I serve in full-time ministry. Not as a pastor, but on a church staff. As part of my employment agreement with the church leadership, I, and all of our staff members, agree to be very careful about what we say and do–especially on social media. Our likes, dislikes, comments, and posts are all supposed to be very cautious, especially when discussing issues that can be seen as political in nature, against church doctrine, negative, or demeaning to any person, group, or belief.

I’ve actually been okay with that idea in many situations. I appreciate that I can fall back on this guideline as my reason for staying “above the fray” when hot topics show up on a Facebook wall. It doesn’t mean I don’t have an opinion. It just means I have a line I won’t cross when discussing things in a public forum. In ways, I think it allows me to have a wider “friend” base than some others might. I don’t have people blocking or “unfriending” me because they don’t agree with me.

I also think it means a LOT of people assume I agree with them.

I probably don’t, actually.

In reality, I DON’T want to enter the world of debates and arguments, of “my-way-is-right-and-yours-is-wrong” comment strings; of 144-character quips demeaning the “other side” tweet storms. I am an enneagram 9, so being at peace and avoiding conflict are kinda my thing.

But I do wish to “like” things I agree with. I do wish to “follow” individuals whose opinions I tend to lean toward. There are podcasts I want to invest in listening to. And, yes, I want to share my thoughts from time to time.

So, I do what so many other church staff people do when they fear their opinions will get them in trouble, or worse, fired: I create a secret account. I sign up for an anonymous email address, and I set up a blog that I NEVER show to anyone in my circle.

But here’s the thing. I struggle with the idea that my choice to “stay out of it” means I can become guilty of inaction in the face of truly unjust and ungodly opinions and actions.

Back to my earlier statement. Most of the people in my church wouldn’t know how I really feel about most “issues” in matters of faith, doctrine, politics, and beyond. They certainly may assume what I believe, but they are probably wrong.

I ask myself sometimes, “is it better to stay silent, or in my silence and in my choosing to have hidden accounts, am I actually doing more harm? Am I, in a sense, lying to those I serve with, live with, fellowship with? Am I doing a disservice to the people and issues I support or believe in by keeping it all quiet? Am I being untrue to myself by hiding behind a guideline?”

I don’t have the answer. But in highly tumultuous times within our nation, within our faith, within our understanding of core beliefs; in a time when a baby is ripped from its family at a border in the name of politics, in a week when thousands will attend “God and Country” church services and spend more time praising the “country,” how do I (or do I) respond?

When do I cross the borderline from silence to sound and fury? When do I switch from passive to aggressive?

I love the Francis prayer. I have based this entire blog on that notion. When I look back on the prayer, it is hard to find the guidance for when to speak up.

“Where there is hatred, let me sow love.”
“Where there is injury, pardon.”
“Where there is darkness, light.”
(O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek)
“to be understood as to understand”

And so on. So, I am very hesitant, in public (and even many private) settings, to say or do something that might offend, cause division, or create conflict.

As a peacemaker, I think I need to look more to Christ than to Francis in these situations. Jesus was a bringer of Peace. In many faith circles, we even say, “Peace of Christ” as a common greeting or benediction. Yet, I see times in the Bible where Jesus was confrontational in the face of false doctrine, wrong motives, or pure hatred. When his Father was being dishonored, misrepresented, or used as the basis for judgmental actions, he spoke truth, even harshly. He flipped tables. He called out stone-throwers. He shamed the overly-righteous.

I’m not Jesus. So I don’t know that I have much ground to stand on, because, let’s face it, my views are opinions. They aren’t necessarily factual. I could be getting it wrong, so I shouldn’t stand on a high horse and tell others that they’re wrong.

Is there a middle way? A way of speaking truth, of being authentic in my concerns, and not hiding from the topics I feel passion towards in the name of “peacekeeping”?

Is it better to be hot, cold, or lukewarm? Is it better to be left, right, or centered?

Do I cross the line? Do I straddle it? Or do I rely on a wall someone else has put up to keep me from crossing into a new land?