Red-padded pews. It’s one of my most vivid memories from growing up in church. Their smell resembled my grandparents’ closet. They weren’t comfortable. They were impossible to nap on during sermons. (Believe me, I tried so hard.) Today, I don’t miss the rigidity of the wood or the smell. But I miss what they made us do: sit together. Even if we were tired, daydreaming, or randomly flipping through the hymnals in those pews, we were doing it together: one long row, knees uncomfortably touching, elbows nudging for inside jokes, jockeying to sit next to a crush. It was all done side by side. If you arrived late, there weren’t enough pews left for you to sit by yourself. You had to find a gap in a pew and shimmy in there to find your seat, sometimes closer to other people than you might prefer. At the time, it was awkward. But looking back, I miss it. What Solo Chairs Communicate Today, most contemporary churches have individual chairs with good padding. Even when these chairs are placed side by side, they subtly signal something to churchgoers who walk in: This worship experience is here mainly for you. Your space is your own during worship. It’s one of the many ways church has become more like Chipotle. Pick your seat. Pick your preaching. Pick your community. Pick everything according to your comfort and preferences. You don’t like that seat? There are plenty of others to choose from. It may seem like a small change—from communal pews to individual chairs. But in this shift away from pews, we’ve lost something we didn’t realize was forming us. How Pews Formed Us The pew didn’t let you hide in isolated comfort. It placed you next to the kid with the runny nose, the out-of-tune girl who thought she should be leading worship, or the guy who stole your crush (completely hypothetical). Proximity was nonnegotiable in the pews. They reminded you, I’m here, and they are too. Proximity was nonnegotiable in the pews. They reminded you, I’m here, and they are too. The pews taught me nearness, as uneasy as it could be. They taught me I wasn’t fully alone—that even in boredom, someone was bored with me. I learned how to whisper without being caught and how to hide laughter about a scribbled note. I learned that some people take notes during the sermon and that their handwriting isn’t only legible but thoughtful—as if they came expecting to remember. In pews, I learned that worship should be communal and that it’s more powerful that way. In pews, I learned not only how to sing hymns but how others can sing them over me. I learned that some tears in dimly lit rooms don’t reveal themselves until you’re close enough to see them glisten or hear the sniffles. Post-Pew Church These days, church feels modular and optional. We bypass the close interaction the pews once provided. We often scurry in at the tail end of the first song, just to catch the sermon. We slip out during the benediction, skipping the small talk. We pass each other so quickly in the service that we never learn each other’s names. We come to take exactly what we want, not to receive what we need. We’ve traded the slow, formative friction of community for the fast comforts of individualism. I’m not necessarily advocating for a pew revival. I’m not demonizing comfy solo chairs. Pews won’t save us. Neither will longer, slightly awkward greeting times, physical hymnals rather than screens, or a more stripped-down worship band. But we should reflect on how these changes are symptomatic of a larger shift in our approach to church in an affluent consumer culture. The pews, in a way, formed us to be a body, a family. In what other ways could we achieve that? We’ve traded the slow, formative friction of community for the fast comforts of individualism. Maybe this sort of formation looks less like individualized convenience and more like the holy awkwardness of showing up together—week after week, in rooms too cold or too hot, with our hope and our apathy, with our faith and our doubts. Maybe it looks like sitting next to someone who snores, or sings out of tune, or never remembers your name but calls you “brother” or “sister” anyway. Maybe it means being seated beside a stranger long enough for him or her to become familiar. Maybe choosing a church to commit to shouldn’t be about how comfortable you feel but about how you can help others feel connected, known, and loved. Maybe serving at church isn’t about what’s easiest or most comfortable but about where help is most needed. I don’t miss the pews because they smelled great. I miss them because they refused to let me be alone. They reminded me that the church isn’t only about me but I’m part of a larger body—a place not only to believe but to belong.

