Social Media

The Thirties – Part 8 (Points to Ponder)

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

In this series, I have considered ACG’s book, Inside Germany.  Published in 1939, it is a fascinating account of the Nazi takeover of Germany that brought the world to the brink of disaster.  In light of reading that book and reflecting on our own times, what are some takeaway points to consider as preachers?

1. Only one message can change hearts.  It is not a political message nor driven by headlines in the newspapers or social media.  It is the message of the Gospel, and it comes from the Bible.  We must preach the gospel as loud and clear as possible in tumultuous times.  It may be that the turbulent times stir previously comfortable hearts to a new level of openness.  When those moments come, we must offer Jesus to a needy world. 

2. Only saying one thing can be a sign of weakness.  I know that our ministry is to preach the Gospel.  However, we also have some clauses in our job description that relate to being people of the truth.  In an age of disinformation, misinformation, malinformation, etc., we must speak the truth.  In an age of censorship, controlled media narratives, and the silencing of independent thinking, we need to promote informed and free thought.  Suppose our default position in public speech is to hide behind what is culturally acceptable.  For now, we can quote Bible verses because it is still safe to do so.  Why do we think we will later become bold clarions of truth when the societal pressure to conform becomes so much greater once tyranny takes a tighter grip on our throats?

3. We need to grow in discernment.  Too many are proclaiming a media-shaped worldview with some Bible verses attached.  There is probably a church in your town that is already fully there – sounding like their pulpit is a marginally more religious version of a BBC TV presenter.  God has not called us to offer insipid commentary on society with the odd tip of the hat to contemporary ideology.  We were called to think and proclaim biblically.  So read the Bible, then read the culture through the lens of the Bible (and not vice versa). 

We wouldn’t only read theology books from one agenda-driven publishing house, so don’t read society simply through the lens of the mainstream media’s agreed narrative.  Neither should we only read society through just one or two social media voices.  Let’s look for trustworthy sources.  That doesn’t mean checking to see if they are on the BBC, even if it once did.  Censorship should be a red flag to any thinker.  Look for who is being paid and who is losing their livelihood.  Look for who stands to gain and who is being silenced.  Let’s look for multiple trustworthy sources of information and set an example of being informed, thoughtful, and biblical in our discernment.

4. Have the courage to speak when silence is easier.  Can I be candid?  There have been times during recent years when I have found that many Christian leaders seem to be hiding behind the mantra of only preaching the Gospel.  It is easy to quote John 3:16 on social media.  But how many churches have gone along with the media narrative every step of the way, only to wonder later why they didn’t question more?  The easy choice today can mean I have reduced my credibility in a year or two.

5. What is our territory?  We have to be careful with politicised issues.  But don’t fall for the simplistic idea that every political matter is off-limits to us.  Last week, I was in a room where some people were asked what it was like to live under Soviet rule.  One answered about how they could not trust anyone.  Another spoke about never showing gladness outwardly.  Then an older man said, “We can never explain to our children what it was like because it was a spirit.”  There was a spiritual reality behind Communist rule.  There was an evil spirituality in Nazi rule too.  And if there is a “spirit of the age” at work in the ideological agenda of our day, then we cannot say that preachers should stay quiet.  Politics may be largely off-limits, but speaking God’s truth in the midst of a spiritual battle certainly is our territory.

6. Having courage does not negate the need for gentleness.  Sometimes, people hear a call for courage as a call for bombastic shouting.  Not at all.  We represent Christ, and we need to convey the nature of his character, as well as truth, in society.  But we should not underestimate what can be achieved in this world with gentle forcefulness.  (See my post on Solzhenitsyn’s “Live Not By Lies” from January.)

7. Pray and pray boldly.  As well as saying little to challenge the media narrative, it is also easy to pray as if that media narrative dictates reality.  God can do immeasurably beyond all that we ask or imagine.  In our private and public prayers, let us boldly pray for God to bring down those who exalt themselves, for God to expose those whose plans are for evil rather than good, and for God to break open hearts that seem so solidified against him.  The Third Reich was supposedly going to last a thousand years, but it was done in twelve.  Many prayed for that.  The impregnable Iron Curtain was brought down in my younger years.  Many prayed for that too.  And so it is with every variation of Communism, globalism, or religious takeover. Let’s pray that God would bring it down so that more can be spared the suffering and freely come to know him.

Discernment Danger

/ Peter Mead / 8 Comments

You have probably heard the old adage: “bank staff learn to identify counterfeit money by handling the real thing.”

