The World and Everything in It: February 14, 2023

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning!

What protections do religious organizations have that keep the government from second-guessing employment decisions? That’s the question at the heart of a Supreme Court appeal by a Christian school.

NICK EICHER, HOST: WORLD’s Steve West will be along in a few minutes to tell us about it.

Also today, Disney loses control of its own private government kingdom.

Plus Emily Whitten reviews a 2022 recording—a strong choice for Black History Month.

And WORLD’s Janie B. Cheaney on the love of God.

BROWN: It’s Tuesday, February 14th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

BROWN: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Balloons/objects latest » Congress is demanding answers from President Biden about what, exactly, is going on in the skies over North America. Congressman Mike Turner:

TURNER: Just now as this Chinese spy balloon completed its mission, and the administration being subject to criticism, have they turned to the issue of what is actually coming into our skies.

U.S. air defense is on high alert, after a fighter jet shot down a flying object above Lake Huron on Sunday.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby:

KIRBY: We acted out of an abundance of caution to protect the security, our security, our interests and flight safety.

More U.S. war planes shot down two other flying objects over Canada and Alaska last week–after the U.S. took out a Chinese spy balloon that floated over the country.

Meanwhile, China claims that the United States floated its own spy balloons through Chinese airspace.

A spokesman for the communist government claims more than 10 U.S. high-altitude balloons flew over China over the past year. The U.S. government says that never happened.

Bakhmut / Stoltenberg on war strain » In Ukraine …

AUDIO: [Battle]

At least five civilians were killed Monday as fighting rages in and around the eastern city of Bakhmut.

NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg says Russia’s expected “spring offensive” has already started.

He said Western support gives Ukraine the edge in technology and logistics. But the Kremlin has little regard for life and just keeps throwing bodies at the problem.

STOLTENBERG: The Russians are willing to ascend in those forces, and take a high, high number of casualties. This just highlights the importance of timing. It's urgent to provide Ukraine with more weapons.

Ukrainian soldiers have begun training on Leopard 2 tanks, which Germany and other Western allies are providing.

But Stoltenberg warned that the West has to ramp up the production of ammunition.

STOLTENBERG: The current rate of Ukraine’s ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production.

He said that’s putting a strain on Western defense industries.

Moldova - Russia » Leaders in Moldova fear Russia is plotting to overthrow their government to prevent it from aiding Ukraine or joining the European Union.

SANDU: [Romanian]

President Maia Sandu is pleading with her parliament to pass laws that will strengthen her country’s security.

SANDU: [Romanian]

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country intercepted Russian plans to destroy Moldova, which is a candidate to join the EU.

Earthquake update » AUDIO: [Rescuers talking while trying to rescue victim]

Rescuers are still pulling survivors from the twisted and shattered remains of buildings in Syria and Turkey.

The death toll in last week’s earthquakes has now topped 36,000 people.

Syria says it is opening two more border crossings with Turkey to bring in aid.

Up till now, aid groups could only bring supplies through one checkpoint on the Syria-Turkey border. The two new checkpoints will be open for three months.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price.

PRICE: United States continues to support search, rescue, recovery and relief efforts and to mobilize additional equipment and resources

Experts say time is running out for survivors still trapped under the rubble.

GA grand jury » A Georgia judge this week will unseal some of the findings of a grand jury investigation into former President Donald Trump. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: The grand jury was tasked with determining whether Trump and others illegally interfered in the 2020 election in Georgia.

The judge has agreed to unseal the grand jury’s report on Thursday, but it will be heavily redacted.

The report’s introduction and conclusion will not be blacked out. The document will also reveal the grand jury’s concerns that some unidentified witnesses may have lied under oath.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

NYC Sidewalk Crash » In Brooklyn, New York, eight people were injured Monday when a man driving a U-Haul box truck veered onto sidewalks..

Two victims were in critical condition on Monday and another two sustained serious injuries.

The 62-year-old driver led police on a miles-long chase before officers caught him, pulled him from the truck and cuffed him.

New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the motive is still unknown.

SEWELL: We have no indication that there is any terrorism involvement in this incident.

Officials searched the vehicle for explosives but did not find any.

I’m Kent Covington. Straight ahead: Disney loses governmental control in Florida.