All of Scripture points to Jesus. Whether a passage predicts Christ, prepares God’s people for Christ, reflects Christ, or shows the results of Christ’s work, we can find him on every page. It’s easy to see Jesus in the Gospel accounts or the New Testament epistles, but what about the books of the law or Old Testament historical narratives? Understanding or teaching passages from these books in a Christ-centered way isn’t always straightforward. Let’s examine the book of Jonah—a minor prophet written as historical narrative—to see how this familiar story points us to Jesus. Obedience to the Call The book opens with God’s call to Jonah to go and warn the people of Nineveh of God’s judgment because it was a wicked city known for its violence and idolatry. Instead of obeying, Jonah fled in the opposite direction, boarding a ship to Tarshish to escape God’s presence—and his will. It’s here we see the first way that Jesus is the better Jonah. Like Jonah, Jesus received a mission from God to leave his home and deliver God’s Word to sinful people. Unlike Jonah, whose heart was bent on disobeying God’s command, Jesus willingly obeyed God’s call to leave his heavenly home to come to us. Even though his mission would cost him his life, he “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed through tears and bloody sweat, “Not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42), submitting to the Father even in the face of unimaginable suffering. Jonah disobeyed; Jesus obeyed. Cast Down to Death But God pursued Jonah. The Lord hurled on the sea a storm so intense that the boat was on the brink of breaking into pieces. While the terrified sailors cried out to their gods, Jonah slept inside the ship. The captain woke him, saying, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god!” (Jonah 1:6). Jonah knew the storm was for him, so he told the sailors the only way they could live was if he died. They reluctantly obeyed, and as Jonah sank beneath the waves, God calmed the storm. Unlike Jonah, whose heart was bent on disobeying God’s command, Jesus willingly obeyed God’s call to leave his heavenly home to come to us. Mark 4:35–41 tells a parallel story. Jesus, too, was asleep during a violent storm as his disciples panicked. They woke him, crying, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (v. 38). But unlike Jonah, Jesus himself spoke to the storm and stilled it with a word. The sea obeyed him immediately. The disciples marveled at Jesus, understanding that only God can command creation. They wondered aloud, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (v. 41). The answer is clear: Jesus is better than Jonah because he isn’t merely human but also divine. Jesus wasn’t cast into the sea that day like Jonah, but he cast himself down to death when he went to the cross. Like Jonah’s metaphorical death that saved the sailors from the storm, Jesus’s death was necessary for our salvation. But while Jonah’s journey into the deep was a result of his own disobedience, Jesus’s death was the result of ours. Though sinless, he took on the sin of the world for our sake. As Jesus declared, “Something greater than Jonah is here” (Matt. 12:41). Three Days in the Deep Jonah’s plunge into the sea seemed final, but God appointed a great fish to swallow him. Jonah remained inside the belly of the fish for three days and three nights before it vomited him onto dry land. Jesus later explained that Jonah was a sign pointing to himself: “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (v. 40). Jonah was as good as dead, but Jesus truly died and was buried for three days before God raised him from the dead. Jesus fulfilled the sign of Jonah through his death and resurrection, purchasing life for all who believe. Messengers of Mercy With the mercy of a second chance, Jonah finally obeyed God’s command and went to Nineveh, calling out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4). The Ninevites believed God and repented of their evil ways with mourning and fasting. The God of mercy responded by relenting from the disaster he threatened. But while Jonah’s journey into the deep was a result of his own disobedience, Jesus’s death was the result of ours. Jonah had received God’s saving mercy just days before, but rather than rejoice in the Ninevites’ salvation, he was angry. He admitted he fled to Tarshish because he knew God would be merciful: “I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster” (4:2). Jonah delivered a message of judgment that led to repentance and mercy, but what he truly desired was wrath. Jesus was a messenger of mercy, calling sinners to “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:12). Unlike Jonah, Jesus longed to show mercy. He looked on sinners with compassion, seeing them as “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (9:36). He was denied, betrayed, mocked, tortured, and murdered by those he came to save, yet even as he hung dying on the cross, he called out “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Jonah begrudged God’s mercy; Jesus embodied it. The story of Jonah is more than a Sunday school tale about a big fish—it’s a shadow of the Savior to come. Jesus is the true and better Jonah. In every act of disobedience and deliverance, resistance and redemption, Jonah points us to Jesus: the obedient Son, the sovereign Lord, the risen Savior, and the merciful Redeemer.

