How should Christians respond when given an opportunity to direct government authority to counter injustice and protect the innocent? Esther 8 provides a powerful answer. In this chapter, Haman is off the scene; but his genocidal plan remains in effect due to a Persian custom of irreversible royal decrees. Mordecai and Esther are faced with the difficult task of honoring the king but also thwarting the impact of the death decree. And their actions lead to a dramatic reversal and God’s glory.

Esther’s story reminds us that God often places His people in positions of influence for a purpose. When He does, faithfulness requires humility, wisdom, and a willingness to act.

Series overview: Once upon a time—and I mean in God’s perfect time—a Jewish orphan girl named Esther became a Persian Queen. But, as many of you know, this book is less fairy tale and much more mystery—a book full of lessons about the mysteries of divine calling, evil and justice, finding courage to stand for truth, and understanding God’s eternal purposes in history and in our story. Though her husband claimed the title “king of kings,” Esther’s ultimate allegiance lay elsewhere—to the high King of the universe. In that sense, here’s the story and the lessons we should learn from Esther: the King’s Queen.

Outline:

1. A Royal Plea
2. A Dumb Decree
3. An Early Celebration

Key Takeaways:

• Steward your authority for the good of others.
• Persistence is required.
• Good government blesses our neighbors and points to the King.
• Lighten Up!

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What if we redesigned America’s safety net to help people truly flourish–and not just track the delivery of benefits? In this episode, Clarence H. Carter, the current Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services and a public servant with 30 years of experience, including roles under four Governors, two Presidents, and a Mayor, joins me to explore the challenges facing our current system and the vision behind Tennessee’s Human Flourishing Initiative. Using the Winchester Mystery House as an analogy, Carter explains how a system built over decades can become complicated, fragmented, and focused on measuring outputs rather than human outcomes.

We discuss the “no wrong door” approach, why county-level leadership and trusted community partners matter, and how government can move from transactions to transformational relationships in collaboration with churches and nonprofits. Commissioner Carter also explains how churches can rethink benevolence, how AI could help government workers become people-helpers rather than clerks, and what it would look like for church (as a movement of believers) to play a greater role in helping individuals and communities move from dependency to flourishing.

Clarence H. Carter is Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services, appointed by Governor Bill Lee in January 2021 to lead the state’s second-largest agency, which serves all 95 counties on a roughly $2.3 billion budget with a staff of nearly 4,000. Before Tennessee, he directed Arizona’s Department of Economic Security and Virginia’s Department of Social Services, led the District of Columbia’s Department of Human Services (where he oversaw a shift from a shelter-based homeless system toward permanent housing outcomes), and held senior federal posts at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including Director of the Office of Family Assistance and Acting Director of the Office of Community Services, where he administered seven federal programs including the $16.5 billion TANF program. In 2015 he founded the Institute for the Improvement of the Human Condition, working with safety net agencies on emergency response for vulnerable populations, and he has carried that career-long focus on reforming the social safety net into both his current role and his book, Our Safety Net Has Holes.

Key Takeaways:

• Why Clarence Carter entered public service
• The Winchester Mystery House and the problems with our modern safety net
• The difference between measuring government outputs and measuring human impact
• Tennessee’s Human Flourishing Initiative
• The “no wrong door” approach to serving people
• Why county-level leadership matters
• How government can build authentic partnerships with churches
• Moving from transactional charity to transformational relationships
• Practical encouragement for churches and nonprofits engaging in benevolence
• How AI can help government workers focus on people rather than paperwork

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Alex J. Adams is the lead federal official in Washington, D.C. overseeing child welfare, and he successfully launched a now 50-state initiative titled A Home for Every Child Initiative. The goal of this initiative is simple–to have homes waiting on kids, not kids waiting on homes. In this episode, Assistant Secretary Adams explains his call into public life, the significant reforms he implemented in Idaho, his vision for the Administration for Children and Families at the federal level and child welfare reform in the states, and the importance of the faith community in protecting children and strengthening families so every child has a safe, loving, forever home.

Alex J. Adams, PharmD, MPH, serves as Assistant Secretary for Family Support, leading the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He was nominated to lead the agency by President Donald J. Trump and was confirmed on October 7, 2025, by a vote of the U.S. Senate.

Assistant Secretary Adams brings years of health, human services, education, and regulatory expertise to advance President Trump and Secretary Kennedy’s broader vision to Make American Healthy Again. Prior to leading ACF, Dr. Adams spent more than ten years in Idaho State Government, most notably as Governor Brad Little’s budget and regulatory director and state Department of Health & Welfare director. In these capacities, he oversaw the state’s first upgrade to a AAA credit rating with both Fitch Ratings and Moody’s. Dr. Adams led the Governor’s zero-based regulation initiative, which resulted in Idaho becoming the least regulated state in the nation. He also made significant efforts to improve Idaho’s child welfare system, enacting kin-specific licensing standards, announcing paid family leave for foster parents, extending foster care to age 23, and overseeing record recruitment and retention of foster homes, and ending diversion of Social Security survivor benefits.

Dr. Adams earned his bachelor’s degree and Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Toledo in Ohio and his Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. Dr. Adams and his wife, Jennifer, are raising their daughter, Emerson.

Key Takeaways:

• His call into public life and the decision to move to DC.
• The remarkable transformation in the child welfare system in Idaho under his leadership.
• His vision for A Home for Every Child and how he inspired and encouraged all 50 states to participate.
• The new A Home for Every Child site with the scorecard, innovation challenges, and measures.
• The strategy to decrease the number of children entering foster care through effective prevention, while also increasing the number of foster homes through diligent recruitment, prioritizing kin, and improving retention of existing caregivers.
• His efforts to-date on regulatory reform, reporting and accountability measures, and protections for parental rights.
• A link to the March 3, 2026, letter protecting parents who raise their children according to the child’s sex.
• His invitation to the faith community to protect children and strengthen families.

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