It’s an interesting time to be making any kind of observation or declaration on social issues.

I literally haven’t had time to offer my informed and distilled two cents worth on all that is transpiring in the world – and there is a LOT going on. But what I’m observing is people cancelled, fired, reprimanded or otherwise sanctioned for having opinions that are counter to the party line of their workplace or tribe. And then there are those asked not to comment either way on issues that are contentious – best not offend anyone at all…

This morning a well known local Christian leader (Peter Lyndon James) wrote that he found himself with no choice but to resign because his voice on immigration appears to be at odds with his role as a CEO of Shalom House. Of course there was the cancelling of Jimmy Kimmel’s show for his comments on Charlie Kirk and there have been several other incidents.

It’s an interesting challenge, choosing how and when to use your voice for what purpose – and at what cost… 

I’ve never held back on this blog, nor have I felt constrained by any entity whose reputation as an organisation may be tarnished by my views, and it’s a line I intend to keep holding into the future. If I ever find myself with an opportunity for employment again in a larger/diverse organisation it may need to come with the condition that my personal opinions are not going to be restrained because of my involvement. No doubt there would be some employers and orgs unwilling to take that risk.

I should clarify that this doesn’t make me unaccountable – just not reportable to someone who controls my salary. I do listen to push back from friends and ministry colleagues who may not share my opinions and when I feel like I’m wrong I try to correct it. 

All that said it feels like we are increasingly living in a polarised world where it is difficult to hold and then present a nuanced point of view on contemporary issues. And I hesitate to speak as I don’t want to get dragged into the mud of other people’s wars and cast as ‘one of them’ or ‘one of those’ if I am neither.’.

I do hold opinions on all current events – drawn from what I’d hope is a wide spread of sources – but I sense were I to express them I would end up in the same debates I see festering on various friends FB pages and blogs. I’m not convinced much of it is productive.

I’ve also been writing for long enough now to know that my immediate response isnt always my best response. But perhaps one of my biggest concerns is around the lack of space to dissent and the suppression of unpopular views. I have always believed ideas stand or fall on their own merits. But at the moment in parts of the world it is the ‘left’ suppressing dissent while in other parts it seems the ‘right’ is now doing the same.

My interest in this is partly for its own sake, but also for how we form and hold communities of faith in the middle of the polarisation. It will not serve the world for us to retreat into ‘leftie churches’ and ‘right wing churches ‘. There are Christians living at all places on the political spectrum and if we only listen to like minded voices then we will only be further apart. That said it takes great wisdom to lead in this current climate. I’m musing on how we speak into the situation in different types of communities – large and regional or small and local. Each one brings a different tension into the communication process and the hope for peace and acceptance of difference 

(Anyway, maybe someone will instead castigate me for not taking a visible and firm stance on current issues!)