Hate Mail is Funny

Written by

Adam McLane

in

LettersThere is little I find more odd about being a pastor than getting hate mail from other Christians.

I just don’t understand why Christians do this… they disagree with something I say or do and then send me mail or email. Do they really think that this pleases Jesus? Christians attacking other Christians is just sad.

Now for what I got today. I get it… some people hate Rick Warren. Some people hate the Emergent Church. Some people hate worship music. Some people hate that our church wants to reach people with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. And others just hate me. OK, I can handle it! (Thick skin is part of the job!) In fact… I find getting stuff like that funny. Really, I do.

Here’s some unsolicited advice for hate mailers and hate emailers:

  • If you want me to read it, put your real name on it. If you think you are going to change the world with an anonymous letter or email, think again. Stop reading this and watch the movie Luther again. The dude signed his name. The first thing (OK, the second… I’m human) I want to do when someone attacks me is see how I can talk to them and find out how I can restore the relationship. (Most issues between believers are simple misunderstandings in my opinion) If you are just hating me and don’t put your name… I can’t do anything with that and I will simply delete it.
  • If you want me to take it seriously, use a decent source. I mean… do you really think places like Light House Trails or Southwest Radio are reputable? I don’t know these people personally… but I do know that they have no credibility among anyone but hyper-fundamentalists. In fact, I’d be happy to point you to examples where they intentionally sensationalize things to prove their own point. Including blatantly avoiding attempt to fact check their "facts." Likewise, their practice of "guilty by association" and "secondary assosiation" are clearly anti-biblical concepts. Anything that comes to me from these sources goes straight to the trash (folder). Hit me with someone who at least has a similar belief system to me, OK?
  • Don’t contact me because you have an issue with someone else. I believe in Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 18. I don’t get why people send me hate mail because of someone else. Someone… explain that to me! If you don’t like someone’s ministry… contact them, not me! If you can figure out how to contact me… how come you can’t figure out "rickwarren@saddleback.org"?

That said… 99% of the comments, mail, phone calls I receive would NOT constitute what I’m labeling "hate mail." I would define hate mail as people who try to contact me anonymously with accusations via my blog’s comments, email, or snail mail. In fact, most emails, phone calls, comments, and snail mail are quite pleasant… even in disagreeing. I can handle disagreements… but hate mail just makes me laugh.

Comments

4 responses to “Hate Mail is Funny”

  1. Adam Harper Avatar
    Adam Harper

    Nice, very well said. I can’t image the amount of time many pastors would gain if people would go by the “guidelines” for griping. Sometimes i feel like I am running around like a mad man just trying to “put out fire” as it were.

    Reply
  2. Mike Avatar
    Mike

    Re: Christians and public schools.

    1 – I don’t hate you, or anyone. Love, love! How could someone hate a youth pastor? You need all the love and prayers you can get.

    2 – You said
    a) It’s funny, I would use almost the same argument to say that Christians must be a part of the public school system. We should stay because it’s a fight!

    **Not being argumentative… where are we told in scripture… “let your children go to institutions that outlaw the name of God? let / make your children go to “schools” and be taught by individuals who mock the very name of the Savior? True, children (all people) will encounter those who have both different beliefs and no beliefs. Yet, as a parent, I am to allow my child to sit and be force fed their deception / lies? Please tell my why 85% (Barna Poll) of “Christian” children fall away from the church by the end of freshman year in college. If we really care about being salt and light, which is an easily, yet not thought out claim, why not send all Christian kids to Muslims schools? They can not only be witnesses, they can learn about the love and joy of Allah and Islam.

    b) And I totally disagree that its solely the parents responsibility to educate their children. Tough to argue that biblically. Are all people called to be teachers?

    Deut. 6 “Parents teach these things to your children.” When? “When you walk, lie down, sit, put them on door posts, fence posts, gates…” If you read the bible where it says, Parents teach your children, we can conclude (not assume) God will give the parents the ability to educate. The issue could splinter off into what constitutes a “education,” but we sill stay on point. It boils down to another hidden reality: How the secular worldview has found its way into the church and most are not aware…. This is all we have known, so it must be right.”

    Thanks for “listening.” No hate.

    mike
    ps – former public educator of 18 years!