Plus, music for Black History Month.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 14th of February, 2023. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Hey, a quick word before we get going. I need to let you know what’s happening over at WORLD Watch. It’s freebie week over there. All this week, you can check out WORLD Watch at no cost to you.

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BROWN: That’s the special link that unlocks FULL ACCESS for everyone. WORLDWatch.today. You can play episodes and features at no cost—all this week—but just this week.

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Check it out and you’ll get to see my story this morning.

EICHER: First up on The World and Everything in It: a Christian school in Colorado is appealing to the Supreme Court.

A sharply divided federal appeals court agreed that a school chaplain who was fired may go to trial to pursue his claim against the school.

Gregory Tucker led a January 2018 chapel talk on faith and race at Faith Christian Academy near Denver. That talk lit a controversy on campus and ultimately led to his dismissal.

Steve West is an attorney and writes about religious liberty issues for WORLD. He recently wrote about this case and he joins us now.

BROWN: Good morning, Steve!

STEVE WEST, REPORTER: Good morning, Myrna!

BROWN: Well Steve, there’s nothing wrong with talking about faith and racial issues in a Christian school, is there?

WEST: Certainly not–and I’ll add that it’s a really important topic to address. Faith Bible Chapel leaders supported Tucker’s plan to address the subject, and yet it was the way he addressed it that proved so divisive. He called students and parents racists and spoke about “white privilege” and “systemic bias,” phrases commonly associated with what is called “anti-racism” and with critical race theory. They addressed what they saw as unbiblical portions of the talk with him. He disagreed, so they removed him as chaplain. Then he continued to have a very public disagreement with the leaders of the school, one that divided parents, so ultimately they asked him to leave–and he’s still posting about it on social media.

BROWN: So, ultimately, he goes to court and files a lawsuit, right?

WEST: That’s right. After he exhausted his administrative remedies, he filed a federal lawsuit, and that’s where it becomes important for the rest of us–for other religious schools, churches, and religious nonprofits. The school raised what’s called the ministerial exception–a judicial doctrine that is derived from the First Amendment’s religion clauses. It’s meant to protect religious organizations from second-guessing by courts of their decisions regarding hiring and firing of ministers and others who have vital religious duties.

BROWN: We have addressed that before, and I recall a ruling from the Supreme Court a couple years ago where that came up, right?

WEST: That’s right. Back in 2020, the court clarified the reach of the ministerial exception–that is, whom it covers–in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru. It ruled it did cover two teachers at Catholic schools.

BROWN: That’s not a question here though, right? I mean, Tucker was a chaplain at the school. He’s certainly a minister that would be covered.

WEST: No serious argument was made by Tucker that he was not a person who served a vital religious function. No, this case has to do with what happens when the ministerial exception is raised. Becket Fund attorneys for the school say this is a legal matter that the judge should rule on at the outset of the case, and that it is something that should be immediately appealable. It provides an immunity to litigation, not just a defense. Most courts agree with that. But the trial court and then the appeals court disagreed–meaning the school, and other schools in Colorado and other states covered by the ruling, would be forced into a full-blown trial with all the publicity, time, and expense involved. All of which can drain the resources of nonprofits. And which, Becket argues, really undercuts the purpose of the ministerial exception–keeping courts out of the internal governance of religious organizations.

BROWN: So what happens now?

WEST: The church has asked the Supreme Court to review the case. That doesn’t mean it will, of course, but there has been high interest in religious liberty cases on the court in the recent past, and there is a split in the circuit courts on this issue–so clarity is needed and the time is right. There’s also a second case I reported on for WORLD Digital this week that raises similar issues. In that one, a priest unhappy about being denied a bishopry in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia has sued, trying to plead around the employment issue by claiming defamation. And the district court and appeals court in New York bought it. So that one is going up to the Supreme Court as well.

BROWN: It sounds like something the court needs to straighten out.

WEST: It is. These cases really hit home for schools and churches. Being forced into trial on a dispute like this is not only disruptive and potentially divisive, time-consuming, and expensive, it also diverts time and money away from ministry. These challenges strike at the heart of the internal operation of these ministries. They need the court to speak clearly about this issue. Ministries don’t need to be thinking about litigation risk with every decision they make. They have the Lord’s work to do.

