Thank you Kyla for your vulnerability in sharing this post. It also reminds me of how much I miss the theatre in these COVID times. I'm praying that it will come back soon, for both the actors and the audience's sake.
Great point, Harry. I guess I was thinking that IF people wanted to participate in #GivingTuesday, that it might be nice for them to have one place where all of the CRCNA options are listed. That way they don't have to sift through emails or social media to find them all. I do agree, though, that the CRC has a long tradition of generous giving and we don't need a designated day for that.
HI Jeff. I serve as the director of communications and marketing for the CRCNA. I think a short video overview of the denomination's history is a great idea. I'm not sure I have it in my budget this year, but I'll definitely add it to my "idea file" to see what I can pull together as time and funds allow. Thanks for making the suggestion.
HI Bonnie. Sarah is brand new to the Network (Welcome Sarah!) and asked me for advice on how to handle this situation. I was the one who recommended that she respond as she did. I am still mulling over whether or not it is the right call. I do think that this post could be edited to included gender inclusive pronouns (or no pronouns at all) and would communicate Rob's points as he intended them. (His post isn't about headship, it is about the hardships of being a pastor. The things he describes would also apply to female pastors even if Rob wouldn't attend their churches). My concern was that it would change Rob's "voice" as a writer and that is something we try not to do. Perhaps a good policy going forward would be to flag the concern and then ask the author to consider revising. I will discuss this further with Sarah and others.
As for a disclaimer, we do already have that on the footer of each page of the Network. It says, "The Network is a collection of content posted by members of our online community. Our hosting of this content does not imply endorsement, nor can we verify the accuracy of user-submitted post".
Again, thank you for your feedback. It is appreciated.
As I've already stated, you don't have to express support for the concepts of white privilege or systemic racism. What I was suggesting is that you acknowledge the pain of racism and racist acts in our world before you get into critiquing the terminology or theory. I suppose that if someone believed that we were living in a society that didn't have any racism at all anymore, then that would be hard for them to do. In those cases, I would encourage the poster to look at our official denominational statements that task us to "to witness publicly against racism in defense of all people as imagebearers of God," and to “continued repentance of personal and institutional racism and other forms of discrimination.”
1. see my response to Lubbert and to Doug. The verb I used is "moderating" not "deleting", and I acknowledge that it will be difficult to understand what someone's lived experience is. I covet prayers for discernment. At the same time, you can usually tell when someone is sharing personal experiences.
2. See same responses to Lubbert and Doug. When people share their personal stories and how issues have impacted them, it helps us hear and learn from each other. This is the starting place for dialogue. When we neglect to see people's experiences as part of an issue, it leads to division and hurt.
3. Please see community-guidelines. We want everyone to be polite, respectful in tone and language, etc. If you feel that a post or comment does not meet these standards, please flag it for review.
4. See response to Marc. The thinking behind this practice is in the spirit of Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 107. Some scripture passages related to this are: Matthew 7:12, 22:39; Romans 12:10; Matthew 5:3-12; Luke 6:36; Romans 12:10, 18; Galatians 6:1-2; Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:12; 1 Peter 3:8; Exodus 23:4-5; Matthew 5:44-45; Romans 12:20-21; Proverbs 25:21-22
Your other comment was flagged for review because it did not meet the community guidelines. Singling out specific people by name as a way to make an argument seems neither polite nor respectful, and seems to be straying from the original intent of the post.
Hi Trevor. I've tried to explain a few times in earlier comments that just because you do not have the lived experience (in this case, not being a person of color who has experienced the negative impacts of racism), does not mean that you CAN'T comment. It just means that we will hold you to a higher standard. We want to make sure that in those cases, the writer without the lived experience acknowledges the experience of those impacted before you post. In this case, Mark and Tim are doing that. They are respecting the voices of those most impacted by the issue, so the comment can stand.
Hi Marc. I'm sorry that my post came across as anti-conservative and also that it seemed to be only about critical race theory. That wasn't my intent. I would love to have conservative people, who are also people of color, post about their experiences with race and how they'd like the church to respond. The point of my post was more in the spirit of Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 107 - "God wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly toward them, to protect them from harm as much as we can, and to do good even to our enemies." If online discussion forums are causing harm to some of our community members, and they have made me aware of that, then it is my duty to do what I can to protect them from that harm. If I can remind people to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful and friendly in their online comments, then I should do so. We want discussion and welcome debate, just not at the expense of marginalized people.
