Faith Works 10-13-23

Faith Works 10-13-23

Jeff Gill

Tragedy and trust in church life

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My goal was to spend three columns, ending in this one, talking about trust and the work of church leadership, particularly ministers, in a time when trust is in short supply.

Events in the Middle East on top of turmoil in Washington just turn those dials up to eleven. The personal and the political intersect with faith and faith communities in peculiar ways; they always have, and always will.

But we're going through a particularly challenging era in that busy intersection. Between the internet and cable news access to alternative perspectives has never been easier, but the ability to judge between them may not have grown along with the range of choices.

Sure, someone can say and even make a case for "you can't trust the mainstream media" (although the fact I can write that line and know it will get printed should tell you that's not the whole story), but when they say "but I trust the bulletin board at Craig's Crab Shack implicitly!" I think you're allowed to ask "why is that?" There are online media outlets that aren't much more well sourced than the cork board in a restaurant bathroom hallway.

I don't want to paint a rosy picture of the past. In my first congregational position as a minister, people would walk up to me with mimeographed fliers about Madalyn Murray O'Hair and the FCC (I'm dating myself, aren't I?) and get upset when I would explain the case was in 1964, over twenty years ago, and had been dismissed. And yeah, I'd ask myself as they walked off "why do they trust a mimeo sheet in the mail from a stranger more than they trust me?"

So in that sense, this has always been with us. But as I said about things turned up to eleven, the internet and cable TV have intensified this problem. If I were disagreeing with Walter Cronkite in some way, the congregation I preached for might hear him for 22 minutes a night five nights a week, not even two full hours versus the hour or two we had together for preaching and teaching.

Today, it's not unusual to have politically engaged members tuned into an outlet with a set of perspectives for a dozen hours or more a week. To which I preach once, maybe teach in Bible study, and any other material I can put forward (newsletters, posts on social media, even columns in newspapers!). 

Which means there's trust, and there's time. I still think most church folk would say they trust their pastor more than any one media source, but we're losing the battle of time which erodes the effective nature of trust.

Not always, though. I've noticed over the years that people I've had the chance, even in tragic situations, to sit with for stretches of time, are most likely to trust me in challenging situations. When you've spent a long morning in a surgery waiting room with someone, your relationship changes.

I'll close these reflections with an observation and a challenge. It has been a concern of mine that many online and televised ministries like to use the line "what your minister won't tell you" as a way to both flatter the listener or reader, and imply a connection… and drive contributions their way. I've been given materials to read which I've taken back to the member who shared them, and pointed out that line, usually with a reminder of when I actually had recently talked about it.

Which is to ask any of us: whom do you trust, and why?

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and preacher in central Ohio; he knows that trust is earned over time. Tell him when you know you can trust someone at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack77 on Threads.