Alert! Flood Warning:
In our culture today, there is an ongoing and powerful flood of topics, environments, platforms, and expectations to share your opinions with others. The volume of weighty topics, the intensity of debate, and the mandate to have an opinion that clearly categorizes you is just exhausting - or exhilarating, depending upon your personality. And it seems that being silent or having no opinion is socially unacceptable and even offensive.
One of the great challenges for Jesus-centered Christians is the complexity of knowing if, when, and how to enter the fray on any given topic, issue, or debate. How do you know when to prophetically take a stand, compassionately offer love, professionally mediate conflict, or wisely exegete the culture? Or even when to sit this one out and remain silent?
It seems to me that there are four postures to consider that might help us discern how to engage any volatile discussion or debate in real time:
Pilgrim: Jon adopts this posture as a lifestyle. It is the position of a life-long learner who simply does not have the experience, education, or comprehensive perspective to offer a definitive opinion on a matter. It is the posture of wanting to listen and learn to all perspectives without committing to any of them. This provides others with the opportunity to articulate their views and think out loud without the need to declare war.
Professional: This is the posture of offering guided facilitation to all participants, ensuring that everyone’s views are heard and explored, everyone has equal opportunity to be listened to, and standards of honorable discussion are maintained. This is a frequently a very unpopular person in the room because people inherently believe someone else got special treatment. Remember two things: 1) road kill is almost always in the middle of the road and 2) the person who says they will meet you half-way is always a terrible judge of distance.
Prophet: This is the posture of being a mouthpiece for God, clearly articulating what God would say if He were physically present in the moment. Prophecy is for exhortation, edification, and comfort. When done well, people sense that God’s perspective is clear and compelling.
Priest: This is the posture of observing and attending to the matters of the heart and soul inside each participant. To the discerning eye there will always be both verbal and non-verbal evidence to indicate pain, wounds, and worries in the soul. This is the role of soul-care and love.
Perhaps choosing your posture prior to choosing your words could give you the wisdom and courage to engage with efficiency and impact.