Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street. Last year, Coulson fellow Ivan Rivera Newberry wrote an opinion piece for the Daily Wire. It was entitled, I'm a Registered Nurse and I'm Sounding the Alarm on Gender Ideology Deception in Medicine. In the article, she described the lunacy that had captivated the medical field.
Quote, emboldened voices scream about the injustice of appropriation when it comes to racial and ethnic groups. But where is the outcry in defense of the appropriation of women, as if dresses and makeup are the sum of the female experience? To undermine women, those who gave birth to every group, every nation, indeed the world, through imitation, is a great injustice. Yvonne ended her article by stating this: quote, I will not play the pronoun game or any gender-neutralizing tactic to mock a perfect design. I will not apologize for using the word woman.
I am a woman. ⁇ Well, less than 48 hours after the piece was published, Rivera Newberry was fired. At the time, she was studying worldview and culture in the Colson Fellows program. Founded by Chuck Colson, the Colson Fellows program equips believers to live courageously from a biblical foundation of truth and calling. When she received a request to meet with the Human Resources Department at her place of employment, Yvonne knew what was coming next.
Though many medical professionals had commended her column privately and supported her stand for truth, Her employer did not, so Yvonne reached out to her Coulson Fellows cohort for prayer and support. Here's what she wrote quote I needed prayer to help me stand firm and have wherewithal and discernment in the meaning. The prayers carried me and grounded me nothing about getting fired was pleasant. My solace was knowing that I finally spoke truth in a very public way. and it cost me my job, but the glory goes to Jesus.
⁇ Devon is an example of what might be called a theology of getting fired. As cultural norms become more antithetical to truth and conformity expected in more and more workplaces, many of us may be forced to choose. Might be that faithfulness for us includes a willingness to live not by lies. and that will entail losing our jobs, our businesses, our social standing. Simply put, we may have to choose between our faith and our job.
Standing for truth is a calling of all Christians at all times. It doesn't mean that we're looking for a fight or that every situation requires stubborn and loud resistance, but some do. and as the Church we should make sure that no one who's called to take this stand is alone or unprepared. That's why the Coulson Fellows Program exists. Over the course of nine months, fellows meet in regional cohorts studying essential books on Christian worldview and culture and learning through commentaries, articles, webinars, and videos.
As they learn in community, whether online or in local gatherings, they wrestle with what God might be calling them to do in their time and place. Colson Fellows program is not a book club. It's an intensive curated program that helps Christians lead as people of grace and truth in this cultural moment. Program covers topics like truth, gender, government, abortion, false religions, and vocation, all from a biblical perspective. Like Daniel, who purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself, we may all face a similar moment of decision.
If your day of choosing between your faith and your financial future has not come yet, It could be around the corner. The good news is you don't have to make that choice alone. Like Yvonne, you can have a community of fellow believers who are ready to stand with you. Read more stories like Yvonne's and learn more about how to apply for the upcoming Colson Fellows class by visiting Colsonfellows.org. That's colsonfellows.org.
For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint.
