The word “hero” is so often thrown around to the point that it is often emptied of meaning.
One Arkansas truck driver was most definitely a hero.
Last week, Randall McDougal was driving a truck with ammonium nitrate (a fertilizer which is also highly explosive). While he was driving, there was a fire in his breaks. The truck essentially became a huge bomb as the fire spread. McDougal called 9-1-1, but also decided to drive the truck to a rural area, away from cars, people, and homes.
Once he was able to get the truck in a safe spot, instead of trying to make his way to safety, McDougal attempted to put the fire out. Tragically, the fire could not be extinguished in time and a massive explosion ripped a crater into the ground, and killed McDougal.
For the safety of others, he put himself into harms way.
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe!
Josh Benner has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has served churches in Minnesota and Illinois. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in St. Louis.
Chick-fil-a has been the target of political ire in two different states in as many weeks. In late March, the San Antonio city council approved a new dining area in Terminal A of San Antonio International Airport. The agreement had originally included opening up a Chcik-fil-a location, but the council didn’t give approval until Chick-fil-a was excluded from the agreement.
While Chick-fil-a is one of the most beloved fast food restaurant chains in America, famous for it’s chicken sandwiches, waffle fries, lemonade, and excellent customer service, the company also has a strong foundation of Christian values which permeate throughout the chain.
Chick-fil-a does support organizations who share in the company’s traditional values, and some of those organizations oppose same-sex marriage. Among those groups are the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and the Salvation Army.
One piece of the story that I feel rarely gets mentioned in media reports is that FCA and the Salvation Army happen to oppose same-sex marriage and value traditional marriage, but that is not the primary reason for the existence of these organizations. It’s a result of their Biblical values.
The issue with airports discriminating against Chick-fil-a is that there isn’t evidence that the company actively discriminates against anyone. They serve everyone. And considering the federal funds which the airport receives, it’s illegal to discriminate against a company based on their religious values.
A similar situation happened last week when Chick-fil-a was given approval to open up at the Buffalo airport. Once again, people tried to block it.
Do politicians have nothing better to do?
A person has the ability to choose not to eat at Chick-fil-a if they find the company’s values to be so offensive that they just can’t support it.
It’s also ironic that I think of the calls to be inclusive, tolerant, and accepting, but then people want to bash a company for being true to their values. It’s this idea of “we’re inclusive, and if you’re not inclusive in the way we think is right, you should be excluded.”
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe!
Josh Benner has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has served churches in Minnesota and Illinois. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in St. Louis.
This is one of my favorite stories I’ve seen in a long time. It’s like a movie plot.
Tanitoluwa Adewumi (nicknamed Tani) came to the United States with his family in 2017. His family is Christian and fled from Nigeria, amid persecution from Boko Haram.
They came to New York City, but have been staying in a homeless shelter. (more…)
An independent council released a report yesterday, regarding sexual misconduct allegations made against Bill Hybels, the founding pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, a megachurch in suburban Chicago. Hybels stepped down last spring, a few weeks after the sexual misconduct allegations against him were made public. (more…)
The United Methodist Church (UMC) had a four day international conference in St. Louis this week revolving around around LGBT issues, specifically: the ordination of openly LGBT clergy and whether or not the denomination should officiate same-sex weddings.
The UMC is the third largest faith group in America, and an international denomination with over 43,000 congregations worldwide (40 percent of their members are outside the United States). There is widespread support within American Methodism for affirming LGBT pastors and weddings. (more…)
