Evangelism

The death of actor James Van Der Beek on Wednesday at the age of 48 has resurfaced a moving and revealing post that he shared last year on his birthday.

It was March of 2025 and Van Der Beek, who was married and raising 6 children, was in the midst of a battle with Stage 3 colorectal cancer. 

“Today’s my birthday, and it has been the hardest year of my life,” James told his fans.

“When I was younger, I used to define myself as an actor, which was never really all that fulfilling. And then I became a husband, and that was much better. And then I became a father, and that was the ultimate,” he said. 

James and Kimberly have six young children: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah.

“I could define myself then as a loving, capable, strong, supportive husband, father, provider, steward of the land that we’re so lucky to live on,” he shared. “And for a long time, that felt like a really good definition to the question, ‘Who am I? What am I?’ And then this year, I had to look my own mortality in the eye. I had to come nose to nose with death.”

Van Der Beek went on to share how the strain of treatments had stripped him of those familiar and familial responsibilities. He could no longer act, put his children to bed — even trim the trees on their property. 

“And so I was faced with the question,” he continued. “If I am just a too-skinny, weak guy alone in an apartment with cancer, what am I?”

After prayer and meditation, the actor revealed that he had concluded, “I am worthy of God’s love, simply because I exist … And the same is true for you.”

In an interview this past summer, James shared:

Based on some of Van Der Beek’s other comments, he appears to have been on a spiritual journey, growing and maturing as he gained a more fulsome understanding of how our faith serves as the foundation of the Christian life.

Difficult and challenging news has a way of helping us refine and clarify priorities. This is what Pastor Rick Warren was getting at when he spoke at a commencement ceremony at Oral Roberts University. He shared:

Following his passing, James’ family posted the following statement:

We invite you to pray for Kimberly, their six children, and extended family.

Are some pastors and evangelical leaders conveniently ignoring many social and moral cultural issues — but then willing to jump into the fray when it’s deemed safe and even politically popular to do so?

After a firestorm erupted last week over an offensive social media share from President Trump (one that he later condemned, deleted and said he had not seen in its entirety), a good many Christian leaders denounced the post. Yet some of those same individuals have remained otherwise largely silent on a host of horrific and culturally destructive developments.

Then there is Dr. Albert Mohler, one evangelical leader who reliably and consistently offers pastoral perspective and cultural guidance on a wide range of issues. He doesn’t shy away from difficult topics or stories. To borrow the old sporting phrase, he calls it like he sees it. 

Earlier this week on The Briefing, the Southern Seminary president’s daily podcast, Dr. Mohler, relevant to President Trump’s post, opined on the importance of preserving and maintaining the dignity of the presidency:

The President also needs to understand that in order to maintain the political authority he has, even the political authority in his own party, the political authority that emanates from the Oval Office, he needs to add dignity continually to his administration, rather than to allow by any source that dignity to be subverted and minimized and compromised. 

I think this is a good lesson for all of us, regardless of the responsibility we bear. The President of the United States bears an entirely unique responsibility on behalf of the entire nation. But as Christians, I think we do understand that dignity in this respect, again, human dignity in the Imago Dei that’s non-negotiable.

Dr. Mohler enjoys enormous credibility and influence because he’s a fearless, dependable, and unapologetic defender of the faith. He’s blunt and forthright but also possesses Christian charity — he recognizes human foibles, gives individuals the benefit of the doubt, and works every day to translate the world through the lens of God’s Word. 

It remains both curious and frustrating when pastors or evangelical leaders ignore the unfettered killing of preborn children, the hijacking of marriage, and the sexual mutilation of minors as part of the transgender revolution. With their silence they’re not only forfeiting their platform but also abdicating their responsibility as spiritual shepherds of their flocks.

Moral issues are not partisan. The world may have politicized the subjects of abortion, marriage and human sexuality — but that doesn’t mean those topics are forbidden to be discussed in the pulpit. 

In fact, it’s all the more reason they should be unpacked and explained. People in the pews are hungry for relevant and practical cultural translation. The Bible can speak to everything that is unfolding. It makes no sense why a pastor should stay silent while speaking inside his church about what’s happening outside its doors.

We need Christian leaders who will speak up consistently and not just when they may have a political ax to grind.

This past Sunday night featured one Super Bowl, but two halftime shows — an illustration of an ever-widening cultural divide in America.

Turning Point USA’s “All-American Halftime Show” drew over 6.1 million viewers on YouTube — and over 25 million when you include replays and aggregated views across other streaming sites.

Prior to the event, TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet stated, “The All-American Halftime Show is an opportunity for all Americans to enjoy a halftime show with no agenda other than to celebrate faith, family, and freedom. We set out to provide an entertainment option that will be fun, excellent, and exciting for the entire family while millions are gathered together for the big game.”

Airing on NBC in tens of millions of other homes on Sunday night was the performer known as “Bad Bunny” — Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio — a rapper, singer, and professional wrestler. A native of Puerto Rico, his show was performed entirely in Spanish. 