I suspect we have a growing problem today. Actually, several.

1. Too many of us don’t think counterfeit money exists. Actually, I am not thinking about money. I am referring to ideas and agendas. Too many of us are shockingly naive. We have a vague notion that there is sin in the world, but still we assume that nobody could have ulterior motives as they deal in words (at least, not ones that are not immediately obvious to me). If you question the standard media or cultural narrative on any issue then you run the risk of being dismissed for believing conspiracy theories or being classified as a bigot or nutcase. Hold on, assuming the media or culture has no motivation to push anti-God, anti-Christian, or anti-truth agendas is about as crazy as suggesting nobody has any motivation to make or use counterfeit money! This world is full of lies and it cannot be the job of Facebook or Twitter to guide us into all truth.

2. Too many of us spend too much time handling “funny money.” Again, I am not thinking about money. I am referring to social media, mainstream media, Hollywood/entertainment media, news, etc. If we believe it is all neutral and trustworthy, we will become eerily unaware when our values are molded into the shape of this world, rather than being transformed by the renewing of our minds. How easily we can give hours each day, tens of hours each week, to a cultural indoctrination program that we don’t really believe exists. Is it time to take stock and stop feeling so impervious and maybe even being so arrogant?

3. Too many of us spend too little time handling the real thing. You might prefer this post to be about handling money, but that is not at all what I am writing about! I suspect that one of the big problems in our world today is that too many of us who know God and the truth of His Word are too distracted by the communications of this world to really soak in God’s Word. What this world needs is not primarily for us to be constantly active on social media, thoroughly conversant with every news story or knowledgeable about every movie (all of these may have some value, of course). What this world needs is men and women who are strangely soaked in God’s Word, “divines” if you will.

I know which of these three points has convicted me. Which is on target for you? If you aren’t sure, start with number 1.

3 Weird Things To Avoid Doing on Social Media

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

SocialMedia2It is easy to live in the moment and lose perspective.  For instance, let’s think about social media.  As a preacher or church leader, just press rewind and imagine doing the following things back in the old days (i.e. even the 1980’s or 1990’s).  What would it look like if we went back in time by a generation, thus removing social media, but still acted the same way?  Would we really do the following?

1. Mundane Info Sharing.  It’s Monday morning.  You had a busy Sunday and are not feeling too motivated to dive into another week.  So you are running a few errands for the family and decide to sit down at a cafe for a cup of (in those days) regular coffee.  Before you do, you take out your church phone list and drop a load of coins into the public phone just outside the cafe.  “Hey, Roger!  I am just going to sit down for a coffee and unwind for a few minutes.  I might look at a newspaper.  I’m just a normal person!  Thought you’d like to know!”  Several hundred calls later, you get your coffee.  Weird.  Sharing mundane info should have died out after the first six months of Twitter.  It mostly did.  Facebook is another story . . .

2. Retweeting Praise of Your Preaching.  Just as the crowded church is starting to head for the door, would you rush back up to the podium, tap awkwardly on the microphone and get everybody’s attention . . . “Hey folks!?  Before you all head for home, I just wanted to share with you what I heard Tom saying in the lobby.  He told a couple of his friends that my sermon was the best he’d ever heard!”  And would you stop on the way, get the sound guy to press the record button on the cassette, then make copies of it and send it to everyone you know?  Probably not.  It is weird. Social media doesn’t make this kind of self-promotion any more appropriate today than thirty years ago.  If other people praise you, be thankful.  But a retweet smells a lot like self-praise.

3. Name Dropping.  As you walk into the dining hall at the conference venue, you spot a “celebrity” Christian.  So you squat down next to their seat and have your friend snap a picture.  Immediately you rush to the nearest one-hour photo place and have a few hundred copies made, before posting them to everyone you know with the note, “Guess who I just met?”  Would you have done this back in the day?  Probably not.  This is also weird behaviour.  There is certainly a place for public acknowledgement of people you appreciate, but sometimes it can feel like the smiling you is the real centrepiece of the picture.

Bonus – Time Wasting.  You have two hours before your next appointment.  So you sit down to read a book.  You never get to it.  This may have happened back then, but maybe less than today?

I am sure all of us fall foul to this list now and then, but are any of these things your standard way of functioning? Social media is an amazing resource, but as preachers and church leaders, let’s be sure to use it well!

Any other weird behaviours you would add to the list?