Friday, September 5th: In Luke 11:23, Jesus draws a hard line: with Him or against Him; gathering or scattering. In a culture that often likes Jesus but is wary of His followers, we ask what it means to gather people to Him instead of scattering them away. We walk through the Luke 11 context—deliverance, accusation, and Jesus’ kingdom logic—and show why neutrality isn’t really neutral. Then we name common scatterers: fear-first messaging, proof-texting, platitudes, performative positivity, grievance postures, and moralizing people before they meet Christ. We contrast those with gathering practices: leading with Jesus, pairing prayer with presence, quoting Scripture in context, normalizing lament, practicing sturdy hospitality, and refusing culture-war shortcuts. Along the way we note the landscape: many Americans remain open to Jesus even as trust in Christian credibility lags—so we focus on humble confession and steady faithfulness. We offer practical steps for the week so listeners can embody the message at home, school, and work. The aim isn’t winning arguments; it’s joining Jesus’ mission of rescue and restoration. Gatherers tell the truth in love, carry real burdens, and make space at the table. This episode is an invitation to align our lives with the One who still gathers the scattered.

Openness vs. skepticism: 71% positive toward Jesus; “hypocrisy” is the top barrier people cite about Christianity. (Barna Group)
Religious landscape (2025): 62% Christian; “nones” ~29%; the freefall has stabilized. (Pew Research Center, AP News)

Clergy credibility: “High/very high ethics” now ~30–32%. (Gallup.com)
Scripture engagement: ~18% of adults are “Scripture engaged” (≈47 million); Gen Z ≈11%. (Religion Unplugged, 1s712.americanbible.org)
Giving to religion: still the single largest giving category (~$146.5B; ~24% of total U.S. charitable giving in 2024). (givingusa.org, NPTrust)
Persecution: 380M+ Christians face high levels globally; 1 in 7. U.S. religion-based hate crimes exist but are dominated by anti-Jewish incidents. (Open Doors, Department of Justice)
Fear appeals research: effective when paired with clear efficacy; otherwise can backfire into avoidance. (PubMed, American Psychological Association)
Toxic positivity: mainstream psychology warns it suppresses emotions and harms resilience. (The Washington Post)
Satan’s development: sparse in the Hebrew Bible; demonology expands in Second Temple Judaism under Persian/Hellenistic influence. (Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, DukeSpace)