Christians Say Christian Media Is Making Them Look Bad. Here Is How to Post Without Adding to It.

Barna asked people who consume a lot of Christian media what they think of it. The answers are hard to read. Among heavy consumers, 45 percent say the content is divisive. Forty percent say it makes Christians look bad.

These are not critics or outsiders. These are the people who watch it, listen to it, and follow it most. They are the base. And nearly half of them think it is hurting the witness.

I talk to a lot of pastors and communications directors, and this number matches something I hear all the time. They are hesitant to post. Not because they have nothing to say, but because the loudest Christian voices online have made them wary of the whole category. Nobody wants to sound like that.

So a lot of good ministries go quiet. That is the worst possible response, and I want to make the case for a better one.

What is actually making it feel divisive

It is not that Christian content takes positions. The Gospel has always had a sharp edge to it. The problem is a specific style that grew up on social platforms, because that style gets rewarded there.

• Content that exists to score a point against another group rather than serve a real person
• Hot takes on national fights that have nothing to do with the people in your town
• Outrage clipped to 30 seconds with the context removed
• Certainty about everything, humility about nothing
• Talking about people instead of talking with them

Every one of those things performs well. That is exactly why they spread. Platforms pay out in attention, and conflict is the cheapest way to buy attention. So the loudest Christian content online is not the most faithful. It is the most algorithm-friendly.

The test I would run before you post anything

Here is a filter you can run in about 30 seconds. It has saved me from posting things I would have regretted.

• Is there a specific person this helps, or is it just something I wanted to say?
• Would I say this the same way to someone's face, in my own living room?
• Am I punching at a group of people who are not in the room to answer?
• If a person who disagrees with me watched this, would they feel understood or attacked?
• Is there an actual human story in it, or only my opinion?
• Would this still be worth posting if nobody liked it?

That last one is the sharpest. A lot of content only makes sense as a bid for approval. If you would not post it into silence, ask why you are posting it at all.

What to make instead

Here is the good news, and it is genuinely good. The content that builds trust is also the content nobody is tired of. There is no glut of it. You will stand out by making it.

A word about the pressure you feel

I know some of you feel pressure to comment on everything. A hard week hits the news, and by Monday somebody is asking why the church has not said something.

You are allowed to be slow. You are allowed to say less in public and do more in person. Some of the most trusted churches I know say very little online about national fights, and a great deal about the people right in front of them. Their people are not confused about what they believe.

Matthew 5 says let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. See your good works. Not hear your good opinions.

We put the filter above into a one-page check you can keep next to your desk or hand to whoever runs your accounts. It takes ten minutes to learn and it will quietly raise the floor on everything you publish.