Paul Wilczynski's Observations

NCC President urges communicators, take on 'false religion'

Cleveland, March 28, 2006 – The president of the National Council of Churches, the Rev. Michael Livingston, strongly urged church communicators to, “Tell our story. By any means necessary.”

“Mainline Protestant and Orthodox churches have been pounded into irrelevancy by the media machine of a false religion,” Livingston said. He described what passes as religion to be, “a political philosophy masquerading as gospel; an economic principle wrapped in religious rhetoric and painted red, white and blue.”

Livingston made his remarks this week (March 27) in Cleveland at the semi-annual meeting of the National Council’s Communications Commission. He spoke to about 30 communicators from many of the NCC’s 35 member denominations.

“Get it [our story] out there,” he said, “this truth about the human condition and the work of the church, these churches, this one effort of millions of Christians alongside and through NCC/CWS [Church World Service] to live in obedience to the word of the one who sends us into the world: When you did it to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it unto me. It all comes down to this, love God and your neighbor.”

Livingston, who is also executive director of the International Council of Community Churches, lamented the media attraction to Pat Robertson and how the work seems to go unnoticed by Christians in agencies like CWS, Lutheran World Relief and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

The communicators were challenged not to mimic or imitate others.

“We need fresh approaches to telling our story, reaching and touching our nation with what we know to be a faithful response to the gospel,” Livingston said. He singled out FaithfulAmerica.org as one way to share the good news of faithful Christians responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 10:44 AM