Hi Dan. Thanks for posting. I want to clarify that I don't think that I am more enlightened than anyone else, or that I'm specially gifted to speak on behalf of people of color. You and I have engaged in the past and I think we share a mutual respect. I hope that I have demonstrated that my preference is to allow a variety of posts and opinions and to spark dialogue. Your "Esther and the 2nd Amendment" post is a great example. It may seem controversial to some and certainly expresses a point that not everyone agrees with, but posting it allowed for some interesting dialogue and debate. The intent of my post above was to admit that this approach to Network content has flaws and that I've had blinders to how I have unwittingly allowed hurt to happen in my quest for open and free-flowing dialogue. I now want to correct that. I am not making unilateral decisions about what I think groups of people might be offended by, but I am listening to people and trying to understand their pain and how I can mitigate it. I should also say that there is a diverse group of people helping with decisions about moderation.
Lastly, this really isn't about defending Black Lives Matter. A post that recognized the pain of the black community in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, acknowledged the reality of racism in our societies, and stated that change is needed in our systems - including in our churches - could also criticize the organization of Black Lives Matter and some of their calls to action. But when we start with that criticism, and when we say things like, "don't all lives matter? we are all one in Christ," we skip over the important part of seeing our brothers and sisters and recognizing their very real experiences. That's where the hurt has happened.
1. Sorry for the confusion. I meant that we'll be reaching out to some specific folks and asking them to write blog posts to ensure that our content is more reflective of our broad CRCNA community. It wasn't about writing comments. I agree with you that most of the Network users are "silent" observers rather than frequent commenters.
2. Glad we agree.
4. (Jumping ahead to #4 before #3) You are right. Moderating online conversations does require a lot of discernment. It is probably one of the hardest parts of my job. It is something I pray about, and something I often ask others to pray for me about. I welcome your prayers as well. I try to listen. I start with the premise that everyone has good intentions behind their posts. I also rely on others to help me make final decisions when things are difficult. In the end, I (and we) might still make mistakes, but we'll continue to try our best.
3. This is another hard one and you are right that we will still need to make some judgment calls. At the same time, I think that we can often tell when someone is writing about their personal experience. Consider this (albeit facetious) example.
The Network does not allow posts that explicitly support or denounce political candidates, but if it did, imagine that I - as a Canadian - wrote a post that said something like "Everyone who voted for Trump was clearly a racist. I mean, he clearly hates immigrants and wants to build a wall because of his xenophobia. What's more, his rallies are frequented by neo-nazis and far-right groups. I suspect that Trump supporters also hate women and didn't want to vote for Hillary because they didn't want a woman President."
Some of these statement could be formed based on observation or what some news commentors have shared as "fact", but the overall post clearly makes assumptions about a group of people that I'm not a part of. It is divisive and not helpful to any sort of dialogue.
On the flip side, if someone posted "As a Christian, I'm uncomfortable with some of the things Donald Trump has said about women and people with disabilities, but I voted for him in 2016 and plan to vote for him again and here's why. He's been a strong advocate for the unborn. He supports religious freedom and was an advocate for keeping worship services open during COVID. He was even able to get disenfranchised people interested in politics again.....". While people might still hold an opposing point of view, this post would help them hear where the other was coming from. Because it starts from someone's lived experience, it can lead to greater understanding.
Of course, all of this is harder when we are talking about topics such as race, disability, abuse, etc. than politics, but that's a broad picture of what I'm hoping for. I want us to hear each other and learn from each other. We can't do that if some people feel unseen and unsafe.
Posted in: Managing Anxiety through Art and Acting
Thank you Kyla for your vulnerability in sharing this post. It also reminds me of how much I miss the theatre in these COVID times. I'm praying that it will come back soon, for both the actors and the audience's sake.
