Church Soup ***Premier Episode*** (Rainbows, Target, Rick Warren, Elon Musk, & more!)

Welcome to Church Soup, where we take all the recent events from evangelical culture, mix them together in a hearty stew, and serve them to you in 10 minutes or less.

First off, it's June, and we know what that means.

It's time for corporations all around the world to celebrate diversity by changing their logos to the same rainbow-colored flag.

That is, except for their logos which are displayed in the Middle East and in China.

And many churches are getting in on the celebration, including, you guessed it, the United Methodist Church.

Yes, the United Methodist Church, where they're unwilling to offend anyone.

That is, except God.

Target made the news recently after reportedly losing nearly 20% of its value since May the 17th, as its stock continues to trend downward.

Some believe this is a result of a call for an evangelical boycott because of the retail chain's persistent commitment to the celebration of Pride Month.

However, some financial experts claim that this type of boycott has very little effect on real numbers, and that the latest trending downward is simply a readjustment due to new sales expectations, which are associated with the pandemic.

Because the easiest way to explain anything since 2020 is to blame it on COVID.

One item that brought particular outrage was the tuck-friendly swimsuits aimed at transgender people.

These suits are designed to make it more comfortable for a man pretending to be a woman to be able to hide his obvious male parts.

And I would like to currently file that under sentences, which I would never want to say again.

And speaking of brands being affected by Pride Month, the wildly popular streaming show, The Chosen, which is a dramatic retelling of the story of Jesus and his apostles, was also hit with some controversy this past week as a rainbow pride flag was spotted on the set.

The show's creator and director, Dallas Jenkins, stated to Religion News Service, quote, But if someone wants to stop watching a free show because of it, it's their right.

Now, regardless of our feelings about the flag on set, one thing we all have to agree, Dallas Jenkins' answer was pretty sassy.

Representatives of the reform community were sought for comment, but many of them were unavailable, citing that they had never seen the show due to the fact that the entire existence of the show is a violation of the Second Commandment.

In denominational news, Rick Warren continues to make waves as he has decided to appeal the ruling of the Southern Baptist Convention regarding the disfellowshipping of Saddleback Church.

Earlier this year, Saddleback Church, where Warren pastored for over four decades, was put out of the SBC for the ordination of women pastors.

Warren stated, quote, We're challenging the ruling on behalf of millions of SBC women whose God-given spiritual gifts and leadership skills are being wasted instead of empowered for the Great Commission, because we all know that the only way that you can fulfill the Great Commission is by being a pastor.

Warren went on to say, quote, We cannot finish the task Jesus gave us with 50% of the church forced to sit on the bench, which again makes perfect sense, because as we all know, 50% of all Baptists are pastors.

Finally, Elon Musk has apparently endorsed the documentary, What Is A Woman?, which featured Matt Walsh and was distributed by The Daily Wire.

In it, Walsh interviews a variety of people seeking to address the question of what makes a person a woman in the midst of the modern assertion that gender is not defined by biological sex.

Musk tweeted that, quote, Every parent should watch this, end quote, proving yet again that he, though not a professing Christian, is often willing to say things publicly that most evangelical pastors won't.

This has been our first episode of Church Soup.

If you enjoyed the show, please let us know in the comments below and don't forget to like and subscribe.