Intense Public Argument: Church, Religion and Mutual Respect
Dispute analysis of faith infighting
People are people, whether they are in churches or not and that means natural disappointment in one another, anger, disputes, conflict and hard communication.
A recent example is eight-time Stellar Award winner Pastor Mike McClure Jr. (a/k/a, PMJ), the founder and senior pastor of the Rock City Church, publicly questioning and critiquing Tye Tribbett, a gospel singer and songwriter.
First, the story and then some Communication Intelligence, the Newsletter, analysis.
“This morning, I heard an interview from Tye Tribbett on ‘The Breakfast Club’ and I get what he was trying to say. But he made a statement that was very irresponsible on the wrong platform. He said, ‘The church is wack,’” Pastor Mike said and that was reported in an article in the Atlanta Black Star.
“How can you go on a national platform and totally throw under the bus the very institution that made you who you are?”
Tribbett said that “he didn’t need anything to distract him from God as his ‘source,’ and that everything else should be a ‘resource’ pointing people to God,” the Atlanta Black Star wrote. He was asked about the “pastor trend where everyone wants to be a preacher and get a church, when Tribbett shared his belief that the church is a ‘religious system’ and the ‘structure’ of it is ‘wack.’”
“I don’t subscribe to it even though I grew up in it and I benefited from it,” Tribbett said. “But I learned that God is not the church and once I realized ‘whoa, God ain’t church,’ that for me — you know, I mean I’m not from the streets — so that was a huge thing.”
To him, “pastors make people care more about the identity of being a church member than they care about serving and loving the people and giving that as a reason why he stepped away from the church,” the Atlanta Black Star wrote. “Church should be about the people but the people make it about church,” Tribbett said.
Pastor Mike was deeply upset and responded online to Tribbett.
“You Sir, had an opportunity to shine God’s light… to push people back into the place of healing but instead you wanted to feel cool. You could have been a light. You could have told people, ‘Man, falling in love with God was the best thing I’ve ever done and I found the right church.’ Go find the right church,” he said. “You don’t know who’s going to take that statement and walk away from a church that could have really impacted their lives.”
The conclusions, viewpoints and emotions are very personal for both people.
“We are all too quick to publicly rebuke. There is a time for it,” Rondall Reynoso, the founder and executive editor at Faith on View, a website and daily newsletter that covers Christian news and commentary. “I believe this is an appropriate time.”
“These are public figures responding to public comments. Certainly, since these figures have a personal relationship it could, and maybe should, have been handled privately. On the other hand, Tribbett's words were public and they influence people so it is appropriate to respond to them in a public forum so that the public they influence can hear a different perspective on an important subject.”
While people disagreeing and hurt feelings and offense being common, the way they respond is what matters and what gets most noticed and scrutinized.
“Disputes and disagreements happen. I have no problem with that. I look at how people carry themselves during a dispute,” Reynoso points out. “Are they carrying themselves in love? People will see things differently. But it is crucial that even in disagreement we represent our God, who is love.”
The assessment of each person’s communication is open to debate. First impressions can be accurate or not, depending on one’s viewpoint.
“I do not see Tribbett's comments as irresponsible,” Reynoso states. “He is correct that the Church should be a resource to point people to God. Some place the institutional church almost as an idol. This can lead to abuse and hiding abuse as we've seen all too publicly over the last few years.”
He elaborates:
“A few years back I started saying ‘The Church is not the Church,’ meaning that the institutional Church is not the same as the spiritual Church, the ecclesia. Certainly, there is overlap. But we need to understand they are not the same,” Reynoso begins to explain. “I understand why faithful ministers are bothered by Tribbett's comments. But we also live in a world where many are dissatisfied with the institution. We don't bring them back by pretending there aren't problems or by hiding our own struggles.”
He proposes something for greater understanding and improvement.
“The tagline for Faith on View is ‘Living and loving in the tension of faith.’ There is tension in the life of faith and we don't do well to ignore that,” Reynoso asserts. “Is the Church "wack?’ Sometimes... too often. But I appreciate that even in that, Tribbett is pointing to God as the ‘source.’”
His observation and analysis is balanced.
“At the same time, I don't want to dismiss what Pastor Mike Jr. said. For many, including me, the ‘right church’ has been healing and affirming of God as the ‘source,’” Reynoso says. “When you watch the video, you feel very different about (the conflict). I feel like he lovingly disagrees with how Tribbett handled this issue.
Tribbett and Pastor Mike agree on God and faith yet disagree about the usefulness and need for the church. Respectfully agreeing to disagree seems like a choice.
“I feel the disagreement is blown out of proportion,” Reynoso reveals. “Tribbett was speaking about a ‘system.’ Pastor Mike Jr. acknowledges the imperfection of that system. Tribbett is acknowledging the brokenness that so many see and pointing beyond the system of Church, to God.
“Pastor Mike is focusing on the importance of the ‘right church’ in the spiritual development of believers.
He sees compatibility in thought.
“Both these perspectives can co-exist.”
Communication Intelligence, the Newsletter, is an accompanying publication of Communication Intelligence magazine.
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