Pastors, Politics, and the Speed of Social Media

Slowing down in a World of Hot Takes

On August 23rd, 2011, there was an earthquake in the Washington, D.C., area. I was working as the digital director of a small non-profit at the time, so naturally, as soon as the shaking stopped, I hopped on Twitter to see the reaction. One fact has stuck with me: posts about the earthquake reached New York City before the shockwaves did. That’s how fast an ill-advised social media post can go, too.

I’ve worked a full-time job in digital communications for politically adjacent organizations in the D.C. area since 2006. I’ve been a lay or bivocational pastor consistently since 2013, so that has meant threading the needle between working in digital marketing on policy issues and trying to be faithful as a pastor. So I’ve seen a lot of hot political takes in my time. I even used to have some of my own. I once made the claim that Chris Christie was the smartest politician alive. That’s a touch of New Jersey bias. Definitely incorrect. But it reveals one reason why I avoid fast reactions to specific political issues or events online. I’ve been wrong, a lot.

When Paul Pelosi was attacked, speculation ran rampant on the right about how Pelosi was somehow involved in something tawdry. Given the long list of political scandals in personal lives, I was very open to the idea that Pelosi was involved in some sort of misbehavior. This was entirely incorrect. The examples of news stories that appear one way, or are framed one way, that end up being something else are endless. So I am resolved not to weigh in on such things quickly because I just don’t have the information. I just don’t know enough. Even a fool can appear wise by remaining silent (Proverbs 17:28).

Another pastoral danger I see in posting about politics and news too quickly is that we can unintentionally close relational doors without realizing it. Fast social media reactions can give onlookers, including fellow church members, misleading impressions about me as a pastor. I once had someone accuse me of losing the gospel because I was quick to respond to certain news events but did not use my Twitter account to explicitly preach the gospel on a regular basis. Now, that critique might not hold water in the final analysis, but the reality is that I was unable to dialogue with that man. He believed that I had been consumed with political issues because the ratio of my tweets was not what he’d expect from a pastor. Is a tweet worth losing a member’s ear? Most of the time, I think not. The medium itself short-circuits the pastoral care I want to give. It takes time to give guidance from the Scriptures, have a conversation, answer questions, and deal with the human being in front of me, as opposed to a screen. Proverbs 18:19 tells us that a brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city. Fast social media can unnecessarily create that kind of barrier.

It’s hard to square Scripture’s exhortation to be slow to speak and quick to listen with the practice of hopping on social media and blasting a missive into the universe every time something happens.

But don’t hear this as a call to avoid talking about politics altogether with your church members. I am much more willing to go into the weeds of politics in person. Why? Because I have the chance to listen to the person I’m talking to. I get a better sense of what their questions are and what they struggle with. I can then try to contextualize biblical principles to them specifically. This does not mean political endorsements, but it does mean being willing to look at a particular political issue and try to reason together from the Scriptures about how we might consider that issue.

I’m also open to slow digital responses. Substack is the latest in a long line of blogging platforms that gives space for this. The Gospel Coalition, 9Marks.org, Clearly Reformed, and many other websites are penned by thoughtful, godly authors looking to think well. Long digital media gives room for more context, reasoning from the Scriptures, and, in the case of podcasts, more of a human dimension. It becomes much harder to flatten the humanity of those giving deeper context and nuance.

Ephesians 4:29 gives the Christian a directive on speech. “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” It’s a total reorientation of how we ought to speak. Every word we say, to one another and the watching world, ought to be aimed at building up the hearer into Christ. None of it should harm the hearer. I find it far easier to use my words for snarky remonstrances than for speech that builds up in fast social media. For me, it’s wisdom to find platforms and conversations that make such upbuilding easier rather than harder.