Posted in: A CRCNA Guide to #GivingTuesday
Great point, Harry. I guess I was thinking that IF people wanted to participate in #GivingTuesday, that it might be nice for them to have one place where all of the CRCNA options are listed. That way they don't have to sift through emails or social media to find them all. I do agree, though, that the CRC has a long tradition of generous giving and we don't need a designated day for that.
Posted in: A CRCNA Guide to #GivingTuesday
This is a great idea.
Posted in: Resources for Inquirers Class?
HI Jeff. I serve as the director of communications and marketing for the CRCNA. I think a short video overview of the denomination's history is a great idea. I'm not sure I have it in my budget this year, but I'll definitely add it to my "idea file" to see what I can pull together as time and funds allow. Thanks for making the suggestion.
Posted in: What's So Hard About Being a Pastor?
HI Bonnie. Sarah is brand new to the Network (Welcome Sarah!) and asked me for advice on how to handle this situation. I was the one who recommended that she respond as she did. I am still mulling over whether or not it is the right call. I do think that this post could be edited to included gender inclusive pronouns (or no pronouns at all) and would communicate Rob's points as he intended them. (His post isn't about headship, it is about the hardships of being a pastor. The things he describes would also apply to female pastors even if Rob wouldn't attend their churches). My concern was that it would change Rob's "voice" as a writer and that is something we try not to do. Perhaps a good policy going forward would be to flag the concern and then ask the author to consider revising. I will discuss this further with Sarah and others.
As for a disclaimer, we do already have that on the footer of each page of the Network. It says, "The Network is a collection of content posted by members of our online community. Our hosting of this content does not imply endorsement, nor can we verify the accuracy of user-submitted post".
Again, thank you for your feedback. It is appreciated.
Posted in: "Censorship" on The Network
As I've already stated, you don't have to express support for the concepts of white privilege or systemic racism. What I was suggesting is that you acknowledge the pain of racism and racist acts in our world before you get into critiquing the terminology or theory. I suppose that if someone believed that we were living in a society that didn't have any racism at all anymore, then that would be hard for them to do. In those cases, I would encourage the poster to look at our official denominational statements that task us to "to witness publicly against racism in defense of all people as imagebearers of God," and to “continued repentance of personal and institutional racism and other forms of discrimination.”
Posted in: "Censorship" on The Network
HI Eric. I feel that these questions were already addressed in some of the other comments on this thread. Thanks.
Posted in: "Censorship" on The Network
In answer to your questions:
1. see my response to Lubbert and to Doug. The verb I used is "moderating" not "deleting", and I acknowledge that it will be difficult to understand what someone's lived experience is. I covet prayers for discernment. At the same time, you can usually tell when someone is sharing personal experiences.
2. See same responses to Lubbert and Doug. When people share their personal stories and how issues have impacted them, it helps us hear and learn from each other. This is the starting place for dialogue. When we neglect to see people's experiences as part of an issue, it leads to division and hurt.
3. Please see community-guidelines. We want everyone to be polite, respectful in tone and language, etc. If you feel that a post or comment does not meet these standards, please flag it for review.
4. See response to Marc. The thinking behind this practice is in the spirit of Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 107. Some scripture passages related to this are: Matthew 7:12, 22:39; Romans 12:10; Matthew 5:3-12; Luke 6:36; Romans 12:10, 18; Galatians 6:1-2; Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:12; 1 Peter 3:8; Exodus 23:4-5; Matthew 5:44-45; Romans 12:20-21; Proverbs 25:21-22
Your other comment was flagged for review because it did not meet the community guidelines. Singling out specific people by name as a way to make an argument seems neither polite nor respectful, and seems to be straying from the original intent of the post.
Posted in: "Censorship" on The Network
Hi Trevor. I've tried to explain a few times in earlier comments that just because you do not have the lived experience (in this case, not being a person of color who has experienced the negative impacts of racism), does not mean that you CAN'T comment. It just means that we will hold you to a higher standard. We want to make sure that in those cases, the writer without the lived experience acknowledges the experience of those impacted before you post. In this case, Mark and Tim are doing that. They are respecting the voices of those most impacted by the issue, so the comment can stand.
