The Faith & Culture 5

America’s Young Earth Evangelist + The Beauty of Moral Courage + Vance Meets the New Pope + More

Happy Friday!

In a week where headlines come fast and trust can feel like a fragile thing, we’re turning our focus to the deeper undercurrents—the stories that speak to character, conviction, and the choices we make when no one’s watching.

Each story is a reminder that faith and values aren’t just abstract ideas. They’re lived out in institutions, in leadership, in legacy, and in the courage it takes to stand for something real.

As always, I hope these pieces offer not just information, but insight—and maybe a reason to pause and reflect a little longer this week.

Let’s dive in:

1. The New Spiritual Leader on Campus

Students are growing less religious. Many chaplains are adapting.

2. Liberty University Pays Jerry Falwell 5.5 Million

Liberty University is paying disgraced former president Jerry Falwell Jr. about $5.5 million in addition to the nearly $10 million he received in severance and retirement, according to recently filed tax records.

3. With a Massive Ark Museum, He Spreads Creationism A Century After Scopes Trial

The ark stretches one and a half football fields long — “the biggest freestanding timber-frame structure in the world,” Ham says. It holds three massive decks with wooden cages, food-storage urns, life-size animal models and other exhibits.

4. Pope Leo Meets with Vance, Who Delivers an Invitation to Visit the White House

This first formal meeting appeared part of an effort by Washington to reset relations with the Vatican, after Leo's predecessor Pope Francis repeatedly criticized President Trump's migration policy.

5. The Beauty the Moral Courage Creates

A lovely paradox of doing good in the world is that it does you good too.

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We Can Do Hard Things by Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle

They asked each other, their dearest friends, and 118 of the world’s most brilliant wayfinders: As you’ve traveled these roads—marriage, parenting, work, recovery, heartbreak, aging, new beginnings—have you collected any wisdom that might help us find our way?

They put all of that wisdom in one place: We Can Do Hard Things—a place to turn when you feel clueless and alone, when you need clarity in the chaos, or when you want wise company on the path of life.

Thank you so much for being a part of this community! I’ll see you next week.

Jm

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