Should Pastors Address Breaking News?
On June 21, 2015, we paused our sermon series to acknowledge the horror that gripped our nation. Dylann Roof attended a Bible study at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and proceeded to murder nine people as they began to pray. We didn't know what to do or say but we knew our church would grieve together.
Immediately after the service, a woman approached me and asked if the elders would be willing to address the events that took place at Standing Rock. This was a genuine concern. She read that Native Americans were forced off their land and wondered if her Christian brothers and sisters cared. We did care, but we immediately sensed the challenge that loomed.
There is no scarcity of evil in this world and our congregation cares deeply about a diversity of issues in society. If we avoid addressing it, we implicitly disciple them to believe God has nothing to say to the issues that matter to them, and that they should therefore compartmentalize the good news they hear on Sunday and the breaking news they hear throughout the week.
At the same time, we prayerfully plan our ministries. We resist the tide of unrelenting news that would either drown the church or dictate its direction. So how do we respond to breaking news?
We must develop a philosophy of ministry, a framework that can be applied to every event that will help us discern how to respond in a way that worships God and loves the people we lead. Here are three critical categories to consider.
WHY: FIND OUR LOVE
It is important to first identify our motivations. If, as Augustine suggests, we are carried by our loves, then we must locate the love that impels us to speak.1
But love can be complicated. It isn’t just love for God’s glory that motivates us. We love the approval of others as well. At times, we are tempted to speak so that our silence will not be heard. Our social media feeds transform into a platform for press releases that take a moral stance on a recent event. The pressure to say something is another way to practice our righteousness before others so that we would be approved by them.
But some are tempted to silence for the same reason. They want to say something but fear that people in the church will leave, that we will be accused of misusing authority to mislead the church, and that it will create a precedent and expectation for us to exhaustively address all the ills of society.
In other words, while the responses may be different, the love of those who say something or say nothing may nevertheless be the same — the approval of others. And as long as we do not love God’s glory above all, our public addresses will not be truly righteous, nor will our silence be an appropriate use of our authority.
WHEN: FIND WHAT’S PRESENT
Breaking news promises to be urgent. It all feels so pressing. So how do we choose? We must discern what is presently felt by the majority our church over what is pressing. For example, leaders who live in racially divided neighborhoods do not have the privilege of avoiding local news of police brutality because every time a police officer shoots an unarmed black man in America, it leaves many wounded in his church.
However, there are some tragedies that are present in other ways. It doesn’t happen to us or near us but is nevertheless felt as the nation collectively grapples with it. It becomes a burden they carry into the gathering. It shapes the way they view God, the church, and neighbor. In that sense, our silence can create a vacuum of leadership that social media and pundits will gladly fill.
In the last several months alone, our churches have heard about a Russian invasion, mass shootings, school shootings, political hearings, Supreme Court rulings, and war in the Middle East.
The sheer number of tragedies we read about every day can desensitize us. But once in a while something breaks through that awakens the entire nation to evil and we stagger to make sense of it together — like elementary school children massacred in Uvalde, TX.
Although our church didn't personally know anyone affected by this, the horror was present and deeply felt. As their pastor, I knew that I needed to make space for this grief and help them respond. Not all of it has to happen on Sunday. We can use discernment on the best medium for addressing it. However, when there is more suffering than we can know, we must live within the limits of the people and place God gave us and prioritize only that which is truly present to them.
WHAT: FIND JESUS’S WORDS
Once we have identified our love, the issues present, we can finally speak. But at this point, what do we say?
As leaders, we are humbled by the tremendous amount of trust people give us in helping them navigate sexual addiction, marital conflict, and childhood hurts. But we soon discover that there are many things that are beyond us. Holding a position in ministry does not guarantee that we will have enough experience or expertise in addressing all the events that affect society. What authority do we have to speak to these things?
Any authority that we have has been given to us first by God and then by people. Additionally, we must remember the purpose of this granted authority: we are called to make disciples. People trust us to help them discover what it means to follow Jesus amid the news they’ve heard.
Our words are only authoritative insofar as we say what the Bible says. The moment we veer from it, we rely on some other kind of authority — the authority of our relationship, position, or reputation. And while all of these things can be helpful, the church is best helped by knowing Jesus’s words for what has occurred. Therefore, we weigh our words with other leaders first, those who can contradict us and help us discover the ways that God’s Word speaks to us today.
We will never be able to address everything that happens between South Carolina and Standing Rock, but when we do, may it be love for the one who first loved us, love for his people, and his words that guide us. In devastation and grief, yet with much discernment and grace, we can declare the good news of Jesus Christ amid the breaking news of the world.
Jason James oversees The Advance Initiative’s content and cohort. He coaches planters and pastors as a certified coach with City to City and Church Multiplication Ministries. He is also the pastor of New Hope Church in Harlem, NY.
Smith, James K. A.. You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit . Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.