A better option than bashing the media

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. —Ephesians 4:29

I hope to expand your grasp of how Christian thinking can reshape every part of your life.

When I served temporarily as World Evangelical Alliance communications director in 2023, I wanted to learn from other people in similar roles. A colleague connected me to Marianne Ejdersten, a Swedish native and communications director for the World Council of Churches. We had a delightful conversation and she encouraged me to read the WCC’s communication strategy.

I was expecting the plan to be a guidance document stipulating who was allowed to talk to the media, what other staff members should do to avoid talking to the media, how to document all media contacts, press release style, social media protocol, and similar protocols. Instead, I stumbled into something that could have qualified as my daily devotional. That’s because Ejdersten and her team had reflected deeply on the spiritual values that should undergird all their communications.

If you’re not accustomed to reading WCC documents, this one may feel a bit strange. Evangelicals tend to make propositional statements with prooftexts, like “We should always be ready to answer reporters’ questions about the gospel graciously (1 Peter 3:15).” In contrast, WCC statements tend to embrace broad biblical themes like inclusiveness, participation, justice, dignity, and hope and let the reader and the Holy Spirit figure out specific applications.

Here are some of the lines in the WCC communication plan that made reading it feel like a devotional, with brief comments:

• “Communication from and within the WCC promotes participation and transparency in order to build fellowship.” Coming from a background of political communication designed to exploit divisions and win debates, I value the message that Christian communication should function as a type of fellowship—helping us open up to and understand each other in unity just as if we were having a conversation after a worship service.
• “The WCC shall maintain high accessibility and welcome people warmly and respectfully.” That drives them to show Christian love to media professionals rather than bashing the media as enemies tainted by left-wing or right-wing bias. (Yes, some media sources really are biased and we should tread carefully with them. But the vast majority are friendly, open to being educated, and committed to treating their subjects fairly.)
• “The WCC is committed to empowering people and groups to speak for themselves and to enabling communication by those who might otherwise not have access to the public sphere.” Like the Old Testament prophets, they consciously give voice to the powerless.
• “Human dignity and equality must permeate all communications. That includes … actively reaching out to journalists and public media.” Thus, we should think of journalists themselves as recipients of our messages of Christian truth and hope, not just as tools to get publicity.
• “WCC communications must not only convey truth but also counter falsehood, lies, and misconceptions that threaten understanding and dialogue among Christians and churches.” I would say that Christians involved in intense denominational battles have not always taken the high road with their opponents in this manner.

Since all of us are communicators, we can all benefit from these invitations to consider how both the product and the process of our communications embody gospel transformation.