Recently I had an occasion to hear a prominent and respected evangelical leader speak to about 400 gathered people. In his message, which was full of worthwhile and thought-provoking content, he referred to his reading of the New York Times “with his nose plugged”. He almost apologized for reading the Times, saying he had to do it because of his radio program.
I can guess the audience that “nose plug” comment was intended for, but it, like many off-handed comments we make, was neither necessary nor wise.
First of all, I think one SHOULD read the New York Times. It IS one of the primary media of our day and its reach is broad. We should not apologize for doing so as if we are doing something shameful.
But, secondly, when we speak, to four-hundred, to four-thousand, or even to four, we ought never to assume that our inside ‘jokes’ will be uniformly appreciated. I merely lost respect for the man. But suppose there was someone there who had just ended a five year stint writing for the Times. How would he have taken that snide dismissal of his work? Or if someone there was simply wrestling with the claims of Christ, he may (unnecessarily) leave thinking either 1) he must, in addition to coming to trust Christ, come to mistrust the New York Times, in order to be a Christian, or 2) that he has no more taste for Christian things because of the “Christian” take on something he holds dear. In either scenario, the offense is not the cross, but the carelessness of the speaker.
David Bisgrove, Associated Pastor of New York City’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church, stressed this point in an extremely helpful presentation to the Gospel Coalition in 2007. He said
In most (even thriving) churches, the whole service usually assumes: 1) a lot of Biblical knowledge, 2) a ‘we-them’ mentality (we Christians vs. the big, bad world), 3) much evangelical terminology. Thus most Christians, even when they are edified in church, know intuitively that their non-Christian friends would not appreciate the service.
He illustrated this point by noting a time that he was preparing to preach and saw Robin Williams sitting in the middle of the congregation. He was glad, as his mind scanned his notes, that he was making no disparaging comments about Hollywood.
People misunderstand me every time I talk in this way. My plea is simply this: The cross will be offensive. Let us not, therefore, find other ways to offend with the result that those who need to hear the cross never can.
Jenifer Hanson
Randy: Today’s post is exemplifies the reason I read your blog. And you have touched on the very difficulty with which I struggle – finding a church home where broad thinking and a liberal education are valued rather than suspect (or worse, reviled). You’re thoughtfulness reminds me and calls me back to what living my faith CAN be, but isn’t. You’ve probably wondered why I comment so often, but, truly, sometimes what you write is like rain on parched soil.
Randy Greenwald
I think you are right – in some contexts it is communicated that having respect with those with whom we differ is in some measure a grand compromise. I’m sorry you feel so isolated. But there is a solution. Send your resume here:
University of Central Florida
4000 Central Florida Blvd.
Orlando, Florida, 32816
You get the job, we’ll take care of the rest. 🙂
PS: I should add that it will be in the low 80s today and clear.
Staci Thomas
*****GASP***** OF COURSE there will be attitudes in The New York Times with which people disagree. We are living in a fallen world. Perhaps this individual was afraid of the backlash he would get from telling his audience that he reads it.
It is this VERY attitude that pushes people AWAY from Christianity.
I loved The New York Times as young woman running FROM Jesus and I love The New York Times as an older woman running TOWARD Jesus . I read it every day despite an extremely busy schedule because I believe it is important for the sake of Kingdom building to which I have been called.
I have lost count at the number of times I’ve been able to have Christ-centered dialogue with non-Christians simply because I read the same article they did in The New York Times.
Thank you for this post.
P.S. Did you see Tim Keller’s interview in The Atlantic? Somewhere – years ago – I wrote down the periodicals that Keller reads weekly. I believe Rolling Stone was one of them. 🙂
Jenny
Very interesting. I identify greatly with today’s blog. My favorite news comes via the radio (ie: NPR). I am often amazed how much the phrase “I heard it this morning on NPR….” can open great conversations with complete strangers and non-believing family members, while at the same time it can shut down most most post-church service chit chat.
Randy Greenwald
That’s the thing. Why is it that people in the church have such a weird relationship with what I think are highly reliable news sources? And why is Fox the darling of the conservatives if it is really ‘Fair and Balanced’? Ah, keep disrupting people’s worlds with your ‘NPR’ talk. That’s a good thing.