Over the years, I’ve advised and counseled hundreds of Christian leaders who live and work in the public eye. Based on that experience, I’d encourage you to remember these important things the next time you feel like publicly correcting someone:
RELATED: Check out more stories from Christian communication expert Phil Cooke.
1. The media highly edits interviews. A critic recently blasted another Christian who, in a newspaper interview, apparently left out a key section of a Bible passage related to salvation. But before we tear someone like that apart, know that all media interviews are highly edited.
For instance, years ago, I did a 30-minute interview with Inside Edition, and only a single line made it into the finished program. That happens all the time. So we don’t know precisely what anyone initially said when we see it played back on TV.
2. Controversy helps the media’s ratings. While many media interviews are very cordial, they ultimately want to attract viewers or readers. So, it’s not unusual for them to rearrange clips, put scenes out of order, or literally make word-for-word edits to create controversy. Once again, we don’t know exactly what that Christian leader told the interviewer, so let’s show a little grace.
3. Christians working in legal, political, entertainment, professional sports, or other high-profile places often make a difference in ways we never see. It’s frequently a strategy of “win some, lose some,” but what we see in public may be the loss.
Before we criticize, remember that these believers also work behind the scenes, sometimes in hostile environments, sharing their faith in places we don’t know. Many times, that’s where the most progress for the Kingdom happens.
4. The highest level of engagement is often private and discreet. I know a highly respected Christian leader who has spent his career sharing the gospel with men and women at the highest levels of the entertainment and media industries. But if he went public with it, those doors would all close.
He’s prayed with the top executives of media companies and led major celebrities to Christ. He struggles to find financial support because to share these incredible stories — even with potential donors — would shut off that access.
5. And perhaps most important, let’s not view the world only through our favorite Bible passage or subject.
I know well-meaning Christians who see everything through the lens of Bible prophecy, and they gripe about everything else. Others view everything through the lens of apologetics and “Biblical Truth,” so they view everything skeptically if it’s not all about “defending the faith.”
Bible doctrines are essential, but when we become obsessed with a single topic, it skews our thinking and our witness.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This article was written by Christian media expert Phil Cooke.
