Laundry out to dry
As I noted below, the dirty laundry of our church is now out for everyone to see. The problem is that only a few pieces of the wash-load really belong to us. It seems that certain items in the load got very mixed up during the "spin" cycle of our church drama these past few months. I will try, over the next couple of posts, to outline where things have gone wrong in the press.
Christianity Today and Telling the Truth
The title of the article reads "Power Struggle Rocks Hollywood Presbyterian", on the Christianity Today website. As a member of this congregation for more than 20 years, and an elder, I was disappointed by the superficial reporting of this, the most respected Christian magazine. For many years I have relied upon the reporting of Christianity Today (CT henceforth) to keep me informed of developments in both the Christian and contemporary culture.
This was an article I took personally, and a topic about which I know a bit more than, well, the author. And so, I took it upon myself to locate the author, and express my dissatisfaction with his work. I spoke with James Jewell on his cell phone in Atlanta, where he works for a media company as a "stringer" or freelance writer for CT. As it turns out, Mr. Jewell was kind and thoughtful during our 10 minute chat, and listened well to my thoughts. I have been treated kindly by those at CT that I have come into contact with. More on that later.
Unfortunately, Mr. Jewell relied upon highly biased input. His primary source was the church's former director of communications, who was recently fired by the Session, after he publicly renounced the church and its current leadership.
At the end of our conversation, Mr. Jewell offered the thought that he may not have gotten a complete view of both sides of the story. Indeed, he did not. Over the past several months, as our laundry (much of it not really ours, as noted) has been shown to the public via the press, I have found myself remembering the case of Jayson Blair at the New York Times, and the recent case of Newsweek apologizing for a major reporting error. After some thought, it seems the American public might be right in their mistrust of the "fourth estate". I find myself now wondering whether just about anything I read in print is really 100% true.
What makes me the most frustrated in all of this? I feel very disappointed that the supposed apex in Christian news reporting cannot do the proper research and fact checking to tell the story of a complex and sad church split. I also wonder what happened to working toward excellence. Whether it was deadline pressures, poor fact-checking, or just relying on a bad source, the damage has been done. And in this case, it is damage to a situation in our church that already has all the markings of a major traffic accident.
2 comments:
Steve. Breaks my heart. Praying hard for renewal and change. God must be at work.
Steve:
Will Rogers famously said, "All I know is just what I read in the papers" but less famous is the rest of his quote, which in its entirety is: " All I know is just what I read in the papers, AND THAT'S THE ALIBI FOR MY IGNORANCE."
Few things can be more painful than witnessing firsthand the "sausagemaking" of a Presbytery meeting gone pagan, or the reading of the press coverage which through agenda or inattention spreads further but different "untruths." There is nothing like a contentious Presbytery meeting to bring out the fallen-ness of mans' nature. Such circumstances seem to bring out the beast and not the best of men and women who under less stress can appear to keep it all together yet for the sake of their righteous agenda let it all hang out in virulent support of what each absolutely knows is "the truth." It is "blutwurst" at its worst. I'm a refugee from the Presbytery of the Redwoods. And I know "blutwurst."
I was also a long-time officer in City Hall used to the press having regularly assigned "City Hall" reporters roaming for a story. I considered the story I read in the morning paper "good" if it contained enough details so that I could actually identify it as the same event I had just particpated in or witness the day before. I didn't read many "good" stories. Occasionally the unrecognizable nature of the coverage was as a result of "slant", but more frequently it was the product of sloth. Those City Hall years turned me into a C-SPAN junkie to the extent that I wanted to truly understand what Congress had done or a particular Congressman had said.
Why am I telling you all this. Because to the extent that misery loves company I want you to know you are not alone. But, more importantly--and less tongue-in-cheek, I want to thank you for not only understanding that there are many both in and outside Hollywood Presbyterian that are being misled and wrongly fed half-truths instead of the meat of the matter; I want to thank you for taking the time to follow up and follow through so that the wider community of Presbyterians can get a handle on what went on. Knowing what happened at Hollywood can--if properly told--be a cautionary tale for the rest of us who are at greater risk for similar rifts than most of us know or care to acknowledge.
Thanks and may His Blessings heal you and yours of this deep wound, and make you both stronger and more sensitive to the ways in which we all too frequently gaze into the pool and see not Christ but ourselves. And refuse to see the difference.
Your Brother in Christ,
Derek Simmons
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