BROWN: Steve West writes about religious liberty for WORLD Digital. You can read his work at WNG.org. You can also receive his free weekly newsletter on First Amendment issues. We’ve placed a link in today’s transcript. Steve, always good to have you on. Thank you!

WEST: Thank you, Myrna.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: Disney losing control of its kingdom. Its own own private government kingdom.

In the 1960s, the state of Florida agreed to let Disney essentially establish its own private city, what came to be known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

The arrangement allowed the company to self-govern, deciding what to build and how to build it without the usual government red tape.

One expert described it as “A Vatican with mouse ears.” And we’ll hear from him in just a moment.

But Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP-led legislature began to reexamine that arrangement after Disney delved into politics, opposing a parental rights bill at the behest of LGBT activists.

Now, Disney will no longer enjoy complete autonomy in that district.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Joining us now is Rick Foglesong. He’s a Professor Emeritus at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. And he is the author of Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando.

Professor, good morning!

RICK FOGLESONG, GUEST: Good morning!

BROWN: Well, we’ll get to the latest news on this. But, first of all, help us understand a little bit more. How did the Reedy Creek Improvement District come about?

FOGLESONG: Well, it came about like this: that the Disney company did not like how things worked in Anaheim, California where DisneyLand is located. They didn't like dealing with the City of Anaheim relying upon them to provide public services. And they didn't like the way in which Anaheim planned and zoned the area surrounding DisneyLand. So when they came here, they wanted to have their own government that would provide public services to themselves. And they wanted to be able to plan and zone the area surrounding the park and not be regulated by the surrounding counties. So they asked for these governmental powers and they got them from the state legislature because, hey, Florida was really glad to have Disney interested in them and was willing to give about anything that the company wanted.

BROWN: Let me ask you this: How is this different from local improvement districts that are in most cities around the country? It really sounds similar but is there a difference?

FOGLESONG: Well, it is different. Essentially, Disney has the same powers—actually more powers than a general purpose local government like the city of Orlando. They were granted the powers, for example, to build a nuclear power plant. That made sense in 1967. And the power to build an airport, the power to manufacture and distribute alcoholic beverages, if you can believe that. You might ask, well, why? Well, Disney asked for everything they could imagine they might somehow need down the road because they figured they had the leverage at the beginning—in 1967—to get from the state legislature, as I said before, about anything they wanted.

BROWN: So, Professor, is this an actual local government that has been essentially run by a private company?

FOGLESONG: Well, yeah, you could say that. The Reedy Creek improvement district is like a special purpose authority. They have elections and in these elections, property votes. It's one acre equals one vote. And the Disney company then elects to its Board of Supervisors, local notables, local business people in the Orlando area that are more or less beholden to the company.

BROWN: I'm thinking, then, that no other company has this kind of arrangement in the United States.

FOGLESONG: You know, I've given a lot of talks on this subject. And I've said that I thought that Disney had powers that no other entity did in the United States, certainly in the state of Florida, waiting for someone to correct me and tell me I was wrong. And I've never been told I was wrong in asserting that. So I think that may well be true that Disney has powers here that no other comparable company has.

BROWN: Very interesting. Okay, so that brings us to where we are today. Governor DeSantis and Disney leadership wound up butting heads over a political issue. And the Republican legislature decided to take another look at this unique arrangement.

There was some talk, I guess, about dissolving the district. But that's not what's happening, correct?

FOGLESONG: Well, that's right. That's not what's happening. The governor got a little ahead of himself because he said he was going to dissolve the district. Had he done that, then Reedy Creek would not have had the ability to tax the Disney company to pay off the $1 billion in bonds that had been purchased that were used to finance public works. So you might say that the state legislature saved the governor, got him out of a box, because Orange County taxpayers would have been forced to pay that $1 billion in bonded indebtedness. I would have had to pay some part of that in ad valorem taxes. So what the state legislature did with legislation written in conjunction with the governor was to do something short of dissolving Reedy Creek. They decided not to dissolve it. Rather, they took away some of the powers of Reedy Creek so that they could still issue bonds, tax-free municipal bonds, and thereby save the governor and save taxpayers here in this county from having to pay off that bonded indebtedness themselves.

BROWN: Looking ahead now, how will this affect Disney and the state of Florida going forward?

