From the Ministry to the Climate and Some Points in Between


In this space in the previous issue we talked about shortages – shortages in the Christian service industry – of ministers and of teachers.So to follow up that issue with this one, with the rather somber cover photo and headline, would not be a marketer’s idea of a good choice. If you want more ministers, you don’t necessarily tell them about the pit falls in the ministry. And yet, there they are, and, sadly, it is something we need to talk about, sooner than later.

Of course, the ministry is not a profession. It is a calling. A calling from not just anyone. It’s a calling from God. And that changes everything. It’s a call to be a messenger, a herald of the Gospel; a sharer of the Good News; a teacher; a pastor; a counselor. It’s a big task. But a joyous one and an honorable one.

Yet the Bible, too, might be considered problematic for promotion and recruiting purposes. Think of Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Isaiah and some of the other prophets, filled with messages that were tough to deliver, and lacked today’s light collegial spin.

Some ministers are genuinely struggling and that fact is coming to the fore more and more. It’s not an epidemic, but it is a concern. And churches and church leaders (elders) and congregations need to be aware that we need to shepherd the shepherds so that they can continue to feed the sheep. In this issue, one pastor openly shares his recent struggles. We’ll have more to say about this subject in issues ahead.

You may have noticed the growing attention to the subject of climate change that continues to captivate the media. That is because a pact was agreed upon by over 250 media outlets to blitz people around the globe with articles about the subject, a subject that TIME magazine recently pronounced was “settled science.” What they claim is settled is man-made (person-made?) climate change. No ifs, ands, or doubts. We did it, and now we’ve got to solve it. And the messiah is more government.

“Settled science” is an interesting term that is introduced to end all debate and to vilify and isolate anyone who thinks differently. We’ve heard that term used before when it comes to evolution. The media declares that the science is settled. When it comes to homosexuality, the science is settled. When it comes to any cause or agenda item that the left is pushing, science is called upon as the arbiter of “truth,” which is interesting, because truth today is considered to be “relative,” and also because on other subjects, such as gender, for example, settled science would mean only two genders – male and female.

“The need for solid climate coverage has never been greater,” said Kyle Pope, Columbia Journalism Review’s editor and publisher. “We’re proud that so many organizations from across the US and around the world have joined with Covering Climate Now to do our duty as journalists – to report this hugely important story.” Well, there is reporting, and then there is blatant propaganda.

We, too, are covering climate now, just not in the way the rest of the media seems to be toeing the line.

John Vandyk, Editor
Christian Renewal Magazine

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Back from Nashville, with the fading after glow

Image
One of the privileges of my job as editor and  occasional reporter is the opportunity to go  from time to time to a conference. I   go with a three-fold purpose: to cover the event for our Christian Renewal readers; secondly, to hopefully be edified by the content; and thirdly, to experience the fellowship of Christians from a wider circle of churches than I am used to experiencing at home. How can that not be encouraging. As one of my colleagues who emails me regularly said, jokingly, for which he now repents: “Let me know when you come back from the mountaintop experience and its afterglow.” There is some truth in what he says. Of course, nothing can compare to a meeting with Jesus Christ, Moses and Elijah on the Mount and hearing the voice of God. So we do need to tread carefully here. But there is definitely a high to gatherings such as the one I covered recently (report on page 12) in Nashville, Tennessee organized by Getty Music. The singing was inspiring; the speake
Read more

Tectonic Shift in Our Life Situations

Image
For a generation of North Americans who have lived with very little trauma in their lives, generally speaking, the shift in life situations over the last number of weeks has been dramatic. O ur fast paced, frenetic lives have taken a decided detour and redirection with the advent of Covid19, the coronavirus that has swept around the world, reportedly slaying its thousands, emptying malls, schools halls, sports arenas, airports, movie theaters, streets, highways, byways and church sanctuaries, cancelling concerts, conferences and a multitude of public events for an as yet undetermined period of time. Most churches have responded by obeying the government directives severely limiting public gatherings. Household worship is the temporary norm as families and individuals tune in each Sunday to computers and televisions to watch ministers bring the Word, either from their homes or from near empty church buildings. Businesses that have been required to
Read more

No-Spin Zones No More

Image
  W e all have our biases. Let's admit that off the top. Christian Renewal magazine, for instance, is influenced and guided by a Reformed, Christian worldview.  We don’t hide that fact. It’s on our front page.  So what we write is guid ed by certain principles regarding truth and false   hood, about a world that is sin stained, and about a God who is active in creation and redemption, with fulfillment and fruition to come. Secular newspapers and other media for the most part are directed by their own ideologies and beliefs, and those beliefs shape content. When I was in college studying journalism, there was still a sense that a newspaper’s purpose was to be objective, to get the facts and report them in a balanced and fair way. Today, journalism is very much advocacy based.  There is an editorial direction that is clearly promoted by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, for examples, that is evident to those who read these daily
Read more