Yesterday, I shared the first of my 2025 Resolves/resolutions/objectives. You can see it HERE if you wish.

Resolve #1: I will present a more beautiful picture of Christ. Instead of focusing on declaring what God is against, I will focus my time on the beauty that God wants all people to experience. I resolve to present the hope of Christ in such lofty and expansive ways that someone would have to be crazy to decide against it!

Now for the second resolve for 2025-

Resolve #2-

I resolve to pursue understanding and represent the positions of others well.

In our soundbite and “gotcha” oriented norms, particularly regarding social media, there is an inherent reward in sensationalism. If you can catch and clip a soundbite of someone saying something that is shocking…or present someone’s view as out of touch, you gain approval from everyone else! For years, this has been a burden.

At a church I served many years ago, one of my staff members soundbited a sermon and accused me of He did not speak to me directly, only began circulating my alleged error among people. When I confronted him, he repented, immediately resigned the church and started a new one down the street with several families that he was close to. 

Now I will admit that my statement was imprecise. It was an impromptu illustration using a song lyric from a Southern Gospel group. While factually accurate on its face, the statement was not responsible. It did more to obscure than illuminate and clarify. Consequently, some trusted men in the church examined the statement against the body of my teaching and determined that the allegation of heresy was unfounded. I continued to serve that church for many years.

The point is, I implied something about the artists’ intent that I could not know. It was unintended, but I did it, nonetheless. Second, my staff member stated something blatantly in error and incredibly serious about me…without ever seeking clarity. GOTCHA! That was the name of the game.

In a world that celebrates the sensational over the actual, we, as believers, can differentiate ourselves tremendously by taking time to understand another person’s position. Seeking to understand and then represent the concern accurately is not a burden, but a privilege and a Christian responsibility (Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor…comes to mind. Exodus 20). Understanding and truthfully representing someone else does not demand agreement or alignment. I want to understand people I disagree with clearly. I want to represent their position in such a way that they would say, “Absolutely, that is precisely what I believe.” I want them to walk away from an interaction with me with a higher and more charitable view of Jesus than ever before. And I want the watching world to see the difference Christ makes in this area of communication.

Perhaps you’ll join me in this resolve. Let’s turn the communication world upside down with good manners, a commitment to truth, and kindness toward others, to the glory of God.