I guess I can make Monday Musings a thing. Why not.

First, I want to thank the recent community members who joined over the past couple of weeks. Thanks for being willing to check out my content (and community!), it really means a lot. If you know anyone who might also be interested in the type of content I create, please share it with them. My primary goal is to inject a little bit of reason, sanity, and civility into our completely corrupted social discourse. I hate how awful we treat each other, and I'm just trying to do my part to change all that. The more people who are with me on that mission, the better.

Second, here's something I've mentioned in conversations with people, but I think is worth throwing out there for you guys to consider:

I come from a ministry background. The ministry I was part of put a heavy emphasis on evangelism, which is basically another way of saying "intentionally sharing your beliefs with others." We had lots of strategies for doing this, and most of them were pretty effective. One of those strategies was to build authentic relationships with people, and get to know them as humans, not as a "project." We emphasized authenticity, sincerity, and a deep desire to understand their perspectives, their goals, their desires, and their values. We didn't go set up a soap box on the street corner and just preach into the ether (though I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with those who do, depending on how they go about it).

My point is, there is a difference between preaching and evangelism. There is a pretty common saying "You're preaching to the choir." Most everyone is familiar with that saying, and most everyone understands what it means. Simply put, it means you're speaking in such a way, and to such a group of people, so as to be presenting something they already understand, to those who already agree with it. That's what true preaching is, almost by definition- it's a message given to those who probably accept its premises. Yes, to "preach at" someone means to talk down to them on a moral basis. But that's using "preach" merely as a synonym for "scold" or some other type of behavior correction. I'm talking about true preaching.

So what is evangelism? It's intentionally sharing a message (that might even be substantively identical to a preacher's sermon) but in a way that makes sense to those who might not accept the premise or legitimacy of a Biblical worldview. Evangelism is a way of bridging the gap between your beliefs, and those who presently reject them, in such a way that they realize such beliefs might actually be correct. Everything about effective evangelism revolves around putting significant effort into relationships, presentation, vernacular, and listening skills. Successful evangelism often stems from a sincere and obvious care for those who are receiving it. Even if they disagree, they understand that what we're telling them is a sincerely held belief, and is being shared with them out of an authentic care for them as a person.

So why do I bring this up? Because for a long time now, I've sensed that those of us engaged in (or being drafted into!) this culture war are using a toolkit that mirrors that of a preacher, rather than an evangelist.

I tend to criticize Ben Shapiro on these grounds, but it's a criticism born out of a deep respect and value for his opinions and contribution to the greater conversation taking place right now. But Ben is a preacher- and in all fairness, I don't think he pretends to be anything other than that. However, one valuable skill for those who preach is to also equip the "choir" if you will, with the skills to then translate the message into one that is evangelistic in function. In other words, a good preacher simultaneously preaches to the choir, but also includes instruction for how the choir can communicate that message to outsiders.

The reason "Facts don't care about your feelings" bugs me so much is because it does absolutely nothing to bridge the gap for those being driven by their feelings. We have tons of young Conservatives who hear that phrase at some YAF event, and then use it in settings when a more evangelistic approach is necessary. Using "Facts don't care about your feelings" in a conversation geared towards changing people's minds is the secular equivalent of an evangelist using "You're a hell-bound sinner!" in a conversation with a non-believer. You're probably not going to make a lot of progress with that approach.

This is my encouragement to you:
1) If we want to start winning this culture war, we have to do so on the grounds of making "converts" to true liberalism. We have to start doing evangelism. And we have competition. The priests of Far-Left Orthodoxy are using a crusade of fear and silence to grow their congregation. It's been really effective. But guess what? Nero was beheading Christians when the early church was beginning, and their numbers still grew. Why? Because truth and purpose often possess a stronger appeal than fear and intimidation.

2) If we want to be successful evangelists, it means putting in the work to understand the epistemology, vernacular, and weaknesses in FLO's doctrines. We need to be relational. People need to see a sincerity in us that those on the other side lack. We need to have real compassion for good-hearted people who are flagellating themselves because they were told that they're irredeemable bigots. They've bought into an ideology that is absolutely corrosive to their mental health, and our society's health more broadly. Far-Left Orthodoxy is currently viewed as the ideology occupying our societal moral high ground. We're competing with something that most people already subconsciously assume is morally superior. We will not successfully make converts if we don't also simultaneously show ourselves to be the true side of compassion, care, and sincere concern for people's well-being. This means actually caring about the feelings that led someone to abandon facts in the first place.

I do believe this is possible. Most people who are under the influence of this thing are there out of fear, not authentic belief. But the more people they're able to silence, the more it appears as if their claims are legitimate, and consequently the numbers of those who do actually believe it will grow.

As Kevin and I mentioned in our recent conversation, the other side demands action. Silence, inaction, etc. is no longer an option. This means that a growing number of people will be looking for a practical, viable alternative to going along with all this madness. Authentic, successful evangelism will be one of the best ways to show people that alternative 🤙