The world is on the verge of a technological revolution unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Artificial intelligence is a defining force that will shape military power, economic growth, the future of medicine, surveillance, and the global balance of freedom versus authoritarianism — and whoever leads in AI will set the rules for the 21st century.The stakes could not be higher. And yet while America debates regulations and climate policy, China is already racing ahead, fueled by energy abundance.Energy abundance must be understood as a core national policy imperative — not just as a side issue for environmental debates.When people talk about China’s strategy in the AI race, they usually point to state subsidies and investments. China’s command-economy structure allows the Chinese Communist Party to control the direction of the country’s production. For example, in recent years, the CCP has poured billions of dollars into quantum computing.China’s energy edgeBut another, more important story is at play: China is powering its AI push with a historic surge in energy production.China has been constructing new coal plants at a staggering speed, accounting for 95% of new coal plants built worldwide in 2023. China just recently broke ground on what is being dubbed the “world’s largest hydropower dam.” These and other energy projects have resulted in massive growth in energy production in China in the past few decades. In fact, production climbed from 1,356 terawatt hours in 2000 to an incredible 10,073 terawatt hours in 2024.Beijing understands what too many American policymakers ignore: Modern economies and advanced AI models are energy monsters. Training cutting-edge systems requires millions of kilowatt hours of power. Keeping AI running at scale demands a resilient and reliable grid.China isn’t wringing its hands about carbon targets or ESG metrics. It’s doing what great powers do when they intend to dominate: They make sure nothing — especially energy scarcity — stands in their way.America’s self-inflicted weaknessMeanwhile, in America, most of our leaders have embraced climate alarmism over common sense. We’ve strangled coal, stalled nuclear, and made it nearly impossible to build new power infrastructure. Subsidized green schemes may win applause at Davos, but they don’t keep the lights on. And they certainly can’t fuel the data centers that AI requires.The demand for energy from the AI industry shows no sign of slowing. Developers are already bypassing traditional utilities to build their own power plants, a sign of just how immense the pressure on the grid has become. That demand is also driving up energy costs for everyday citizens who now compete with data centers for electricity.Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has even spoken of plans to spend “trillions” on new data center construction. Morgan Stanley projects that global investment in AI-related infrastructure could reach $3 trillion by 2028.Already, grid instability is a growing problem. Blackouts, brownouts, and soaring electricity prices are becoming a feature of American life. Now imagine layering the immense demand of AI on top of a fragile system designed to appease activists rather than strengthen a nation.In the AI age, a weak grid equals a weak country. And weakness is something that authoritarian rivals like Beijing are counting on.Time to hit the acceleratorDonald Trump has already done a tremendous amount of work to reorient America toward energy dominance. In the first days of his administration, he released detailed plans explicitly focused on “unleashing American energy,” signaling that the message is being taken seriously at the highest levels.Over the past several months, Trump has signed numerous executive orders to bolster domestic energy production and end subsidies for unreliable energy sources. Most recently, the Environmental Protection Agency has moved to rescind the Endangerment Finding — a potentially massive blow to the climate agenda that has hamstrung energy production in the United States since the Obama administration.These steps deserve a lot of credit and support. However, for America to remain competitive in the AI race, we must not only continue this momentum but ramp it up wherever possible. Energy abundance must be understood as a core national policy imperative — not just as a side issue for environmental debates.RELATED: MAGA meets the machine: Trump goes all in on AI Photo by Grafissimo via Getty ImagesSilicon Valley cannot out-innovate a blackout. However, Americans can’t code their way around an empty power plant. If China has both the AI models and the energy muscle to run them, while America ties itself in regulatory knots, the future belongs to China.Liberty on the lineThis is about more than technology. This is about the world we want to live in. An authoritarian China, armed with both AI supremacy and energy dominance, would have the power to bend the global order toward censorship, surveillance, and control.If we want America to lead the future of artificial intelligence, then we must act now. The AI race cannot be won by Silicon Valley alone. It will be won only if America moves full speed ahead with abundant domestic energy production, climate realism, and universal access to affordable and reliable energy for all.

Former FBI Director James Comey has just shared a creepy story about not only feeling deeply connected to Taylor Swift’s music, but attending multiple Taylor Swift concerts when the star was even younger than she is now.“Taylor Swift has grown up with my family and provided us a soundtrack, really, as we’ve grown ourselves and learned and adapted and dealt with adversity and celebration. She had songs for all of it. I suspect that’s something that millions of Americans have also experienced in their families,” Comey said in the very strange video.“I think that’s because Taylor Swift produces great art, but also because she models something. At every stage of her career, she’s shown a certain way of being that resonated with my kids and also felt right to me as a parent. And she’s still doing that as a grown-up,” he continued.Comey went on to claim that he also struggles to “stand up to bullies without letting their meanness infect me and change me.” He then referenced California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new social media strategy, which is mocking “Donald Trump and his all-caps megalomania and his absurdity.”“I got to be honest, it also leaves me with a strange feeling at times because I don’t want us to become like Trump and his followers. There are far more decent, honest, kind people in America than there are mean jerks,” Comey said, before bringing it back to Taylor Swift.After attending his second Taylor Swift concert in Hartford, Connecticut, 14 years ago, “she sang a song about this topic, asking, ‘Why you got to be so mean.’” He finished the odd video by quoting the song.BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler is in shock.“It would almost be better if you thought, ‘Wow, he is just a loser who’s having verbal diarrhea, and that’s what he’s saying.’ No, no, look at his eyes in that video. He actually pre-wrote this and was reading it,” she says.“Comey is a 50-year-old man at the time. Like, what a creeper to be a drooling fanboy over a young girl,” she continues, adding, “And yet he seems proud of this? We knew he was a weirdo and a corrupt criminal, but did you also know that he was a disgusting creep? Well, now you do.”Want more from Liz Wheeler?To enjoy more of Liz’s based commentary, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

The flag raising ceremony at Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, Australia, on Jan. 26, 2020. Rohan Thomson/Getty ImagesAs iconic as koalas and kangaroos, the Australian flag waves above us each day—yet…

U.S. Navy sailors stand along the deck as they prepare for the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to depart from the Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Va., on June 24, 2025. Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesParliament’s…

The answer was not Trump alone. Indeed, irony abounds when Democrats resonate with the claims of the vestigial Never Trumpers that the MAGA movement “hijacked” the Republican Party. In characteristic…

Trump’s war on self-serving colleges and universities appears to be going well. Settlements from race and sex discrimination investigations have been reached with Columbia, Brown, and…

Top O' the BriefingHappy Monday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Feddlegyrk felt that plant-based snacking had gone too far when he was served Rice Krispies kale treats at Jeffrey's monthly Boggle…

Good Monday morning. Here is what’s on President Trump’s agenda today: 10:00 AM THE PRESIDENT signs Executive Orders 12:00 PM THE PRESIDENT greets The President of the Republic of Korea 12:15 PM THE…