Weekend Plug-in 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.

(ANALYSIS) Good morning, Weekend Plug-in readers!

In the headlines today, former President Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges in the classified documents case. A possible prison sentence aside, will the case help or hurt Trump with conservative Christian voters? Stay tuned.

Here in Oklahoma City, where I am, the Oklahoma Sooners celebrate their third straight Women’s College World Series championship. The best team in college sports finished the season by winning a record 53 games in a row.

And yes, Jesus is a big part of their team chemistry, as ESPN’s Hallie Grossman has highlighted.

This is our weekly roundup of the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith. We start with Thursday’s death of Pat Robertson at age 93.

What To Know: The Big Story

‘He obeyed God’: That’s how the Christian Broadcasting Network characterizes Pat Robertson’s life.

More from CBN:

Pat Robertson dedicated his life to preaching the Gospel, helping those in need, and educating the next generation. He founded the Christian Broadcasting Network and numerous organizations, including Operation Blessing, Regent University, the American Center for Law and Justice, and International Family Entertainment Inc. He was also a New York Times best-selling author and host of The 700 Club.

Pat was married to the love of his life and partner in ministry for 67 years, Dede Robertson, until she died in 2022. Together, they had four children, 14 grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren.

Religion and politics: Robertson was a “pugnacious conservative whose Christian Broadcasting Network defined televangelism for decades,” the Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner writes.

“With CBN, ‘The 700 Club,’ Regent, the Christian Coalition, and a run for president, he changed evangelicals’ place in public life,” according to Christianity Today’s Kate Shellnutt.

The 1988 Republican presidential candidate “turned evangelicals into a powerful constituency that helped Republicans capture Congress in 1994,” the New York Times’ Douglas Martin notes.

Robertson’s legacy: The Associated Press’ Ben Finley explains:

For more than a half-century, Robertson was a familiar presence in American living rooms, known for his “700 Club” television show, and in later years, his televised pronouncements of God’s judgment — usually delivered with a smile, as a gentle lament — that blamed natural disasters on gays and feminists and accused Black Lives Matter demonstrators of being anti-Christian.

Robertson was a “happy warrior” who was soft-spoken, urbane and well-read, said Ralph Reed, who ran the Christian Coalition in the 1990s.

“He was not some backwoods preacher,” Reed said. “He was very enthralling, avuncular and charming. He had a great sense of humor.”

At the New York Times, religion writer Elizabeth Dias details “How Pat Robertson created the religious right’s model for political power.”

See more coverage by the Wall Street Journal’s Gareth Vipers, the Washington Post’s Matt Schudel and the Los Angeles Times’ Rebecca Trounson.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. New Orleans Saints: The Big Easy will host the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting next week. It’s expected to make lots of news.

In advance, Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana profiles the SBC’s two candidates for president: incumbent Bart Barber and Mike Stone.

The Tennessean’s Liam Adams notes that the SBC embarked on sexual abuse reforms last year and delves into this question: “What’s at stake at 2023 meeting?”

Meanwhile, The Associated Press’ Peter Smith looks at the SBC’s strong Republican political leaning (a particularly timely subject given the Trump indictment).

Finally, expect prominent mentions of Rick Warren’s name next week. RNS’ Adelle M. Banks and ReligionUnplugged.com’s own Rafa Oliveira provide details on Warren’s fight to restore Saddleback Church to the SBC.

2. ‘Ritualistically smoking marijuana’: “For Rastafari, the practice brings them closer to the divine. But for decades, many have been jailed and endured racial and religious profiling by law enforcement because of their marijuana use.”

But now the practice is legal in Antigua, as The Associated Press’ Luis Andres Henao reports from the small island nation.

3. The church at the end of the world: “Nineteenth-century sailors rounding Cape Horn held that ‘below 40 degrees south there is no law; below 50 degrees south, there is no God,’ but nowadays, there are eight churches dotted across Antarctica.”

See the photo essay by The Guardian’s John Bartlett and Sean Smith.

More Top Reads

With Tim Keller’s death, “young, restless and Reformed” new Calvinists are at a crossroads, Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana and Kathryn Post report. … How much would a Catholic charter school cost Oklahoma taxpayers? It could be millions, according to The Oklahoman’s Nuria Martinez-Keel. … Why does Mike Pence think he has a prayer in 2024? Politico’s Adam Wren has the answer. … What’s behind a rare clash over faith in China? The New York Times’ Vivian Wang shares the inside story. … Israel’s divide between secular and religious Jews has heated up under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, The Associated Press’ Laurie Kellman writes. … America’s religious leaders sharply divided over abortion, a year after Roe v. Wade’s reversal, AP’s David Crary reports. … Religious leaders, once mostly spared Haiti’s violence, are now targets, according to the Washington Post’s Widlore Mérancourt and Amanda Coletta. … And in a think piece at the Wall Street Journal, David DeSteno asks: “Is religion good for your health?” The answer is complicated.

Inside The Godbeat

“Helping journalists around the globe cover religion with balance, accuracy and insight.”

That’s what the Religion News Association does.

Speaking of which, the RNA has a newly redesigned website. Check it out.

Charging Station: ICYMI

Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from ReligionUnplugged.com.

Did you hear about the great Southern California mass baptism of 2023?

Howard Ahmanson Jr. has some notes on it.

The Final Plug

I spent last weekend reporting in Houston.

I might have worn my Texas Rangers jersey into Houston Astros territory.

I wrote about how a Russian immigrant in Houston came to develop a thriving ministry to Ukrainian refugees. Read the story.

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

Bobby Ross Jr. writes the Weekend Plug-in column for ReligionUnplugged.com and serves as editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 18 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.