A couple weeks ago, Derek sarcastically responded to people who had been criticizing his statements from an article in The Huffington Post about tolerance in the contemporary American church. Plenty of people had reasoned arguments. Plenty more were really sarcastic, sophomoric takedowns of Derek, casting aspersions all over the place.
As someone who considers Derek to be a friend, this dismayed me greatly, especially because he and I come from different faith traditions, as I am a United Methodist and hold to its tenets. You can disagree with someone, even strongly, and do so in a very loving way. I came to know Derek starting in the 2003 timeframe, right as his solo career was kicking off. Everyone who knew of my faith leanings knew that Derek and I were opposed in a lot of soteriological ways, and they also knew that Derek used to really rough people up for being Arminians back in the day. He and I have never had a cross word about soteriology, because we believe that we share so much more in our theology than we don’t.
I’ve created an Editorial category for this entry, purely because I want to say that anyone issuing an unfollow threat is acting foolishly. On Twitter, you choose whom you follow. On Twitter, you choose whom you follow. On Twitter, you choose whom you follow.
If Derek Webb says something that you don’t like on Twitter, don’t follow him. If you don’t like the things he says in interviews, just don’t keep him on your horizon. Derek Webb doesn’t owe you anything for your fandom. You’ve bought his records, you’ve attended his concerts, and you’ve told your friends about him. You’ve helped him make a living so that he can provide for his family. If you decide that you don’t like his music for any artistic reason, stop supporting it. Don’t buy it. Don’t recommend it to friends. Don’t go to a show.
The way that I have always understood Derek’s career is this: he tells the truth as he understands it. I think that we as Christians understand that none of us fully perceive God’s Truth. Because of this, we are left with everyone grasping for the truth as they understand it. There’s an old saw that the level of a man’s intelligence is the degree to which he agrees with you. If you though that Derek Webb was really smart when he wrote She Must and Shall Go Free and really offbase when he wrote Stockholm Syndrome, then you’ve got the problem here.
Reasonable people can reasonably agree. Unreasonable people issue unfollow threats on Twitter. I firmly believe that an unfollow threat says much, much more about the person issuing it than the target.
Very well said.
But if people don’t tell him how ‘wrong’ he is how will they accomplish Christ’s call to go into all the world and make judgements against all nations?
But seriously, the reactions seem to be like they own Derek Webb and he speaks for them. If that’s the case, they do need to grow up and find their own voice and stop insisting on another person to express their own personal beliefs.
Yes, sir. It’s the investment thing that gets me.
I agree with everything you said, except, “If you though that Derek Webb was really smart when he wrote She Must and Shall Go Free and really offbase when he wrote Stockholm Syndrome, then you’ve got the problem here.”
I don’t have the same connection with Stockholm Syndrome as the other albums. I would go as far as to say it was slightly offbase but I certainly don’t have a “problem.” To say that I was confused and disappointed when I first heard it is an understatement. It grew on me and I eventually ended up loving it, but lyrically certain tracks lacked. I obviously can’t speak to his faith at the time he wrote it but as a songwriter, if I had reached my peak, Stockholm Syndrome would be the next album I wrote when worldly values spoke to me louder than the word of God. I still could write a book on how much I respect and admire Derek Webb. So no problem, just observation.
You know, I did exactly that, I unfollowed him. But not because of theology or whatever, just because of the general drama and a certain sense of meanness I got. I don’t know what it was. It was probably me.
Either way, out of sight, out of mind. I hadn’t thought about it again until now.
Geof: I believe there is “room in the Kingdom” for a lot of diverse opinions but if Derek is going to be as outspoken as he is he (and by proxy, you) needs to be ready for some backlash. My opinion is just as valuable in the Kingdom as Derek’s.
Jason: I agree with you that there are many diverse opinions about these sorts of things, and yet we are called to speak the truth in love. Even though that this exhortation is done for those with whom you are in community, I think that we’re called to do that in larger circles as well. Unfollow threats and other such acts say more about those who have said and done than they do about the object of dissent. I value your opinion, but I’d appreciate it if it’s presented in an adult manner, which you’ve done here. All the jackassery that was going on at the time was doing no good.
Alayna: To refine my point, because it was said poorly: if you were aboard the Webb Express then and not now, that’s not Derek’s problem. I don’t know that it’s really even a problem on anyone’s end unless they start braying about how Derek has changed in ways that they do not like. The ridiculous behavior I was seeing at the time did no one any good, which is why I called for it to end.
This response is admittedly well, well overdue.
Good stuff Geof. Thanks for all your efforts in keeping this site up. I totally agree with your take on the prerequisite of disagreement in the context of love.