FOGLESONG: The Reedy Creek Improvement District will still exist by another name. It's just that the members of the board—the five members of the board—are not going to be people who were selected by the Disney company. Rather, this is very important, the governor—with the approval of the state legislature, State Senate, I should say—will appoint the members of that board. So in essence, the powers remain, but the people exercising those powers are not people beholden to the Disney company, but rather people selected by the governor and approved by the State Senate.

BROWN: Alright. We’ve been talking with Rick Foglesong, Professor Emeritus at Rollins College. Professor, thanks so much!

FOGLESONG: You're very welcome.

NICK EICHER, HOST: The so-called “Ice Mermaid” is at it again. Chilean swimmer Barbara Hernandez is one step closer—fact check, Barbara Hernandez is one stroke closer to accomplishing her goal of swimming in each of the world's seven seas.

AUDIO: [SOUND OF SWIMMING]

The 37 year old Hernandez is an accomplished open water swimmer. Last week she put the “chill” in Chilean swimmer. She spent 45 teeth-clattering minutes in the waters of Antarctica.

HERNANDEZ: [IN SPANISH] [TRANSLATION] To swim in these conditions you have to be very prepared in training…

Hernandez saying here that it took a lot of mental and physical training to be ready for water that cold. 36 degrees Fahrenheit, to be exact.

She did develop hypothermia. Her core body temperature fell to just over 80 degrees by the end of the swim.

But she says the sacrifice was worth it if it raises awareness to better protect the world’s oceans.

HERNANDEZ: [TRANSLATION] Swimming in Antarctica was my dream for more than 10 years…

What she’s saying is it’s been a decade-long dream to swim in the Antarctic Ocean. 

BROWN: A nightmare, more like …

EICHER: Seems like awareness is possible by swimming in the Caribbean or Mediterranean, just saying.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Tuesday, February 14, 2023. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: To help us honor Black History Month, we have a review of a new album featuring spirituals. 

The album received a Grammy nomination, and while it’s not easy listening, WORLD’s Emily Whitten says Christians will find plenty to enjoy.

MUSIC: [SHALL WE GATHER AT THE RIVER] 

EMILY WHITTEN, REVIEWER: You’ve likely already heard the slave spirituals and hymns on Shawn Okpebholo’s album, Lord, How Come Me Here? But probably not like this. The album earned a Grammy nomination last year, in part because of world-class musicians and singers, like Will Liverman in this clip of the first track.

MUSIC: [SHALL WE GATHER AT THE RIVER]

Another characteristic–the songs are sparse, usually featuring only a vocalist and one other instrument. On the album’s second track, pianist Paul Sanchez plays alongside opera singer J'Nai Bridges.

MUSIC: [HE’S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS] 

Throughout the album, Okpebholo combines different genres of music. He covers classical, blues, jazz, and more, which means it can be hard to get into. But music lovers willing to sit down, study the words, and really listen, may start to see the album’s rare beauty.

Okpebholo spoke in 2018 on A Theology of Hustle podcast about his own musical journey. He’s studied in various university settings, but he often looks to his family history for inspiration. He even studied for a time in his father’s home country of Nigeria.

OKPEBHOLO: Let me take what I’ve learned–Western Classical music–and try to incorporate the music that resonates with my father, with me and my family. I’ve also done music of my mother, she’s a black American, Negro spirituals. A lot of my musical output has been reimagining these Negro spirituals, Negro slave songs. 

Thomas Russell is Adjunct Instructor of Organ at the University of South Carolina and assistant music director at his church. He says he likes Okpebholo’s eclectic approach.

RUSSELL: I would say they're all, they're all really fresh of his settings of the existing songs, existing tunes, you know, there's not anything on there that you think, okay, we've heard that before done that way.

For example, Russell points to the title track, “Lord, How Come Me Here?”

RUSSELL: He's both kind of going back into the African American tradition, but also the classical music tradition. The cello comes in with a little quote from the Bach’s E Minor Cello Suite…

MUSIC: [LORD, HOW COME ME HERE?]

RUSSELL: …and then enters kind of improvisatory section with the voice, and she's just singing kind of a vocal piece with no words. And occasionally they match up and they're moving in unison…

MUSIC: [LORD, HOW COME ME HERE?]

