Friday, May 1, 2026
5/1/202626 min
This is The Briefing, a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview.
On today’s edition of The Briefing, Dr. Mohler discusses the controversy over new biopic of Michael Jackson, why he aired Cole Allen’s manifesto, if a wife’s refusal to be a pastor’s wife disqualifies her husband from pastoral ministry, loved ones with diminished faculties at the end of life, a Baptist university allowing an LGBTQ group to hold events on its campus, and the ‘biblicality’ of women teaching men in a parachurch context.
Part I (00:13 – 09:44)
The Controversy Over ‘Michael’: Sanitized Biopic of Michael Jackson Raises Massive Moral Issues – Even Secularists are Appalled by the Way the Story is Sanitized
- The ‘distorted’ Michael Jackson film you’ll never get to see by The Telegraph (Liam Kelly)
- Michael Jackson’s Music Was Too Big to Be Canceled by The New York Times (Ben Sisario)
- ‘Michael’ Review: A Spotless Biopic of the King of Pop by The Wall Street Journal (Kyle Smith)
Part II (09:44 – 14:01)
Was It Wrong to Air Cole Allen’s Manifesto After His Attempted Assassination of President Trump? — Dr. Mohler Responds to Letters From Listeners of The Briefing
Part III (14:01 – 16:44)
I’m Called to Pastoral Ministry, But My Wife Does Not Want to Be a Pastor’s Wife. Does That Disqualify Me? — Dr. Mohler Responds to Letters From Listeners of The Briefing
Part IV (16:44 – 20:20)
What About Loved Ones with Diminished Mental Faculties at the End of Life? — Dr. Mohler Responds to Letters From Listeners of The Briefing
Part V (20:20 – 21:17)
What are Your Thoughts on a Baptist University Allowing an LGBTQ Group to Hold Events on Its Campus? — Dr. Mohler Responds to Letters From Listeners of The Briefing
Part VI (21:17 – 26:00)
What is the ‘Biblicality’ of Women Teaching Men In a Parachurch Context? — Dr. Mohler Responds to Letters From Listeners of The Briefing
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First 90 secondsAlbert Mohler· Host0:00
[upbeat music] It's Friday, May 1st, 2026. I'm Albert Mohler, and this is The Briefing, a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview. As we think about what issues arise that demand a Christian worldview consideration, certainly there are huge geopolitical issues, war and peace, treaties, royal visits, you know, the nature of government, constitutional interpretation. Yeah, they're huge things. We also know that there are pressing issues, say, on the biomedical front: assisted suicide, abortion, you know, the transgender revolution. Huge issues. Sometimes, however, it comes down to popular culture. And, uh, today I want us to look at one big, very revealing development in popular culture, and that has to do with the biopic, uh, the movie looking at the life of Michael Jackson, sort of. Sort of looking at the life of Michael Jackson. Jaafar Jackson, who is a relative of the late Michael Jackson, evidently does a pretty remarkable job, uh, in terms of representing the singer. Uh, that's not the controversy about the film. The controversy about the film is the fact that the film exists as it is, and the message that it sends, and what it says and what it doesn't say, what it reveals and what it doesn't reveal. So just to give you an example of the kind of conversation going on about the film, uh, you have The Telegraph in London putting out a major story, again saying what's interesting here is not what's here, but, but what's not. Here's the headline. Quote, "Who's bad?