Every single week tens of thousands of pastors around the world preach faithful sermons, visit the sick, evangelize the lost, work for reconciliation, and faithfully represent the gospel. However, none of this is “news” because it just happens week after week. What becomes “news” is when a pastor commits adultery, embezzles funds from the church, or says something racist. A sin-saturated culture is actually looking for ways to reinforce the narrative that Christians are no different than people in the wider culture. Sometimes, those of us who are Christians can lose this perspective when we hear stories of failed pastoral leaders, sex scandals, or financial corruption in the church. It is easy to fall into despair and begin to think that this kind of activity has become normative. One of the strategies of the Evil One is to take whatever darkness and brokenness there is and magnify it to create the impression that it is so widespread and “normal” there is no hope for change, no alternative witness in sight, and, therefore, we should just succumb to this, lower the bar yet again, and sacrifice the high bar of holiness for those who serve in the church. We should never forget that there are hundreds of thousands of Christians who are living holy lives and who are faithfully serving Christ and extending His rule and reign today and tomorrow and every day of the week. These faithful ones who embody holiness may not “make the news cycle,” but never forget that wherever there is despair, Christians are there reminding people through word and deed of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Christians should be careful to not get caught in traps which hurt our witness. For example, Jesus teaches us that “if your brother (or sister) sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.” (See Matthew 18:15-17). This simple teaching of Jesus sets forth a basic principle of how to settle conflicts in the church. Today, it seems that when we have a problem with a brother or sister, our instinct is not to go to them directly, but to go to Facebook and tell it to the world. This happens regularly in the life of pastors all across this country. It is one of the leading causes of why so many pastors are leaving the ministry with a sense of defeat and discouragement. There are, to be clear, surely hundreds of examples where Matthew 18 is followed with the joyful result of reconciliation. But, if we are honest, we must admit that that are many, many examples where Facebook has eaten Matthew 18 for lunch. It is, of course, not just Facebook; it is also Twitter, Instagram or other forms of social media. May God renew the power of Matthew 18 in the lives of the redeemed community of God’s people. Even the world is lamenting the destructive force of social media. A study of Instagram, in particular, has shown the destructive force of public shaming and the harmful effects on our youth. This is a place where we can show the world a better way. I love the fact that quite a few questionable characters make the faith “Hall of Fame” in Hebrews chapter 11. Their presence there is not necessarily a testimony to their exemplary lives, but to the power of reconciliation, whereby faith gives men and women the capacity to enter that deeper imagination which marks the redeemed community. Let’s find fresh ways to demonstrate to the world how forgiveness and love and reconciliation can prove more powerful than the shaming of social media. When that happens, the world will stand back in awe because they will see manifest in the life of the church something altogether radical and new in the world which can only truly happen when Jesus Christ is fully honored and obeyed.
So true. As a result, I don’t use Facebook.