Vulnerability vs. decorum in public writing

Last updated on: July 17, 2014 at 2:25 pm by Morgan Guyton

Vulnerability vs. decorum in public writing 2014-07-17T14:25:33-05:00 Morgan Guyton

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This is kind of an open question to my readers. I got called out a little bit for yesterday’s rant about Christian celebrity in which I laid out pretty volcanically my own struggles with narcissism and probably didn’t differentiate enough between my own baggage and whatever Jon Acuff is or isn’t teaching people. One of the things that caught my eye and troubled me was a comment that I was undermining my credibility as a teacher. So I wanted to pose the question to you since I really believe that God tells me what I need to hear through your feedback. Should I write with less vulnerability and more decorum or does the rawness speak to you in a way that’s edifying?

I have often wrestled with the question of vulnerability vs. decorum in my role as a teacher and pastor. My role model as a pastor was my grandpa since he’s the one who really kept me Christian when I was a teenager. One of his primary evangelistic tactics was to be intentionally irreverent with me in order to win my trust. He told me jokes that Southern Baptist deacons aren’t supposed to tell. We had secrets that never came out anyplace except on the country roads of south Texas. It worked. Because it caused me to trust him with everything and I figured that if he could be a Christian, I could too.

That’s why I basically adopted his way of doing things as a high school teacher and a youth pastor. Obviously when you’re dealing with a large group of kids en masse, decorum is important as part of classroom management. But one on one, I found that I built trust in my relationships better if I was real with the kids about my own doubts and struggles rather than being “the adult” who doesn’t have any problems and knows everything. And sometimes I would even use language that teachers aren’t supposed to use, particularly if I was talking to kids who were used to being the “bad kids.” I’m still not sure whether my approach to teaching and shepherding youth “worked.” Many of my former students are now facebook friends, whatever that means. I do know that the mentors who have had the most influence on me are the ones who let me see them without their pastor face on.

I’m not sure that my sensibilities as a youth pastor and high school teacher are necessarily transferable to blogging. Writing a blog is a very strange phenomenon because it feels private but it’s completely public. It’s a bit dangerous because I can hit “Publish” whenever I feel like it. I don’t have an editor giving me a word count and refusing to run anything that isn’t timely or heavily researched. I wouldn’t have the time or energy to write professional, carefully nuanced pieces supported by quotes and statistics that would be worth putting in physical print. If that were all that were available to do as a writer like it was 50 years ago, I would be spending my time otherwise.

I feel like my blog posts are divided between topical, headline-based rants in which I dump out the contents of my heart about Christian culture or current events (which gets the most hits), and Biblical and theological musings that fascinate me but often go into esoteric territory that not a lot of people are interested in. So do I need to shut off the former and focus on the latter? Do I need to conduct myself with more decorum and less vulnerability? Are there other aspects of what I’m doing that are a distraction? By the way, I’m not fishing for affirmation, so don’t feel like that’s what this is about. If that’s all you’ve got to say, I will receive it graciously, but what I’m really inviting and coveting are words that will challenge and convict me. So bring it. I promise I won’t bite. Maybe you’ve got something God has been wanting to tell me.

Previous Post

January 4, 2013

Poor, blind, & dead: Jeff Dunn's "purpose-driven life"

Next Post

January 6, 2013 So what about celibate gay bishops?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent Beauty Will Save the World Bible Big Picture: Ephesians Bloggers Book Christian salvation and the Beautitudes Culture Daily Office Danceable Homiletics Deadly Sins Deep Roots: Genesis Devotions Dominican Republic May 2011 El Principio Misericordia (The Mercy Principle) Five verses God tattooed on my heart Fundraising FutureGospel Good Biblical Words Henri Nouwen Interview Jennings' Christian Imagination Jesus inside the beltway Jesus Is My Candidate Jesus vs the Pharisees Jesus vs. Plato Journey to Eternity Looking Back on 2012 Love Actually Monday Merton Monday Merton Music Occupy the manger On Earth As It Is In Heaven Original Sin Podcast Poetry Politics Prayer Psalm 119 Radical Jesus 101 Reviews Sermon on the Mount Sermons Spanish Bible study Special Series Spiritual but not religious Synchroblog Theology Things that made me think Thomas a Kempis Ugliness Into Beauty Uncategorized Viaje Dominicano 2013 Walking in the Valley (Lent) Welcome: It's More than a Mat Wild Goose 2013 Wrestling

Select a Month March 2022 January 2022 December 2021 September 2021 April 2021 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the first high priest of Israel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Aaron Joshua Moses Levi