Evangelism

Like many similar shows, the Grammy Awards have spiraled in viewership in recent years, declining to near record lows — including Sunday night’s edition from Los Angeles.

Often called “music’s biggest night,” the traditional gathering was originally put together by industry executives in the 1950s. The name “Grammy” stems from the “gramophone” — the antique device that once played records. 

The reasons behind the precipitous drop in interest are many, and President Trump weighed in as the event wound down on Sunday night.

“The Grammys are the WORST, virtually unwatchable!” the president wrote on Truth Social. 

Most of the material was, to put it charitably, forgettable, but Christian music artist Brandon Lake and country star Jelly Roll are being praised for their willingness to use the platform to witness.

After being awarded the “Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song of the year, which he collaborated with Jelly Roll on for “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” Lake declared:

“Thank you. Oh man. Wow. Thank you, Jesus, I want to thank my wife, who’s holding down the fort back home with all my babies, crazy babies.”

He then added:

“I’ve gotten countless messages of how this song has literally saved people’s lives and pointed them to Jesus. If it wasn’t for Jesus, I don’t know where I would be, y’all. Most important thing I could say is this world is Cray Cray right now, but I was reminded of the scripture this morning, John 16:33: ‘I have told you these things so that in me, you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.’ He’s overcome, so that means we can too through Christ. Love you. Thank you so much.”

Jelly Roll, a.k.a. Jason DeFord, received an award for “Best Contemporary Country Album” for “Beautifully Broken.” He credited his wife with making his success even possible.

“I would never have changed my life without you,” he said to Alisa, a.k.a. ‘Bunnie XO.’ “I’d have ended up dead or in jail. I would have killed myself if it wasn’t for you and Jesus.”

He then explained what was behind the album itself:

“There were days that I thought the darkest things. I was a horrible human. There was a moment in my life that all I had was a Bible this big, and a radio the same size, and a six-by-eight-foot cell. And I believe that those two things could change my life. I believe that music had the power to change my life, and God had the power to change my life,” the country artist shared.

“Jesus is Jesus, and anybody can have a relationship with Him. I love you, Lord.”

It’s a good thing when an otherwise uneven, even vacuous, worldly event can be redeemed and leveraged to introduce or affirm the Gospel of Jesus Christ to audiences unlikely to attend church or encounter eternal truth.

The Daily Wire’s Megan Basham isn’t one to shy away from a challenge — and she’s currently facing two monumental ones at the same time.

Formerly a reporter for World Magazine, the popular socially conservative Christian commentator is the author of two books: Beside Every Successful Man: Getting the Life You Want by Helping Your Husband Get Ahead (Crown Forum, 2009), and Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda (HarperCollins, 2024).

Every writer is a product of their personal history, and the Southern Baptist Basham comes at her subjects and topics with the fervor and sincerity of someone who has been on both an ideological and spiritual journey.

Writing for First Things in 2022, Megan shared that it was in college when, not unlike many her age, she threw off the “moral restraints of my Christian upbringing.” She explained: 

“I experimented with all manner of substances and licentiousness—even with feminist theory, which almost proved intellectually fatal. I was at work on a term paper excoriating the patriarchal and oppressive Promise Keepers movement when an encounter with the Lancelot-Grail awoke my long-anesthetized conscience.”

Ironically it was in the study and writing of that assignment when the penny dropped for her, where she was convicted by how “careless” she had been with her faith and Christian testimony. 

In her role at the Daily Wire, Megan has a lot to say about a lot of things. Following her on X can be an eye-opening reminder of man’s depravity. Culture never stops churning and spinning, and sometimes it can be difficult to keep up. Like we do at the Daily Citizen, Megan Basham wades through all the news so you don’t necessarily have to. 

Although she doesn’t quibble with suggestions that she’s a happy warrior in the “culture war” she’s also been wise to define the term. She retweeted last year:

“By ‘culture war’ many really mean: disagreeing with the left on anything publicly.”

But Megan Basham is also embroiled in a war of another kind, and a very personal one at that: cancer.

Originally diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer just after Thanksgiving in 2024, the Daily Wire commentator underwent chemo-radiation therapy. As she was able, she kept working, writing, and posting.

