Gospel Coalition on "Beta Pastors"

You know, it's been a while. I wonder what's going on over at Gospel Coalition. Stop throwing pastors under the bus. Okay, let's check it out. Do-do-do, stop throwing pastors under the bus by Brett McCracken.

The Complaint About Throwing Pastors Under the Bus

I've noticed an increasingly prevalent genre of online evangelical Christian commentary in which pastors are shamed because they're insufficiently vocal about this or that outrage or not a militant enough in the culture war.

Increasingly, it seems there's a lot of social media mileage in throwing pastors under the bus. The formula is familiar. A highly online, highly online Christian. Yeah, that's that's a temptation to click another link and I've already clicked one too many today.

I'm not taking that. The formula is familiar. A highly online Christian takes to social media and puts generic pastors on blast by unfavorably comparing them to secular thought leaders or politicians who are supposedly more courageous truth-tellers.

But is this a good faith critique and is it helpful? Good question. Let's continue. Pummeling your pastor crossed out the pastors in scare quotes online. Few call out their own pastors online, but many employ the imprecise word pastors.

Every pastor in the world, every American pastor, a few notable pastors you're subtweeting to advance a narrative of negligent clergy sitting out the culture war. Often the social media post focuses on a timely front in the culture war and turns it into an indictment on beta pastors.

Beta pastors who are allegedly naive about the issues gravity. Wake up pastor. Wake up beta pastor. While you're trying to winsomely engage the culture, this culture is indoctrinating your congregation with critical race theory, LGBT agendas, woke ideology, and so on.

Quit sitting on the sidelines. Beta pastors. Left-leaning Christians also join the pastor as a punching bag social media chorus. Their posts similarly indict pastors as a vague class taking them to task for enabling various evils.

Pastors have blood on their hands. They're cowardice, insane, silent on blank, racism, Christian nationalism, abuse. They are 15 mass shootings, climate change, and so on. Means they have zero moral authority on any issue.

The Charge of a Double Standard

But you know, it's really hard to be a pastor. Poor Brett McCracken and all the pastors out there. It's really tough. It's really tough and and you know, they can't really take the criticism. It's not helpful to talk about the and you know, there's the pastors and really what you're talking about.

Your pastor is what Brett McCracken seems to be saying. That's not very nice guys. That's not very nice at all. It's hard to be a pastor and pastors should not be criticized online in this kind of a fashion.

You know Brett, this is... That's a good one. It's a good one. Beta pastors. I've never said that but maybe I will. Maybe I'll add that to my repertoire. Beta pastors. I think Brett McCracken definitely qualifies as a beta pastor.

But yeah, this is funny because this is the thing. Like while you're busy complaining about how hard it is to be a pastor and how pastors shouldn't be criticized in this way, when it's kind of like a subtweet, you're really talking about your pastor maybe, but you're just kind of saying pastors, you know, that'd be a lot easier to swallow Brett if you and your friends didn't make a living doing this exact thing to your congregations.

Going to the Atlantic and writing a stupid brain dead article about how Christians are evil. They're racist. They're bigoted. They fall for every conspiracy theory. It's just unbelievable. You continue to write these poor me articles Brett.

This is why people call you beta by the way, because this is a beta move. You just did what you're telling people not to do. You're throwing shade at other Christians. Well, I guess technically you're not disobeying what you're saying.

Basically, you want rules for you and your pastor friends that don't apply to the regular Joe in the pew. So you just threw regular Joes in the pew under the bus because, oh poor me, it's hard to be a pastor.

Pastors, Criticism, and Thick Skin

Dude, if it's good for the goose, it's good for the gander. Pastors aren't special that they can't have any criticism. In fact, if anything, pastors should be demonstrating a thick skin. They should be demonstrating a faith and a confidence of their standing before Christ.

And so online criticism is like the last thing they should be worried about. But for some reason you and your beta friends, this is all you're worried about. I just, this is why people call you beta because this is a, this is a, this is a lame move Brett.

It's passive aggressive. It's not, it's ridiculous. It's, everyone can see this and this is why idiots like me on YouTube have a following, right? And by the way, I know I'm not an idiot, but you know, I just like to call myself an idiot on YouTube as a separate class, right?

You've got the very learned, you know, respectable pastor that writes for Gospel Coalition, and then you got the idiots on YouTube that are actually cleaning your clocks right now. The idiots on YouTube are cleaning your clocks right now, at least online.

And the reason is, Brett, because we've seen this, all of us. I'm just a guy in the pew too, right? I go to a church, I have a pastor and I sit in the pews all day. And this is what I do. Well, all Sunday, I guess.

And this is what I do. I've got a life in a church and it's a vibrant life and all that kind of stuff, right? But we've seen time and time again, you and your buddies, your popular Gospel Coalition, winsome, limp-wristed beta buddies go to the media and rip us, and rip us, the nameless, faceless, evil, fundamentalist, evangelical Christian who voted for Donald Trump.

You rip us constantly and we are sick of it. This is why I'm cleaning your clock, Brett. This is why it's happening. This is why people like me have more influence every day and people like you have less influence every day.

It's because people are sick to death of the double standard. You're sitting here whining like a little baby about your job being so hard and I get criticized online as you're criticizing other people online.

We're sick of it. It's a double standard. It's disingenuous and it's a beta move. So if you don't want to be called beta anymore, Brett, I believe this is the first time I've ever called you beta, but I kind of like it.

I could get used to this. If you want people to stop calling you and your little latte sipping buddies beta pastors, you know, beta pastors, right? Then stop being so beta. It's the internet, man. What are you, what's your deal?

This is, you have to write an article about this. That's all I gotta say. That's all I gotta say. I need, I need, I need to cheer up here. It's just too depressing. These are our leaders. It's just too depressing.

Closing Rant and Sign-Off

Oh, it smells so good. These googan baits smell really good. I keep this empty. I keep this empty package of baits at my desk. Whenever I need a quick pick me up. Oh, man, how long? How long must we endure these poor me?

It's hard to be a pastor articles. How long? They are good for a laugh though, guys, they are. I hope to do another video today. I wasn't planning on doing this video. But then I just, you know, checked out Gospel Coalition.

And it's just hard to, hard to understand how this keeps happening. It's like Groundhog Day. All right, guys, I hope you found this one helpful. God bless.