Welcome to The Light, your quiet hour of reflection.
In Fort Lauderdale, a former teacher now faces arrest after sending a bomb threat to Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. Whatever drove that act, it asks us to sit with a difficult truth — that fear and fury, left unexamined, can turn toward the sacred itself. Communities of faith deserve safety.
From the noise of that story, we turn to something quieter and perhaps more enduring. Michael W. Smith, a voice that has shaped Christian worship for decades, is urging caution — warning that when worship becomes celebrity-driven, something essential is lost. He sees in Generation Z a returning hunger for genuine encounter, something closer to the raw spiritual awakening of the Jesus Movement he once witnessed firsthand.
And from the world of science and human connection, a new study asks a question we all carry privately — is it wiser to cultivate many casual friendships or tend to a precious few close ones? Researchers are finding that people weigh depth and breadth differently, and that the shape of our social lives may matter as much as the size of them.
That is this hour's reflection. Carry the light gently.
