Drop the Mic

Every day there is a new video, piece of audio, or article that ignites a new controversy for the next news cycle. We live in a day where advertising dollars, ratings, and special interest drive 24 hour new channels much like any other broadcasting entity. But put aside any disdain you might have for a particular brand of news outlet, and look at what we broadcast on our own with social media, blogs, and even Sunday sermons.

Inside the church, we choose sides of controversies as fast as the rest of the world. When Twitter “blows up” over the latest controversy making it’s rounds, we believers help light that fuse. Some fights are worth fighting, and some tragedies deserve our 140 characters, blog posts, Facebook comments, and sermons. But not as many as we join. The most painful part of our personal broadcasting is the hate, flippancy, and disregard we articulate.

For the moment, put aside the absurdity of believing we can have a true conversation or debate in the exchange of 140 character messages or blog comments. What about the content and intent of what we post, in the name of our theology or God himself, for the watching world to digest? Is there anything worthwhile about creating a caricature of the controversy itself or the souls caught in the public eye (even if they chose to be there)? I wonder how many of us are looking for our own 15 minutes of fame as we craft our best wit into social media messages about the latest “reality star” to make a comment about God, human rights, or gender roles.

We in the church seem to be as bloodthirsty for our particular definition of “justice” as the rest of our culture. Are we after our “pound of flesh” or are we truly wanting to see the darkness be pushed back? I’m amazed at how easy a job police officers seem to have in Christian’s eyes when the latest video surfaces. I’m blown away at how quickly believers in Jesus can seem to throw away an entire people group when the latest tragedy opens the old wounds of racism. The church is slow to move on many things, but not in giving our opinion. It doesn’t matter if it is about a “Braveheart” loving pastor in the North West or the lastest “liberal” theologian that does or doesn’t define atonement exactly the same way we do. We rally our troops, call a tribal meeting, and buy our tickets to hear the next conference pastor/speaker give us a pep talk about how “right” we see things.

I am writing this on a blog. I have both a Facebook and Twitter account that I enjoy feeling “connected” through. So I am not complaining about the social media apparatus itself (shout out Newsroom’s Jim Harper). I’m talking about what we, as believers, do with the platform we have inside our social media and blogosphere.

Why is everyone else’s God “monstrous” compared to ours? Why does our life matter more than those represented by a trending hashtag? Do we even know anyone in Ferguson Missouri that didn’t show up on a newscast? When did we become experts about people we only hear from through headlines and podcasts? Why is our church better? Why are people who want their guns to have rights less educated than us? Why are people concerned about the link between guns and mass shootings “liberal idiots”?

Our blogs are not our own when we claim to be writing from a belief in Jesus as the Christ. And our pulpits are not a place to be bullies. For the sake of the watching world, our Twitter accounts are not the best place to spread our opinion as if it is the Gospel. It’s not okay to build an online following with our ability to fight, argue, and smear people we make opponents during the latest tragedy or controversy. Don’t claim to be speaking “gospel truths” with a blog or sermon filled with intentionally belittling barbs. Sure, Jesus used humor and irony to get his point across, but I promise we don’t do it sinlessly as he did.

Image Credit: http://www.reganwolfrom.com/2013/09/23/controversy-sells-what-exactly/