Way too many churches have never been all that effective, when it comes to helping the faithful deal with the challenges of daily life in the modern world — especially those linked to technology and mass media.
Back when I was teaching at Denver Seminary, in the early 1990s, we were struggling to help future pastors and church leaders cope with cable television all of those TV screens in the typical family home.
Frankly, many people couldn’t grasp how this was linked to pastoral ministry and preaching. I kept asking: How do your people spend their time? Spend their money? Make their decisions? These questions are at the heart of discipleship and they point to the powerful role that mass media play in modern life.
Now there is the Internet. Those TVs still exist, but they are surrounded by dozens of other screens that serve as doors into cyberspace.
It appears that we may have a topic that has some — repeat “some” — church leaders concerned about all of those screens. They are beginning to hear from pastors who are concerned, scared even, about the rising presence of QAnon dogma in their pews. Many saw the important essay in The Atlantic that ran with this headline: “The Prophecies of Q — American conspiracy theories are entering a dangerous new phase.”
In an “On Religion” column about QAnon, I stressed that church leaders need to wake up and realize the role that mainstream and alternative news sources are playing in dividing their people — period.
The bottom line: Many newsrooms are producing slanted, advocacy journalism that millions of consumers consider a kind of “fake news.” This is pushing readers away from mainstream news and deep into online niches packed with folks pushing QAnon and other conspiracy theories. Thus, I wrote:
The question, as pandemic-weary Americans stagger into the 2020 elections, is how many believers in this voting bloc have allowed their anger about "fake news" to push them toward fringe conspiracy theories about the future of their nation.
Some of these theories involve billionaire Bill Gates and global coronavirus vaccine projects, the Antichrist's plans for 5G towers, Democrats in pedophile rings or all those mysterious "QAnon" messages. "Q" is an anonymous scribe whose disciples think is a retired U.S. intelligence leader or maybe even President Donald Trump.
The bitter online arguments sound like this: Are these conspiracies mere "fake news" or is an increasingly politicized American press — especially on politics and religion — hiding dangerous truths behind its own brand of "fake news"?
"A reflexive disregard of what are legitimate news sources can feed a penchant for conspiracy theories," said Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College.
A few lines later, Stetzer added:
"I think that the bias of much of mainstream news has to be considered in this conversation. Many evangelicals have seen, over and over, news sources report on them irresponsibly, with bias, and — at times — with malice. When you see that enough, about people you know, there is a consequence. Regrettably, I don't think many in the mainstream news world are thinking, 'We should have done better.' "
The key right now, however, is that the QAnon tribe is growing. This is planting seeds of division in far too many church pews.
At some point, ministers and other church leaders are going to have to talk about QAnon and the role of the Internet in modern life. Thus, they are starting to discuss why this issue is important and what they can do about it.
Recently, I took part in two different online discussions of this. The first — I am very happy to report — was a podcast with Denver Seminary President Mark Young and theology professor Don J. Payne.
If you dig into this podcast, you’ll learn that it grew directly out of the concerns of some pastors linked to the seminary — concerns rooted in what they were hearing and seeing in their congregations.
Also, please consider checking out the “New Wineskins” video at the top of this post.
The host is Paul Louis Metzger, founder and director of The Institute for Cultural Engagement: New Wine, New Wineskins and professor of Christian Theology and Theology of Culture at Multnomah University and Seminary. He is also edits the journal Cultural Encounters: A Journal for the Theology of Culture.
* Paul T. Coughlin is an expert witness regarding bullying and the law, and a FoxNews contributor. He is a popular speaker who has appeared on Good Morning America, Nightline, C-Span, The LA Times, The New York Times, Newsweek and other media outlets. Paul is a best-selling author of eight books, including “Raising Bully-Proof Kids” and “Secrets, Plots and Hidden Agendas: What You Don’t Know About Conspiracy Theories.”
* John W. Morehead is involved in the intersection of the church and culture. He is director of Multi-faith Matters as well as the evangelical chapter of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy He is the author and editor of numerous books and articles (online bibliography here) and a strategic partner of The Institute for Cultural Engagement: New Wine, New Wineskins.
* Journalist and pastor Joe Carter is an editor for The Gospel Coalition and the author of “The Life and Faith Field Guide for Parents.” He serves as an executive pastor at the McLean Bible Church Arlington campus in Arlington, Va. Carter is a former GetReligion writer, of course, and wrote a TGC article on QAnon that I highly recommend (click here for GetReligion post on that) to journalists covering this topic: “The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About QAnon.”
These are the kinds of people who have been researching this topic for months and even years. Reporters, pastors, educators and denominational leaders who want to take this topic seriously should — after listening to this video podcast — look them up as sources.