RUSSELL: I thought that to be really beautiful, but a fresh take on that…

One song on the album isn’t a remake of a traditional song. It’s an “art song” with the title “Two Black Churches” and in it, Okpebholo sets two poems to music. The first centers on the 1963 bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama.

MUSIC: [No. 1, BALLAD OF BIRMINGHAM]

The second engages another racially motivated killing–this time a shooting in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015. These aren’t graphic in any way, but they use metaphors and stories to help us understand the tragedies.

MUSIC: [No. 2, THE RAIN]

RUSSELL: It's really kind of a devastating feeling after you listen to those and spending several minutes reflecting on what happened. And I was thinking, okay, where's he gonna go from here?

The final song answers that question–and it points listeners where we should always go after a tragedy. It’s titled “God is a God.”

MUSIC: [GOD IS A GOD]

Not everyone will love these kinds of sparse, intellectual settings. At times, the music feels more like an abstract painting than a musical album. Maybe that’s one reason why it didn’t bring home a Grammy last week. But with such rich theological and musical content, the album stands out as especially worthy of Christians’ time and attention.

MUSIC: [GOD IS A GOD] 

I’m Emily Whitten.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Tuesday the 14th of February. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Today is Valentine’s Day, so all of you who need to buy a present and have so far forgotten–this is your reminder. WORLD commentator Janie B. Cheaney now with her own reminder of sorts–a reminder of what human love really signifies.

JANIE B. CHEANEY, COMMENTATOR: Before Valentine’s Day became a marketing gimmick for chocolate and lingerie, it recognized a martyred saint. Or perhaps two or three martyred saints, all named Valentinus. Historians disagree on exactly how a man beheaded for preaching the love of Christ became a symbol of romantic love, but I’m wondering more about the phenomenon of love itself.

I have friends in continual pain, friends at death’s door, friends experiencing heart-rending grief and soul-sapping marriages. Not to mention all the people I don’t know who populate the evening news: those butchered in war and swept away in floods. The age-old question haunts me sometimes: How can we say our God is love?

Well, by choosing to say it: “God is love,” I John 4:16. Even more by choosing to see it.

Start with creation. Mythical creation stories imagine a world born of conflict as god-sons defeat god-fathers and carve up their bodies to make geography. Humans are an offshoot of the struggle, or even an afterthought.

The Biblical account pictures a universe brooded over and called out of darkness, centering on a single blue planet. Deep calls to deep in the roar of waves as the ocean heaves heavy sighs and pushes up land. Living cells link and separate and multiply, swirling through water and bubbling through sand. Being calls forth being. It’s not conflict but ferment: the love between Father, Son, and Spirit so dynamic and joyful it must find expression.

God makes a universe not just by love and for love, but of love.

In his science-fiction trilogy beginning with Out of the Silent Planet, C. S. Lewis argued against the notion of space as a, “black, cold vacuity.” Our ancestors were right to call it “the heavens.” Lewis calls it “the womb of worlds, whose blazing and innumerable offspring looked down nightly upon the Earth with so many eyes.”

Astrophysics can make a case for cold, unfeeling space, but no branch of science can account for love. Recently I watched The Tree of Life, a 2011 film directed by Terrence Malick. It’s more a visual poem than a movie, and it begins like this: “[T]here are two ways through life: the way of Nature and the way of Grace. You have to choose which you will follow.” To follow the way of Nature turns love inside-out and makes life a power struggle few can win. But even in the grip of pain, death, and crushing loss, Grace shines through sunlight and whispering leaves and flowing water. There’s a choice to make. Either we’re born in conflict and die pointlessly, or we, like the universe, are made of love. And for love.

At the hinge of history, after Nature had wrecked relationships and leveled cities, Grace dropped a single seed. It—or rather, He—took root and sent ripples backward and forward in time. Every day is Valentine’s Day. Can you believe it?

I’m Janie B. Cheaney.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: Former UN ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is set to become the first Republican to challenge Donald Trump for the presidential nomination. We’ll talk about a Haley candidacy on Washington Wednesday.

And World Tour.

Plus, we meet a church planter in Washington DC.

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible says that Jesus answered the Pharisees and their scribes: “‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.’” (Luke 5:31-32 ESV)

Go now in grace and peace.

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