Megan Basham is married and has two children, so she kept on mothering, too: school assignments, dance recitals, church activities.

This past August, she shared the good news that follow-up scans found no evidence of the disease. 

But then came another scan late last year of an abnormality in the lung. It was suspicious of cancer. She shared on X:

“My oncologists have encouraged me not to panic, because it’s just the one, we will get it removed, and they are assuring me that all Stage Four is not the same and I can still reach long-term remission, so that’s what we’re praying for!

“Living the life of a Christian doesn’t mean you don’t have hard days or news like this won’t cause you to spend a few days curled up like Elijah … But it does mean that you wrestle through it with the Lord. And you take these disappointments and fears to Him, the great Physician, knowing that He is ultimately the only one who can heal spiritually, emotionally, and physically.”

Over the weekend, Basham tweeted an update that a follow-up test found no tumor DNA circulating in her blood. She writes, “That suggests no additional hiding nasties in there and I’m still on a curative path. Thank you to all of you praying. It means more to my family and I than I could ever express.”

Megan Basham then got back to tweeting and working.

That’s one of the peculiar yet ageless aspects of health and other concerns that threaten to consume us. Whether we get a cancer diagnosis, are praying through a prodigal child who is far from the Lord or caring for an elderly parent — the many challenges of life still go on. We are all simultaneously battling wars on many fronts.

This is why God’s Word provides reams of counsel for “keeping on keeping on” when it comes to the many challenges we all face. Wrote the Apostle Paul, “Therefore we do not lose heart… For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor. 4:16-18). James struck a similar chord: “Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:2-4). 

Please join us in praying for Megan Basham — for healing and strength, and for resolve and renewed vigor as she continues to answer the personal and professional calls the Lord has placed on her life.

Dilbert creator Scott Adams, who has been publicly battling a grim prostate cancer diagnosis, recently expressed plans to convert to become a Christian.

The cartoonist indicated that many believers have been sharing the Gospel with him – and the frequency and earnestness of their prayers and pleas have made an impression.

“How would I believe you believe your own religion if you’re not trying to convert me?” he said.

Adams confirms what many evangelists and pastors have long preached – that our faith can be contagious and that our persistence and passion makes a difference.

It’s always been a curious thing when Christians suggest they don’t want to convert someone but instead simply forge and nurture a relationship with them. It’s understandable to not want to drive someone away with an off-putting appeal, but how burdened we feel about someone’s eternal destiny speaks volumes.

Last week, Adams revealed his latest scan indicated he was running out of options for treatment.

“It’s all bad news,” he said. “The odds of me recovering are essentially zero.”

It seems the prospect of reaching the end has left Scott to embrace what’s been called “Pascal’s Wager” – the philosophical argument making the case for believing in Jesus that is named after Blaise Pascal, the 17^th– century philosopher and mathematician.

In short, it’s the belief that you’re better off believing in God because if you’re right you will spend forever with Him, while if you’re wrong, you’ll simply cease to exist. “If you gain, you gain all,” wrote Pascal. “If you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”

Over 20 years ago, Scott Adams had pledged support for “Pantheism” — the belief that God is everything and everyone and that everyone and everything is God.

Bible-believing Christians would be at odds with such belief for numerous reasons, including our objection to any form of idolatry.

In the past, Adams has also expressed support for physician-assisted suicide, calling it a humane method in the face of a difficult illness. He accused opponents of torturing his father, who reportedly died a difficult death and endured a “living hell.”

When Adams disclosed his own illness last year, he said he planned to take advantage of the physician-assisted suicide option in California. Months later, though, he backtracked a bit and said, “It’s not as cool as I thought it was going to be.” 

The Dilbert creator told viewers you’re never too late to convert to Christianity – a true statement, but one that also belies the reality that we never know when we might be too late.

Please join us in praying for Scott Adams’ health condition and conversion and that he will use his voice and platform to share truth about life’s sacredness and use his own testimony to advocate against physician-assisted suicide.

In the meantime, keep sharing the Good News with your unbelieving friends and family. Remember that God can use your interest in their salvation to help assure them of His love and interest in them.