First in an occasional series on long ministry

The new Netflix documentary series, The Family, could have been an insightful exploration of the poisoning effects of secrecy and political power on faith. Instead, it contributes to the divisive age we live in by turning common failings into Da Vinci Code–style conspiracies and subtly suggesting evangelicalism itself is a threat to the nation.

Joshua Harris’ divorce from both his wife and Christianity stunned many evangelicals. Here are analyses written by WORLD Magazine columnist Janie B. Cheaney and WORLD News Group board member Albert Mohler, republished here with their permission. —Marvin Olasky

Joshua Harris and the perils of idolatry

By Janie B. Cheaney

The Christian fraternity house at the University of Michigan looks like a stone castle with two towers and an arched entryway. During the last week of June, 21 high-school students lived here along with six staff members from Knox Presbyterian Church. Their goal: to advance Christ’s kingdom in their hometown of Ann Arbor, Mich. 

David Powlison (1949-2019) died of pancreatic cancer on June 7. I knew him. He balanced my checkbook once in his front parlor when I was a widow. I don’t let just anyone balance my checkbook, but he started as a math major at Harvard, so it seemed safe enough.

I don’t suppose that moment will make it into an official biography. Nor will the official biography likely include that, when my single-parent friend’s daughter was a tad prodigal, he would drive over to their house in the mornings and chauffeur the girl to school.

A New York moment: 

On a warm, rainy night last week, I took the train up to the South Bronx to join a room of mostly black and Hispanic church leaders listening to pastors Ray Rivera and Tim Keller talk about the future of the urban church globally. 

On an August Sunday afternoon, the streets of central Munich, Germany, showed signs of approaching Oktoberfest: Huge beer tents filled the festival grounds and hundreds of temporary cell towers were in place to support the two-week influx of 7 million visitors.