ANDREW BRUNSON Our Healthcare Premium Went up 300%
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Election analysis // A Chinese hero // Sutherland Springs NOVEMBER 24, 2018 DANIEL of the YEAR ANDREW BRUNSON Our healthcare premium went up 300%. Someone told us about Medi-Share, and we couldn’t believe it was so affordable! José Fernandez Join a nationwide community of over 400,000 Christians who enjoy huge savings on their healthcare. An authentic, prayerful community Members are saving up to $500 No enrollment period— that is more than healthcare. monthly on healthcare costs you can join any time For more info, call 844-51-BIBLE or visit BiblicalHealthcare.com Medi-Share is not health insurance. CONTENTS | November 24, 2018 • Volume 33 • Number 22 36 17 30 44 48 FEATURES DISPATCHES 5 News Analysis • Human Race 36 ‘A living martyr’ Quotables • Quick Takes DANIEL OF THE YEAR: Held in Turkey on charges of espionage and terrorism, facing a life sentence for doing the CULTURE work of the church, American Pastor Andrew Brunson’s Movies & TV • Books dramatic release was the work of high-powered diplomacy 17 and prevailing prayer Children’s Books • Q&A • Music NOTEBOOK 30 Split verdict 53 Sports • Technology • Politics • Division in Washington will likely multiply investigations and Science Religion legislative gridlock, but critical judicial appointments march on VOICES 44 Evangelist in chains 3 Joel Belz China uses dubious border charges to imprison a popular 14 Janie B. Cheaney Christian leader 28 Mindy Belz 61 Mailbag 48 ‘Everything has changed’ 63 Andrée Seu Peterson Sutherland Springs: A Texas community’s life after death 64 Marvin Olasky ON THE COVER: Andrew Brunson arrives at his home in Izmir, Turkey, on July 25 under terms of house arrest during his trial; photo by Emre Tazegul/AP Give the gift of clarity: wng.org/giftofclarity Notes from the CEO “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof; the world and those who dwell therein.” —PSALM 24:1 It’s beginning to look a lot like … fundraising season. Chief Content Officer Nick Eicher Editor in Chief Marvin Olasky R You know what I mean. Between now and the end of the year, you may Senior Editor Mindy Belz find yourself overrun with direct mail pieces, emails, and other forms of giving appeals—some from organizations you barely know, but most from ones you’ve Editor Timothy Lamer supported in the past. National Editor Jamie Dean Managing Editor Daniel James Devine Maybe it’s enough to make you regret ever having given the gift in the first Art Director David K. Freeland Associate Art Director Robert L. Patete place. Reporters Emily Belz, Charissa Crotts, Sophia I hope WORLD hasn’t made you feel that way. By the nature of our work, we Lee, Jim Long, Harvest Prude East Asia Bureau June Cheng, Angela Lu Fulton do have to seek charitable contributions—because without your support, we Story Coach Susan Olasky Senior Writers Janie B. Cheaney, Andrée Seu simply could not continue to make our journalism available to you. But we also Peterson, John Piper, Edward E. Plowman, Lynn Vincent know that fundraising appeals can be, and often are, overdone. That’s why we Correspondents Sandy Barwick, Megan Basham, limit our major appeals to two times every year, the end of the calendar year and Julie Borg, Anthony Bradley, Bob Brown, Michael Cochrane, John the end of our fiscal year, in June. We do a smaller appeal in the fall, and our Dawson, Juliana Chan Erikson, Katie Gaultney, Charles Horton, World Journalism Institute sends out a funding request just before the annual Mary Jackson, Sharla Megilligan, Jill Nelson, Henry Olsen, Arsenio course in May. Orteza, Jenny Lind Schmitt, Russell St. John, Marty VanDriel, We also try to avoid the hyperbole and extreme urgency Jae Wasson that accompanies many fundraising appeals. We will let Mailbag Editor Les Sillars Executive Assistant June McGraw you know if we have a truly urgent need, and we believe Editorial Assistants Kristin Chapman, Amy Derrick, Mary Ruth Murdoch our mission itself is important and worthy of support, Graphic Designer Rachel Beatty Illustrator Krieg Barrie but we strive never to take advantage of your gener- Digital Production Assistants Arla J. Eicher, Dan Perkins osity. If you feel we’ve overdone it and you haven’t said so, I sincerely want to hear from you. Website wng.org We try to follow the Golden Rule—in this case, Executive Editor Mickey McLean Managing Editor Lynde Langdon ask others for contributions the way you would like Assistant Editor Kiley Crossland others to ask you for contributions. We do want you to Reporter Onize Ohikere Correspondents Rachel Lynn Aldrich, Anne Walters understand what it takes to keep our mission going, Custer, Samantha Gobba, Rob Holmes, Bonnie Pritchett, and we want to remind you during those particular Julia