Posted in: "Censorship" on The Network
Hi Marc. I'm sorry that my post came across as anti-conservative and also that it seemed to be only about critical race theory. That wasn't my intent. I would love to have conservative people, who are also people of color, post about their experiences with race and how they'd like the church to respond. The point of my post was more in the spirit of Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 107 - "God wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly toward them, to protect them from harm as much as we can, and to do good even to our enemies." If online discussion forums are causing harm to some of our community members, and they have made me aware of that, then it is my duty to do what I can to protect them from that harm. If I can remind people to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful and friendly in their online comments, then I should do so. We want discussion and welcome debate, just not at the expense of marginalized people.
Posted in: "Censorship" on The Network
Hi Dan. Thanks for posting. I want to clarify that I don't think that I am more enlightened than anyone else, or that I'm specially gifted to speak on behalf of people of color. You and I have engaged in the past and I think we share a mutual respect. I hope that I have demonstrated that my preference is to allow a variety of posts and opinions and to spark dialogue. Your "Esther and the 2nd Amendment" post is a great example. It may seem controversial to some and certainly expresses a point that not everyone agrees with, but posting it allowed for some interesting dialogue and debate. The intent of my post above was to admit that this approach to Network content has flaws and that I've had blinders to how I have unwittingly allowed hurt to happen in my quest for open and free-flowing dialogue. I now want to correct that. I am not making unilateral decisions about what I think groups of people might be offended by, but I am listening to people and trying to understand their pain and how I can mitigate it. I should also say that there is a diverse group of people helping with decisions about moderation.
Lastly, this really isn't about defending Black Lives Matter. A post that recognized the pain of the black community in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, acknowledged the reality of racism in our societies, and stated that change is needed in our systems - including in our churches - could also criticize the organization of Black Lives Matter and some of their calls to action. But when we start with that criticism, and when we say things like, "don't all lives matter? we are all one in Christ," we skip over the important part of seeing our brothers and sisters and recognizing their very real experiences. That's where the hurt has happened.
Posted in: "Censorship" on The Network
Thanks Lubbert. In response to your points:
1. Sorry for the confusion. I meant that we'll be reaching out to some specific folks and asking them to write blog posts to ensure that our content is more reflective of our broad CRCNA community. It wasn't about writing comments. I agree with you that most of the Network users are "silent" observers rather than frequent commenters.
2. Glad we agree.
4. (Jumping ahead to #4 before #3) You are right. Moderating online conversations does require a lot of discernment. It is probably one of the hardest parts of my job. It is something I pray about, and something I often ask others to pray for me about. I welcome your prayers as well. I try to listen. I start with the premise that everyone has good intentions behind their posts. I also rely on others to help me make final decisions when things are difficult. In the end, I (and we) might still make mistakes, but we'll continue to try our best.
3. This is another hard one and you are right that we will still need to make some judgment calls. At the same time, I think that we can often tell when someone is writing about their personal experience. Consider this (albeit facetious) example.
The Network does not allow posts that explicitly support or denounce political candidates, but if it did, imagine that I - as a Canadian - wrote a post that said something like "Everyone who voted for Trump was clearly a racist. I mean, he clearly hates immigrants and wants to build a wall because of his xenophobia. What's more, his rallies are frequented by neo-nazis and far-right groups. I suspect that Trump supporters also hate women and didn't want to vote for Hillary because they didn't want a woman President."
Some of these statement could be formed based on observation or what some news commentors have shared as "fact", but the overall post clearly makes assumptions about a group of people that I'm not a part of. It is divisive and not helpful to any sort of dialogue.
On the flip side, if someone posted "As a Christian, I'm uncomfortable with some of the things Donald Trump has said about women and people with disabilities, but I voted for him in 2016 and plan to vote for him again and here's why. He's been a strong advocate for the unborn. He supports religious freedom and was an advocate for keeping worship services open during COVID. He was even able to get disenfranchised people interested in politics again.....". While people might still hold an opposing point of view, this post would help them hear where the other was coming from. Because it starts from someone's lived experience, it can lead to greater understanding.
Of course, all of this is harder when we are talking about topics such as race, disability, abuse, etc. than politics, but that's a broad picture of what I'm hoping for. I want us to hear each other and learn from each other. We can't do that if some people feel unseen and unsafe.