Christian journalists do no other work than their non-believing colleagues. They just do it differently. They have the same job, but they look at things with different eyes. They see the same unborn child but have a different understanding of it.
Journalist Evert van Vlastuin, author of the book Reporting From the Tree. / Photo: [link]CNE.news, André Dorst[/link].
You might experience the same as I do: you are part of an app group with Christians, and participants share news items as prayer requests. This usually happens when there have been earthquakes and other disasters, or when there are other matters of intense urgency.
This is obviously a good thing. Such a message does an appeal on your involvement with a particular person or matter. Praying is an act of love.
News reports can also be used for the intercession in the worship service in the church. Then, not only is one person praying anymore, but the whole congregation. This is enriching and encouraging.
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Two thoughts about this.
First, most news reports are not specifically written for this purpose. For what are they written then? Actually, most likely without a specific purpose. Many journalists will say they work “just to inform”. They use words like “objective” and “independent” and try to be blind to who is at the receiving end.
However, they recognise that the information they provide will have a significant impact on society. Captains of industry spell the Financial Times and use that in their reflection.
The second thought is that those reports can only do good if they are reliable. Many will recognise that some reports in app groups are obviously one-sided or just completely untrustworthy. It can also happen that you would love the story to be true, but that you are not sure.
You have no choice but to check the information. As a pastor, you cannot risk praying for something that is only partly true because you relied on tendentious messages from partisan sources. Praying is a holy thing in the face of a holy God. You must be careful with that.
This emphasises the importance of reliable reporting. In other words: good journalism.
In my book, Reporting from the Tree: A Christian Vision of Journalism, I emphasise that reporters have a serving task. That is quite humbling. However, it is an important service, particularly when they cover topics that are significant for Christians worldwide.
In the Gospel of Matthew (14:13), we read that Jesus heard the “news” about John the Baptist’s beheading. The New Living Translation (NLT) uses this word here. I find that illustrative here, because we read that Jesus acts upon this. “He left in a boat for a remote area to be alone”, the text continues. In other words, Jesus changes His plan because of the news. News has impact here!
Christian journalists do no other work than their non-believing colleagues. They just do it differently. They have the same job, but they look at things with different eyes. They see the same unborn child but have a different understanding of it. They report about the same political crisis, but they know this is not happening by accident but in God’s providence.
On the cover of my book is the picture of a tree. At the bottom, there are the roots. They symbolise the spiritual level with our fundamental beliefs about God and Jesus, sin and grace, creation and redemption. From that, we develop a worldview and values that grow in a different soil from that of a colleague with other beliefs.
Our starting point will lead to other decisions, choices and actions. If you have no taste of the holiness of God, you will look at the creation around us differently. And if those journalists have a good spiritual antenna, their reports might even be more useful for our app groups with prayer requests.
Evert van Vlastuin, journalist in the Netherlands.
“Reporting from the Tree: A Christian View of Journalism” can be obtained here.
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