Giving Witness in a Social Media World

Our latest Live IT Episode is drawing some attention! Someone commented: "This is proof of religious child abuse...." The minute-long clip features our son, Dominic. Yes, like the rest of us, he will be formed. Yes, as his dad, that's my responsibility. Yes, I believe he was destined for excellence in every way, to return His gifts to the Giver, to live for the Kingdom.

And yes, as much as he can in his 11-year-old mind, he owns it.

The contrast struck me. If we seek to form our children with anything other than destructive, secular crap, it's abuse. Do we stop to consider how many parents every day lay their children down at the altars of secular ideology? Do we ever consider the relative difference in outcomes?

Without our engagement in this conversation, when and where it needs to happen, we're allowing it to continue to define the kind of socio-political landscape we're currently experiencing.

It's important for us to understand the prominent "secular think." It's important for us to appropriately engage.

Many discourage engagement through social media.

In my opinion, it's better to risk engaging less than perfectly than not at all: "All that takes for evil to exist is for good men to do [or say] nothing." (John Burke)

We don't do so based upon our calculation of effect. We do so as a matter of faithful response. We do so because the Holy Spirit (rightly discerned) stirs it up within us. We leave the consequences to the One who moves us. Yes, it will mean the cross.

Throughout the course of any given day, these may be the unanticipated "courts" we might find ourselves "dragged before," to which Jesus says, "When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say...." (Luke 12:11)

With due note of it's limitations, and need for virtue-- falsehood begs a response, even if it's as simple as, "I disagree." Or to truth, "I agree."

If social media was not a place people were seeking, searching, pining... the gentleman would not have viewed that video. He would not have been stirred enough to comment.

And you would not be reading this.

Take the minute to view. What do you think? Go there and comment.