{"id":622,"date":"2021-09-27T11:16:26","date_gmt":"2021-09-27T11:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/journalistsforchrist.org\/?p=622"},"modified":"2021-09-27T11:24:31","modified_gmt":"2021-09-27T11:24:31","slug":"how-to-love-jesus-and-journalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journalistsforchrist.org\/index.php\/2021\/09\/27\/how-to-love-jesus-and-journalism\/","title":{"rendered":"How to love Jesus and Journalism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 1998, I attended and wrote a report about the Holy Ghost\nCongress by the Redeemed Christian Church of God at the old Lekki area in\nLagos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the report which was published on a Christian media\nwebsite, I identified myself as the National Coordinator of Journalists for\nChrist (JFC) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An American journalist who read the article sent me an email\nasking what the JFC was all about and wanted to know if I would be interested\nin not only attending the first International fellowship of Christian\nJournalists in Chichester, UK but nominate some other Christian journalists in\nNigeria and Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was grateful for the opportunity and invited other\ncolleagues as requested. In 2001, the second conference was held in Washington,\nfollowed by an African conference in Nairobi, Kenya some years later. Two other\nprogrammes linked with my participation in the conferences also got me invited\nto New York and Florida in the United States.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t have to write the report titled \u2018Worshipping by the\nseaside\u2019, but I did as a journalist committed to spreading the gospel to the\nend of the earth through the gift of writing the Lord had blessed me with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talk of being rewarded abundantly with the foreign trips for\njust one story about a vigil you attended! To God indeed be all the glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants at the conferences were Christian journalists working in secular media since the goal of the organisers, Gegrapha<\/a>, was to\u00a0build fellowships of Christians in newsrooms around the world, strengthen them in their profession, and encourage others to join them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recurring theme at both conferences was how to be a\nprofessional journalist and a faithful follower of Christ. Many speakers shared\ntheir insightful perspectives, experiences and testimonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rob Brown of Telegraph Newspaper wrote a report titled\n“Can You Love Jesus and Journalism” after the Washington conference\nwhich I have read many times and meditated on over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The introduction to the report is very apt about the dilemma\nChristian journalists have to try hard to resolve on the side of the faith they\nprofess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Life for a committed Christian working in the Street\nof Shame is difficult but not completely impossible. We keep telling ourselves\nthat it’s just a game, but reporters can destroy lives” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading through the article again on Sunday night reminds me\nof the need for every Christian journalist to be mindful of how he or she goes\nabout his or her work considering that we are not just journalists, but chosen\nand peculiar journalists who have been called out of darkness into the\nmarvellous light of our Lord Jesus Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown asked three poignant questions in the first paragraph\nof the article which requires deep reflection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Is it possible to be both a tough-minded, skeptical\njournalist and a committed Christian?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*How do you shine a spotlight on social injustice if your\nreaders are more hungry for celebrity gossips? (as they are now)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* How can you make the case for mercy and redemption if your\nnewspaper ( or any platform) is committed to naming and shaming? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the speakers at the conference, Rob Hutton of Mirror\nalso confessed he sometimes found it hard to look at himself in the mirror\nbecause his instinct was to be excited rather than appalled by the most\nterrible human tragedies. I can relate to this in my reporting days and the\nneed for lead stories as an editor. If it doesn\u2019t bleed, it doesn\u2019t lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fred Barnes of New Republic also raised the issue of mob\ncondemnation of the sinner and the sin, like when public officers and\ncelebrities get involved in some scandals, without exhorting the sinner to\nrepent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loving Jesus and Journalism is indeed tough but not\nimpossible by the grace of God if we allow Him to guide us and not rely only on\nour professional expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will require always asking What Jesus will do in whatever\nsituation we may find ourselves. What will Jesus report, How will Jesus write\nthe reports we have to write?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Judgment Day, God’s standards contained in the scriptures\nwill not be lowered for us because we are journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In whatever we do, say or write, we must look forward to being told \u201cWell done, thou faithful and obedient reporter. Enter into thy kingdom\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Lekan Otufodunrin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Loving Jesus and Journalism is indeed tough but not impossible by the grace of God if we allow Him to guide us and not rely only on our professional expertise<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[69,34],"class_list":["post-622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insight","tag-jesus","tag-journalism"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t