There are weeks when the fault lines of our culture feel especially visible, when questions of truth, authority, faith, and the formation of the next generation converge in unmistakable ways. This is one of those weeks.

The three articles for this week’s edition of Truth for Our Times cover seemingly different terrain: county commissioners making a bold decision about the accessibility of sexually explicit materials to younger children, the remarkable faith of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the overlooked shadow in the legacy of a beloved and charismatic American president. Yet all three are bound by a common thread – the question of what and whom should shape hearts, minds, and consciences.

Each piece asks us to look beyond surface narratives and examine deeper truths that matter not only in the moment but also for the future.

Local Library Fight Reflects Broader North Carolina Tensions Over Parental Rights and Gender Identity Content

By Dr. Mark Creech | Director of Government Relations, Return America

The Randolph County Commission meeting became a flashpoint in North Carolina’s widening cultural divide. In Asheboro, the debate was not merely about a single children’s book, but about innocence, authority, and whether publicly funded institutions must answer to parents at all. Drawing on firsthand participation in the meeting, this article shows how moral concerns are increasingly dismissed with inflammatory labels, and why the question Progressives avoid is the one that matters most: Who and what should shape the moral imagination of our children?

Seven Timeless Truths Found in Mary, the Mother of Jesus

By Rev. Mark Creech | RevMarkCreech.org

Mary is often either exalted beyond what the Scriptures actually say about her or reduced to a sentimental symbol. Scripture does neither. Instead, it presents a young woman of uncommon faith whose obedience carried lifelong cost and eternal consequences. This second installment in a Christmas series distills seven enduring truths from Mary’s life – surrender, faith, misunderstanding, mystery, worship, perseverance, and salvation – that still speak powerfully to today.

Did you miss the first one in the series: Seven Timeless Truths Found in Joseph, the Man Beside the Manger.

John F. Kennedy: A Legacy of Light with One Overlooked Shadow

By Rev. Mark Creech | RevMarkCreech.org

John F. Kennedy inspired a nation with vision, courage, and eloquence, but one aspect of his legacy deserves closer scrutiny. This reflective article revisits Kennedy’s famous 1960 address to the Houston Minister’s Association and his response to the Supreme Court’s school prayer decision, revealing how his rigid view of church and state accelerated the privatization of faith in American public life. It is an appreciation that does not flinch from honest critique, and a call to recover a more faithful understanding of religion in public life.

Whether we are debating children’s books in public libraries, pondering the faith of a young woman chosen to bear the Savior, or reassessing the ideas that shaped modern America, the underlying question remains the same: Is truth something we shape, or is it something to which we submit?

Our culture increasingly prefers slogans over substance, emotion over moral clarity, and silence over conviction. Yet truth does not vanish because it is contested, and faith does not lose its relevance because it is challenged.

Thank you for reading Truth for Our Times, and for your pursuit of what is true, good, and enduring, especially when it can be costly to do so.

Grace and peace,

Truth for Our Times is a free weekly email offered to encourage thoughtful Christian reflection on faith, culture, and public life. If this edition has been meaningful to you, please consider sharing it with your pastor, family, or friends. If you are new to the newsletter, you are invited to subscribe and receive it each week at no cost.

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Picture: Rev. Mark Creech preaches the Memorial Service for the late Representative Russell Capps (R-Wake). The service was held at Christ Baptist Church, Raleigh, N.C.

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