If You're Going to talk, Say Something Useful

Maybe I look at Facebook too much, but there seems to be a whole lot of talking going on. When I write I wonder if I am helping or just adding a screeching voice to the cacophony. We Christians, and especially we preacher types, get excited about hearing our own voices.

We Christian leaders also have a tendency to think we know much more than we do – about many different things. Over the years we have looked especially stupid when it comes to politics. In many ways, we are sadly naïve and in many ways, we are pathetically ignorant. Somehow, we think because we have attended college and graduate school we are experts on everything; thus, we are ignorant. And we tend to live insulated and often isolated lives, so we don’t really understand how the world works; thus, we are naïve. We also surround ourselves with like-minded people and our naivety and ignorance are reinforced. Many Christians, especially pastors, are sadly inexperienced when it comes to the harsh realities of life. We speak of what we have heard, not of what we have experienced and know.

Many of my fellow believers and colleagues seem to just read the talking points of their particular political party and then parrot those words. This phenomenon seems to be practiced by both progressives and conservatives. As most of my readers know, I am not a fan of either of our major political parties. The most quoted political leaders on both sides of the aisle say different things but all lead to the same conclusion: they don’t give a hang about the voters, and the American people, except in getting our votes at election time. They put out volumes of BS that makes their constituents nod in agreement and then nothing changes. It must work since we keep reelecting them to office. This says more negatively about us than about them.

Most of the posts, blogs, declarations, and columns I read are political in nature. I don’t get the connection for at least two reasons:

• First: I am sure I don’t understand this connection because of my view of the federal government. That is, they aren’t going to fix anything, so why do you waste your time and energy and a vast number of words on that? The government is not going to solve social and cultural issues. The government is not designed to do that and is incapable of legislating morals and changes in values. The government is not intended to set moral standards and provide housing, food and medical support for those in need. That is the church’s job which we have abdicated to the government. Now the church stands on the sidelines and criticizes the government for not doing our job well enough. Of all the gall.
• Second: It takes a very creative reading of the New Testament to believe Jesus gave even a little bit crap about the government. Here he was, a Jewish preacher living under the occupation of the Roman Empire and he had almost nothing to say about it. What he did say was to pay your taxes and obey and pray for your governmental leadership. He was concerned about the helpless, the hopeless and the hungry, but he didn’t seem to think they were the government’s problem. They were, and still are, a challenge for the church to address. To him, it was not a political issue. It was an issue the church needed to respond to. It is what the church still needs to respond to instead of counting on the government to get the job done. History says that will not happen.

When I was ordained into the ministry my father gave me two pieces of advice. First: “Make them fire you.” I have used that advice more times that I like to admit. The second piece of advice was: “Listen. Everybody talks and nobody listens. The world is full of talkers and desperately needs more listeners.”

If we of the church insist on talking, let’s talk about something we should know something about. Something that is rarely mentioned as of late. Something that will really make a difference. Let’s talk about Jesus. It is about time we found our voice on this subject.

Copyright © 2018, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved

Bill McConnell is the Interim Minister at Norwood Christian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a Church Transformation consultant and a Christian Leadership Coach. He is a frequent speaker at Church Transformation events. His latest book on church transformation is DEVELOPING A SIGNIFICANT CHURCH and is available at Westbow Press.

He can be contacted @ bill45053@gmail.com. Connect with him on Facebook @ William T. McConnell or on Twitter @billmc45053 or visit his Amazon Author Page @ Amazon