Welcome to Higher Ground, a newsletter and website dedicated to helping families of faith navigate a chaotic world with rigorous reporting, commentary and analysis on national, global and cultural issues.

Subscribe to have the Higher Ground newsletter delivered to your inbox every Sunday.

A new legal drama is taking place between Liberty University and Jerry Falwell Jr., with the latter filing a $5 million lawsuit aimed at halting the school’s planned use of a hologram to honor Mr. Falwell’s late father, the Rev. Jerry L. Falwell.

“Mr. Falwell, a trustee of the Falwell Family Trust, filed the lawsuit last month against the school in Lynchburg, Virginia, founded by the Rev. Jerry L. Falwell in 1971,” The Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner reports. “The suit claims that the elder Falwell’s “intellectual property” and trademark were assigned to the family trust when he died in 2007.”

Read more about the legal battle here.

Kirk Cameron takes on American Library Association

Another battle is playing out between actor Kirk Cameron and the American Library Association over his family-friendly book readings at libraries across the U.S.

Mr. Cameron and Jeremy Dys, senior counsel at First Liberty — the attorney representing Mr. Cameron and his publisher Brave Books — believe the library association has attempted to help keep the actor out of public libraries. Mr. Dys recently spoke with “Higher Ground” about the ordeal.

Meanwhile, in a separate interview, Mr. Cameron told Washington Times columnist Billy Hallowell he wants to “win back the culture” and help positively shape future generations. Here’s what the actor had to say.

Listen to The Higher Ground Podcast on The Washington Times for exclusive interviews and commentary:

Evangelical college’s doctrinal debate

Mr. Kellner explored Moody Bible Institute’s legal battle over the school’s position that ordained ministry is limited to men.

The evangelical college asked the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to throw out a federal discrimination lawsuit filed by Janay E. Garrick, a professor on faculty from 2014 until 2017. “Ms. Garrick was implored to sign an affirmation of institutional doctrine, which included “‘complementarianism,’ which says men and women have different, but complementary, roles and that men only can serve as ordained clergy,” Mr. Kellner reports.

A potential Christian genocide

A potential genocide could be brewing in Nagorno Karabakh, putting Armenian Christians at grave risk. Medicine, food and supplies are in short supply as the only road into or out of the region is blockaded by Azerbaijan. This dire issue, which many don’t know about, was tackled on this week’s “Higher Ground With Billy Hallowell” podcast.

Mr. Hallowell sat down with Joel Veldkamp, head of international communications at Christian Solidarity International, to understand the crisis and what’s at stake. Listen here.

Church vs state: Oklahoma education battle heats up

On the First Amendment front, there’s yet another church vs. state battle brewing in Oklahoma, where parents, students and special interest groups are suing to stop the nation’s first religious charter school, The Times’ Alex Swoyer reports.

Their argue the “tax-funded Catholic school violates the separation of church and state,” saying the school will discriminate against LGBTQ students and push Catholic teachings, according to Ms. Swoyer. Here’s more on the fight.

’The Chosen’ actress on playing Mary

On the entertainment front, “The Chosen,” which is preparing for the release of its fourth season, continues to captivate audiences. Mr. Kellner caught up with actress Vanessa Benavente who plays Mary, the mother of Jesus. She said taking the role was essentially a leap of faith as no one knew if “The Chosen” would be a success.

“Acting wasn’t coming by very regularly so I was working in casting and when I got the audition, I had to take an extra long lunch and work late to get there,” Ms. Benavente says. Of course, the show was a smash hit — one that has transformed her and other actors’ lives.

’Sound of Freedom’ continues to ring

While we’re on the topic of entertainment, “The Sound of Freedom” continues to stun at the box office, with the film bringing in more than $150 million. But beyond its Hollywood impact, the movie is sparking calls for investigations into human trafficking.

“Republican senators are pressing for hearings on human trafficking and citing the groundswell of alarm set off by the movie ‘Sound of Freedom,’” The Times’ Kerry Picket reports. “Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin led a GOP letter to the Democratic chairmen of the Senate’s Judiciary, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Foreign Relations committees that highlighted the need for the hearings.”

In our opinion

On the opinion page, Mr. Hallowell highlights one rock star’s powerful sermon about God, purpose and the chaos we see in current culture. Skillet’s John Cooper recently hit back against evolution, the belief there’s “no reason to be alive” and the lack of “absolute morality,” repeatedly bringing his audience to cheers.

“At a time when celebrities, pop stars and actors routinely unleash political mantras aimed at targeting temporal woes, Mr. Cooper was doing something quite different,” Mr. Hallowell wrote of the rocker’s message. “He was exposing the spiritual crises before us to offer an eternal path forward.” Read more about the powerful message.

And Everett Piper’s “Ask Dr. E” column tackles whether there’s “a spectrum more comprehensive than a heterosexual male and female.”

A curious reader wrote in to express the worry there’s “just too many ‘what-ifs’” on the gender front, adding, “Perhaps we should defer to a power much higher and do what Jesus tells us to do, stop judging and love!” As always, Mr. Everett offers a candid and thoughtful response.

In a separate column, he also ponders another essential question: “How will America handle the next pandemic?”

Finally, the Times editorial board published a piece titled, “A ‘gender-affirming care’ fad gone bad,” expressing worries over the current state of pediatric transgender treatments.

“The decision to undergo surgical and hormonal treatments is permanent and life-altering,” the editorial reads. “That’s why such medical professionals should be barred from performing such procedures on minors.” Read the full piece here.