A. Seymour times of the year when you are likely thinking more Editorial Assistant Whitney Williams about giving. But mostly we want to respect and honor Website wng.org/radio you—and, yes, love you—by the way we do all of that. Executive Producer/Cohost Nick Eicher Let me know how we’re doing. Managing Editor J.C. Derrick News Editor Leigh Jones Cohost Mary Reichard Reporters Paul Butler, Kent Covington, Sarah Schweinsberg Correspondents Mary Coleman, Laura Finch, George Grant, Kim Henderson, Cal Thomas, Emily Whitten Producers Johnny Franklin, Carl Peetz Kevin Martin (technical), Kristen Flavin (field) [email protected] Listening In Warren Cole Smith, Rich Roszel Chief Executive Officer Kevin Martin Founder Joel Belz HOW TO CONTACT US Development Pierson Gerritsen, Debra Meissner, To become a WORLD Member, give a gift membership, change address, access other Andrew Belz, Sandy Barwick member account information, or for back issues and permission … Administration Kerrie Edwards Marketing Jonathan Woods Email [email protected] Advertising Partnerships John Almaguer, Kyle Crimi Online wng.org/account (Members) or members.wng.org (to become a Member) Member Services Summer Dodd Phone 828.435.2981 within the U.S. or 800.951.6397 outside the U.S. KIDS’ AND TEENS’ PUBLICATIONS Website wng.org/children Monday–Friday (except holidays), 9 a.m.–7 p.m. ET Publisher Howard Brinkman Write WORLD, PO Box 20002, Asheville, NC 28802-9998 Editor Rich Bishop Back issues 828.435.2981 world journalism institute Website worldji.com Reprints and permissions 828.232.5415 or [email protected] Dean Marvin Olasky Follow us on Twitter @WORLD_mag Associate Dean Edward Lee Pitts Follow us on Facebook @WORLD.Magazine BOARD of directors John Weiss (chairman), William Newton (vice chairman), WORLD occasionally rents subscriber names to carefully screened, like-minded organizations. If you would prefer Mariam Bell, Kevin Cusack, Peter Lillback, Howard Miller, not to receive these promotions, please call customer service and ask to be placed on our DO NOT RENT list. R. Albert Mohler Jr., Russell B. Pulliam, David Skeel, David Strassner, Ladeine Thompson, Raymon Thompson MISSION STATEMENT WORLD (ISSN 0888-157X) (USPS 763-010) is Published biweekly (24 issues) for $59.95 per year by God’s World Publications, Biblically objective journalism that informs, (no mail) 12 All Souls Crescent, Asheville, NC 28803; 828.232.5260. Periodical postage paid at Asheville, NC, and additional mailing educates, and inspires offices. Printed in the USA. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. © 2018 WORLD News Group. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to WORLD, PO Box 20002, Asheville, NC 28802-9998. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS VOICES Joel Belz to say that we’ve never had to retract a story. Would I now have to change my tune? I hadn’t remembered Ronald Reagan’s challenge. I hadn’t verified my source. All that brings me back to this important point: WORLD operates on a platform of trust with its readers. The WORLD member in Pennsylvania who challenged me last July Whom to believe? assures me now that he still trusts us. Our readiness to admit our mistakes, he says, TRUST IS HARD TO COME BY, EASY TO LOSE increases his trust. Just don’t let it happen too often, he says—and only partly in jest! “Trust,” said Ronald Reagan, “but verify.” WORLD members tell us, again and R The three-word bit of wisdom has been again, how they value our pages—and widely—if casually—reported as coming from how they trust us to pursue our role as Reagan’s mind as well as his mouth. But it isn’t truth-tellers. Getting casual and careless so. Some reporter somewhere was too quick to about that truth-telling assignment has trust and too slow to verify. Others followed. left the major news media in free fall The proverb in fact finds its origins in these days. Once-powerful news maga- Russia (Доверяй, но проверяй). The phrase zines, daily newspapers, and national became well-known in English only when newscasts on radio and television have Reagan jovially quoted it to Mikhail Gorbachev joined hands in a politically correct in Reykjavik, Iceland, during nuclear disarma- rejection of the traditional and historic ment talks in 1986. Dozens of TV cameras foundations of our culture. In doing so, seemed to authenticate his authorship. they’ve lost—and keep on losing—the But wait! In just the preceding two para- trust of former customers. graphs, I’ve managed to affirm or deny half a You WORLD members have actually dozen salient facts having to do with a brief If you can’t moved the other direction. Instead of backing adage. Maybe you believed what I’ve told you— off in protest, some 20 percent of you go well or maybe not. Did you, for example, used to believe your beyond your initial membership commitment.