    Reply
  3. Mike Avatar
    Mike

    correction…. no website… copy / paste error!

    🙂

    Reply
  4. adam mclane Avatar
    adam mclane

    Mike, thanks for taking the time to come and respond.

    I’m sorry, but pointing to Duet. 6 as an argument for parents being the sole educators of children is just poor scholarship. Besides flatly denying the oft-repeated statement from Paul (you know, the guy who wrote a third of the new testament) it also denies the historical record! OT Jews shipped their boys off to the synagogue for formal education. School didn’t take the same form as it takes today, but it was school nonetheless. To deny that formal education has been a part of Christianity is purely revisionism. If I remember my US history correctly, public schools have been a part of the US since the earliest moments.

    Is there room for Christian education? Is there room for homeschooling? Sure. Absolutely. Go for it.!

    I am not denying that. I am denying the validity that it is a parents responsibility to choose Christian education over public education.

    The fact is that a Christian school education is most often sub-par to a pubic school education. (I worked in one that was clearly sub-par to the school system and the numbers proved that out.)

    You can point to extremes. You can point to some Christian schools and show how they are better. Likewise, I could show you public schools that are better. By shear volume, the public schools will have more extremes statistically!

    You can say there are teachers who hate God. You can say some schools are horrible in both the public and private sector. (The one I worked in was horrible!)

    But you cannot deny the reality that the Bible never calls Christians to separate from society in the way that fundamentalists have claimed over the last 80 years. It flies in the face of the core of the what Jesus called us to do. How can we (as parents and children) bring the light of the gospel when we consider ourselves too good to hang out with sinners? As a person who attended a Christian college… let me tell you there are HORRIBLE ramifications of hiding your children from the world to protect them. Christian children, just like adults, need to learn how to be salt & light in their worlds. Wouldn’t you rather help them as they grow up than have them discover all the worlds problems as an adult?

    My opinion is that the current state of the school systems (nationwide) is the result of Christians disengaging/giving up/cashing out/quitting. I believe we are called to bring salt and light to dark places by GOING to dark places. (Well, I’ve never been in a school that was what I would even call a dark place!)

    What value to your community is there in separating? What value do you add to your school board? Is your voice heard as a Christian? When you school schedules festivities on Christian holidays, will you notice and stand up for the silent majority or allow secularists to step on traditional family values. If you pull your kids out of public school… what voice do you have? NONE!

    See, there is a flip side to the christian school and homeschool movement. And that flip side is that the rich, educated, and resourced Christians are leaving the poor, undereducated, and unresourced parents to fend for themselves. Of course the schools fail the majority when the rich minority flees. Is it the undereducated majorities fault they’ve been abandoned? I think not!

    I am a proud product of the public school system. I attended public school in various school systems from K-12… and I never had a God-hating teacher. I loved my teachers. I got a great education.

    My children are in a great public school system. The teachers my daughter has had are not God-haters… some of them are even Christians! (GASP! A Christian? Are you kidding me? Nope, there are believers who are educating children in my district professionally and successfully.)

    I know there are also great Christian schools out there. I’ve got no problem with it whatsoever.

    I merely ask parents… “Have you considered this decision for outside your family as well? Have you taken into account the loss of your influence on the schools?” Think about it… what if parents were to take the same $3-10k they invest in private education and give it to their PTO or child’s classroom? Where would it benefit the most?

    What I dislike and will always speak out against, is this charge that Christians have a “responsibility” to invest in Christian alternative schools. It is a personal choice. There is no biblical mandate to separate from the local schools and to constantly encourage families to give up on their public school system and create an alternative school is dangerous to the whole community. IMO, it’s anti-American and borderline bigoted hatred of non-Christians. More over, it is giving up on the relationships God has placed in the parents life in the public school. (Statement of the obvious… you’ll have more contact with non-church attenders at a public school than private)

    I am just as faithful a believer for sending my children to the public school, getting involved there, as my friends who send their children to private Christian school. Agreed? It’s a choice, I respect their opinion. I believe God has called some to do public school and some to do private school. The choices are equal and noble. Just like I don’t have a problem questioning their motives I have no problem having my motives questioned.

    But one is not better than the other. God is just calling some to one and some to the other.

    That said, separation is bad!

    Reply

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