just that my lovey.)

C. S. Lewis wrote, “We must show our Christian colours if we are to be true to Jesus Christ.

We cannot remain silent or concede everything away.” Even the Apostle Paul requested that the Ephesian believers “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” (Ephesians 6:19–20, NIV)

If Paul needed prayer for boldness, who doesn’t? When he was given the MVP award Kupp said, “I don’t feel deserving of this. God is just so good…”

In these last days may we be fearless in making the gospel of Christ known so that we may bring glory to God just as Cooper Kupp and his wife Anne Marie are doing.

STORY OF MUSLIM CONVERT

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(Morning Star News) – Muslim relatives of a Christian evangelist, Malingumu Bruhan on Feb. 6th beat and tied him up to be burned to death after he returned home for a funeral in eastern Uganda, he said.

Despite the fact Uganda is a majority Christian country that affords its citizens religious freedom, there have been some cases in recent years that mirror Bruhan’s ordeal. Despite being 84% Christian, certain pockets of Uganda — particularly the eastern region — are Muslim-dominated.

Malingumu Bruhan, 34, returned to Kaliro District for his grandfather’s funeral in Muhira village, Nawaikoke, and then accepted his uncles’ request to stay and visit, as they said they had not seen him for a long time.

“Subsequently, my uncle accused me of embarrassing the family by holding Christian evangelistic, open-air meetings and debates with Muslims,” Bruhan told Morning Star News. “He accused me of being an infidel by converting to Christianity, and that Allah will reward them in Jannah [garden paradise] if they kill me.”

“He told me that now is the right time for me to receive punishment from Allah, whereby I was going to be burned alive and the birds of the air will enjoy me as their meat,” Bruhan said. “Some men beat me as others gathered firewood, while another was sent for petrol because they wanted to use it to burn me alive.”

”As his uncle was waiting for the fuel, another convert from Islam who had accompanied Bruhan to the funeral came looking for him but was told he was nowhere in the vicinity”, he said. The friend saw Bruhan’s shoe, which had come off as his uncle and others dragged him off.

Malingumu Bruhan was attacked near Nawaikoke, Kaliro District, Uganda on Feb. 6, 2022

“My friend made several phone calls to friends after finding my shoe, they arrived and started searching for me,” he said. “They found me behind the house, tied and with firewood around me. They called the police, which scared the attackers, and they fled.”

Having sustained head injuries, Bruhan was taken to a clinic at Bulumba town, then later transferred to another area undisclosed for security reasons.

An evangelist well-known in Mbale, Iganga, Jinja and Kampala for his public debates with Muslims about Christianity and Islam, Bruhan has survived 11 murder attempts. “By God’s grace I overcame the Muslims’ planned attacks,” Bruhan said.

His Muslim relatives ostracized him in 2017 following his conversion, saying that as an apostate he had brought shame to the family.

“When I was chased, I went on foot, slept in the bush, and survived on wild fruits for two months,” Bruhan said. “I still trust God to heal me and for divine protection for my life. The church has been a comfort to me. Pray for me so that I recover from the head injuries and will be able to continue with the work of sharing Christ with the lost.”

The assault was the latest of many instances of persecution of Christians in Uganda that Morning Star News has documented.

We need to pray for our ex-Muslim brothers and sisters that come under intense persecution, particularly evangelists like Bruhan. You can keep up to date by connecting to Morning Star News and Voice of the Martyrs.