The TPUSA show featured Kid Rock urging viewers to read their Bibles and turn their lives over to Christ. Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett also performed. 

Based on social media chatter, it was Brice’s song, “Country Nowadays,” that seemed to strike a strong chord with audiences. Debuting it for the Super Bowl audience, the 46-year-old country singer sang about his frustrations of living in a culturally upside-down world:

The chorus drove the point home:

On Truth Social, President Trump weighed in on the Bad Bunny performance.

“The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER! It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence. Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children who are watching throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World.”

Not surprisingly, the Washington Post saw things differently, stating, “In general, the show had the kind of wholesome, traditional family values that would have fit right in with some of the more sentimental commercials that appeared during the game.”

Super Bowl halftime shows have come a long way since the 1970s and 1980s when they regularly featured college marching bands. During the first matchup in 1967, the University of Arizona played music from the “Sound of Music” as well as the “William Tell Overture.” For Super Bowl XI in 1977, the Walt Disney Company produced renditions of “It’s A Big, Wide, Wonderful World,” the Mickey Mouse Club theme song, and “It’s a Small World.”

It’s an even smaller world in 2026 thanks to the ability to stream alternative shows like Turning Point USA’s “All-American Halftime” extravaganza nearly everywhere anywhere.  

While Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, didn’t attend the show, she praised the production and concluded the point of the effort was to communicate that “It’s okay to love Jesus and your country.”

Amen.

When New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye lines up under center on Sunday for the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California, he’ll be playing in front of 70,000 fans inside Levi’s Stadium and over 100 million people watching on television.

Yet for the North Carolina native who’s been playing the game for years, making it to professional football’s grandest stage isn’t the biggest or most important thing in his life.

Speaking with media this week, Maye told reporters:

“I’m a follower of Jesus Christ. It’s the biggest thing in my life.”

Drake is also married to Ann Michael, his longtime girlfriend. The Mayes are strong advocates for tying the knot. 

“My teammates have a right to do whatever they choose,” he said. “I definitely would advise them to eventually get married. It’s one of the best things in life. It’s one of the best things I’ve experienced in my life. There’s no better feeling than coming home to a wife that loves you and cares for you and worried about your best interests.”

“I know my teammates, some of them are experiencing different parts of their life in what stages. But I chose to get married young, and I don’t regret it one bit.”

A two-sport athlete in high school, Drake says it’s the prioritization of the Lord that’s “gotten me here and what helps me get here.” Yet despite his success, he’s not self-focused, but sees the game as a platform to evangelize.

“I can shine light on others, hopefully leading them to relationship with Him or doing whatever I can to help lead them to Jesus Christ, knowing how their life can change and what it can do for them.”

Maye credits James Mitchell, the Patriots’ chaplain and director of player development, with helping him deepen his faith during the quarterback’s two seasons in Foxboro, Massachusetts. 

“One of the best things about a football team is that there’s other brothers on the team that are followers of Christ,” Maye told Sports Spectrum. “Being able to share thoughts and sit down in chapel and listen to our chaplain, Mitch, talk before a game, it’s just so powerful. And realizing the night before a game that we’re in here spreading the Word and listening to the Word.”

During his time with players, Chaplain Mitchell is known for stressing the walk over the talk.

“You can quote 20,000 Bible verses, but that don’t mean anything if you’re living one.”

By ‘living” a verse, Mitchell is stressing action over conversation.  

Speaking of the Christian believers on the New England Patriots, the chaplain said, “They’re listening to the Spirit to tell them what they do. And for some of them, they may not be intentional with it, though, your Holy Spirit will alert you when you need to say something and when you don’t, you know.”

During “Media Day” this week, Maye was asked about his favorite verse in the Bible. He didn’t answer right away but pondered the question for a moment and then gave his answer — Proverbs 16:9: “The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

The New England star explained, “You can have all these plans in life — ‘I want to do this, I want to do this’ — but it’s really the Lord’s doing the work.”

Of course, Drake Maye isn’t the only devoted Christ follower playing in Sunday’s game. His teammate, TreVeyon Henderson, has said, “I am nothing without God.” On the Seattle Seahawks, Ernest Jones recently discussed recommitting his life to the Lord.

“I found myself feeling like I was missing something, and what I was missing was God,” he said in November. “I got my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ back.”

There’s also the Seahawks’ Cooper Kupp, who has declared:

“I’m walking this path just like so many of my Christian brothers and sisters are. And I strive for my relationship with Christ to become closer every day, and there are battles every day. But to know God’s grace is plentiful as it is sufficient is going to fill that. And I’ve experienced it throughout my entire life.”

It’s the wise players who put the sport in perspective.

“One of the biggest things in my life that I’ve learned is that there’s purpose and there’s passion,” said Maye. “My passion is football and my purpose is [being] a believer and being strong in my faith.”

Enjoy the game, commercials (most of them) and the Turning Point USA All-American Halftime Show.