It’s Monday, May 18th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Daughter of imprisoned Chinese pastor urges his release Before he left for the Chinese-American summit in Beijing, President Donald Trump said that he would advocate for the release of Pastor Ezra Jin of the underground Zion Church who was arrested in October 2025 during a massive Communist crackdown against the body of Christ. In a recent interview on Fox News Channel, Grace Drexel, his daughter, who emigrated to America several years ago, spoke about her father’s church. DREXEL: “My father's church was one of the largest independent churches in China, and for that reason they came after my father. The charge against them was the illegal use of information networks, because he was hosting his services, both online and offline, having smaller groups meet together.” She described Pastor Jin’s character. DREXEL: “My father is a pastor in China, and, like Christians everywhere, he believed that the church should only have one God and serve one God. He led his church in order to be faithful to Scripture and faithful to his beliefs. “Ultimately, I know my father as just a very gentle and kind man. He is not very confrontational. This kind and gentle man is now in prison. They handcuffed him and shaved his hair, and is not getting his medication that he needs -- all because he was just leading a church.” Grace was counting on U.S. President Trump to negotiate her father’s release from his unjust imprisonment with Chinese President Xi Jinping. DREXEL: “We hope that, as the two leaders are meeting together, that they will both have a softening of the hearts and will release my father and allow him to come to the U.S.” According to President Trump, President Jinping was “going to strongly consider the pastor,” reports The Hill.com. Grace Drexel, Pastor Jin’s daughter, advocated for the release of hundreds of other pastors who have also been unfairly imprisoned for their faith in Jesus Christ. DREXEL: “We see that this is not an isolated case. There are so many pastors and church leaders and churches being persecuted in China actively today. In fact, we know that there are hundreds of pastors that are currently in prison, or are in detention, or have recently, very recently, been released. This is a very critical period in China, and it's very disheartening and very scary for many Christians in China.” Send a polite, 2-sentence letter urging Pastor Ezra Jin’s release to Ambassador Xie Feng, Chinese Embassy, 3505 International Place, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008. Church of Scotland sees surge of converts amid “deep spiritual hunger” The Church of Scotland in the United Kingdom has seen a surge of converts since the COVID-19 pandemic amid what one clergyman called "a deep spiritual hunger,” reports The Christian Post. In 2025, 820 people in the denomination affirmed faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ, which is nearly double the 428 people who did so in 2021, according to official church figures. In a May 8th report, church leaders wrote, "We are seeing evidence of increased Bible engagement, renewed interest in spiritual questions, growing church attendance, and more young people and young adults coming to faith with confidence." Rev. David Cameron noted that 3,292 Scotts have professed faith in Christ between 2021 and 2025. He said, "I believe this growth reflects the fact that, even in uncertain times, there remains a deep spiritual hunger within our parishes." The new conversions come amid a wider decline in membership in the Church of Scotland, whose approximately 229,000 members recorded at the end of 2025 indicated a fall of 5% from 2024, primarily because of death. The Church of Scotland, which was established in the 16th century as a Reformed, Presbyterian denomination, differs from the Church of England in that it does not recognize the British monarch as its political head. Sadly, in 2016 the Scottish church rejetced clear Biblical teaching and allowed its clergy to enter into faux homosexual marriages and civil partnerships. Then, in May 2022, the Church of Scotland General Assembly voted in favor of permitting the church's clergy to conduct homosexual faux marriages, reported the BBC. Romans 1:26-27 says, “God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another.” Supreme Court allows Abortion Kill Pill to continue to be sent by mail Here in the United States, on May 14th, the Supreme Court ruled to allow the Abortion Kill Pill to continue to be sent through the mail. It trumped the May 1st ruling by a federal appeals court in Louisiana which had barred the mailing of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions, which is the preferred murder method that 63% of mothers choose who wish to abort their children. To their credit, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito both dissented. Alito contended that “[w]hat is at stake is the perpetration of a scheme to undermine our decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,” the court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Gov. DeSantis vs. House Minority Leader Jeffries on redistricting Ever since the Virginia Supreme Court rejected the unconstitutional redistricting in Virginia where Republicans would only be left with one of 11 Congressional seats, Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has been discouraging Florida Republican politicians from doing their own redistricting, reports The Hill.com. Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis got a kick out Congressman Jeffries’ rhetoric. DeSANTIS: “I heard this guy, Jeffries, popping off in Washington, about Florida. He wants to be Speaker of the House, and he's more liberal than [Nancy] Pelosi from New York City. We're going to go after Florida. Please be my guest. I will pay for you to come down to Florida and campaign. I'll put you up in the Florida governor's mansion. We'll take you fishing. “There's nothing that could be better for Republicans in Florida than to see Hakeem Jeffries everywhere around this state. Voters will not like what they see. They will not want that type of ideology. And so, the door is open. The invitation is out there. I don't think there would be anything better for the Republican Party of Florida, but to have Jeffries there. “Now, I kind of feel bad for the guy, because he's as left as they come. He's always going left, and yet the Far Left hates him. You know, they call him a ‘Dollar Store Obama.’” On May 15th, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Virginia Democrats to revive their lopsided redistricting plan, reports Politico.com. Missionary Sheldon Jackson felt compelled to share Gospel And finally, 192 years ago today, Sheldon Jackson was born in 1834. He wanted to become a missionary overseas, but the Presbyterian board told the five-foot-tall Jackson, who had weak eyesight and was often ill, that he would be better suited for duty in the United States. Jackson's first assignment was at the Choctaw mission in Oklahoma Territory, where he worked until poor health forced him to go back East in 1859. In the summer of 1869, Jackson went on a missionary tour using the railroad and stage lines, establishing a church a day. Jackson found his major life's work in the new territory of Alaska with 20,000 miles of coastline. In 1867, Secretary of State William Seward, during the administration of President Andrew Johnson, had negotiated the Alaska Purchase from Russia. In 1877, Jackson began his work in Alaska. He became committed to the Christian, educational, and economic wellbeing of the Alaska Natives. He famously said, “I must work the works of Him Who sent me while it is yet day,” adapting the command of John 9:4. The Scripture says, “As long as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” Ultimately, he travelled one million miles and established more than one hundred missions and churches, mostly in the Western United States. Close And that's The Worldview on this Monday, May 18th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I’m Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.
