#pastors — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #pastors, aggregated by home.social.
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How Pastors Can Discuss Controversial Issues Online
Talking about controversial subjects is tricky, and it’s important that you do it well. Yes, Jesus said people would hate us for following him, but he didn’t mean people would hate us because we’re a bunch of jerks.
If you cannot see the humanity in your opponent, then you cannot love them. If you cannot love them, then you can prophesy all you want, but you are nothing more than a clanging gong and have gained nothing. You need to be able to speak the message God has put in your heart with love so that it might possibly be received. That will not happen if you put more stock in being right than in loving the friend, acquaintance, frenemy, or enemy in front of you.
The prophetic often works differently corporately than it does personally. You can speak to a generic crowd a bit more intensely than you can speak to an individual. I learned this from my mentor in college—a fiery professor who was willing to passionately talk about anything from the front of the classroom but was kind and gentle when you met him in a personal setting.
If your argument is online, don’t be sarcastic. Don’t let other online commenters make fun of your opponents. Defend the honor of your enemies. They, too, are made in the Image of God. Pay attention to how the social dynamic is changing if you garner more likes on your comments than they do, as that will make them feel more insecure.
If the conversation isn’t going anywhere, tell them you’ll make one more reply, and then be done. Don’t let people bait you into additional unhealthy conversations through mockery. Don’t stir the pot just to stir the pot. Don’t get high off of fighting people—that’s called bullying. Stay away from rage bait.
If the person you’re trying to dialogue with is getting amped up and angry, maintain a good attitude. When people spiral out of control, they make your point for you. As others read your conversation, they’ll recognize your levelheadedness. Online battles are not always about the person you’re talking with—they’re often more about the people who are silently reading your conversation.
Whatever they say, keep cool and love on. Your interaction as a pastor can be healing and evangelistic, but you don’t always recognize it. When I run into people I rarely see in real life, they sometimes thank me for my posts. I’ve also received messages and comments from deconstructing Christians who have found my online interactions to be healing and one of the reasons they haven’t given up on Jesus. These are reasons worth speaking up about the kinds of issues that pastors often stay silent about.
#ChristianCommunication #ChristianLeadership #conflictResolution #controversialIssues #deconstruction #DigitalDiscipleship #healthyDisagreement #lovingYourEnemies #onlineConversations #onlineMinistry #pastoralMinistry #pastors #rageBait #socialMedia -
The Church’s Political Captivity
The COVID-19 pandemic was ruthless on pastors. Every single decision felt like a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation. You got in trouble if you kept your church open, and you got in trouble if you closed it. You got in trouble if you required people to wear masks, and you got in trouble if you didn’t. Every word of our communications had to be carefully crafted to avoid offending others. We worked our butts off creating online services that nobody really cared about or watched.
But even more difficult than this was the social and political tensions we had to address during that chaotic season. Christians became anti-science and conspiratorial. Instead of advocating for justice and caring for minorities, many in the church fought against such efforts. Instead of calling out political nonsense, the church seemed to defend it or support it.
At the start of the pandemic, many pastors were taking a stand on these issues, but in the end, there seemed to be only a few. Too many of them had been crucified by their congregants early on for speaking out. They were walking on eggshells.
I started hearing a very similar testimony among pastors during that time. They each shared that they once made an online post, and their social networks blew up. At first, they were stunned by the comments, but after enough arguments, they decided that talking was pointless. “People never change their minds online,” they’d say. Or “ I don’t want to sow disunity in the church.” Or “Frank and Mary came after me, and they’re the greatest Christians I know! So maybe I shouldn’t speak.” Pastors used these kinds of logic to shut themselves up.
Many Christians have sacred idols they have not yet deconstructed, and it’s because pastors aren’t addressing the golden calf in the room. We all know the unspoken rule: American political issues are so deeply spiritual and important that pastors are not allowed to address them—unless the pastor shares the opinion of the majority of congregants. That is to say, pastors can generally say whatever they want politically, so long as it leans Republican or Conservative.
The room is rigged, and it’s because pastors have spent the last several decades only making certain kinds of political statements, using certain kinds of political buzzwords, and addressing certain kinds of political issues. No one has to ask how the church leans, because these “certain kinds” of things have already made it clear. Pastors and congregants who stray from these views often stay quiet for their own protection, lest they be told that they’re not a Christian.
The church needs help. It is not meant to be defined by what a political party thinks, but by what Jesus thinks. And there is no way that any political party anywhere in the world has captured that.
#AmericanChristianity #ChristianNationalism #churchAndPolitics #churchCulture #churchLeadership #churchUnity #congregationalConflict #ConservativeChristianity #covid19 #evangelicalChurch #faithAndPolitics #followingJesus #pandemicMinistry #partisanChristianity #pastoralCourage #pastors #PoliticalIdolatry #PoliticalPolarization #propheticPreaching #spiritualDeconstruction -
#TheGoodLiars At The #SouthernBaptistConvention
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67McjfTTMOs
The #GoodLiars talk to #SouthernBaptists about their opposition to #gaymarriage, their opposition to #women being #pastors, and their opposition to P*** PLUS find out what happens when you die!
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#Conservative #Hatemonger #CharlieKirk Urges #Pastors To #Mobilize #Churches for #Trump.
“#Pastors need to vote for Donald #Trump, become #activists and #mobilize their #congregations to do likewise. "#Selfrighteous" #complaining about #Trump’s #tone is no excuse.”
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#Pastors engage #congregations on #Issue1 as #ElectionDay approaches