Where are Leaders Pointing and Calling?
“Facts in isolation are false . . . A fact is true in the absolute sense only in association with all facts.” -Wendell Berry[1]
The Japanese railway system is regarded as one of the best in the world. If you ever find yourself riding a train in Tokyo, you’ll notice that the conductors have a peculiar habit. As each operator runs the train, they proceed through a ritual pointing at different objects and calling out commands. When the train approaches a signal, the operator will point at it and say, “Signal is green.” As the train pulls into and out of each station, the operator will point at the speedometer and call out the exact speed. When it’s time to leave, the operator will point at the timetable and state the time. Out on the platform, other employees are performing similar actions. Before each train departs, staff members will point along the edge of the platform and declare, “All Clear!” Every detail is identified, pointed at, and named aloud.
This process known as pointing and calling[2] is a safety system designed to reduce mistakes. It seems silly but it works incredibly well. Pointing and Calling reduces errors by up to 85 percent and cuts accidents by 30 percent. Pointing and Calling is so effective because it raises the level of awareness from an unconscious habit to a more conscious level. Because the train operators must use their eyes, hands and mouth and ears they are more likely to notice problems before something goes wrong.
After reading books on racism,[3] cancel culture,[4] the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict,[5] The Anxious Generation,[6] and now Christian nationalism, I wonder–is our Pointing and Calling system reducing the errors leaders inflict upon the world?
With Which Other Voices Do We Point and Call?
Russell Moore in Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call in Evangelical America[7] is practicing the habit of pointing and calling when it comes to the degradation, spiritual rot and moral wickedness in Christian leadership–the central theme of the book is that he addresses the way the American Evangelical church has lost its unique witness in platforming Donald Trump.
It seems we are in a new era of writing where Christian Evangelical leaders are seeing things not only in the American evangelical church but the broader culture as well–the pointing and calling of what’s gone terribly wrong. Moore’s memoir is akin to the stances of David French,[8] Kristin Kobes Du Mez,[9] Andrew Whitehead and Skye Jethani and even the popular Bible teacher, Beth Moore[10] –each who condemn Christian nationalism as they lament their stories of the Church–and Donald Trump.
Russell Moore is calling out the Church’s automatic behaviors that, according to him, many people don’t consciously think about.[11] As James Clear notes in his book, Atomic Habits, “When we’ve done something 1000 times before, we begin to overlook things. We’re so used to doing what we’ve always done that we don’t stop to question if it’s the right thing to do at all.”
Russell Moore expertly names the failures in conservative Christianity’s performance. It’s my hope a voice like Moore’s reduces errors but wouldn’t that depend upon who reads it?
Who is the Audience for this Book?
Might the audience be for evangelicals like me who can identify with several of Russell Moore’s early stories? I was raised in a conservative Christian culture, attended Christian schools most of my life and (dare I say) earned my bachelor’s degree from Liberty University–the mecca of Southern Baptist culture. My parents begged me to not attend LU, to stay in New Jersey and attend Rutgers University. What drew me was the energy of belonging to a community centered on God–the strong moral teachings from world class leaders. However, when I was a student I heard the rumblings of racism, the hypocrisy of elitism, and the hunger for power. In response, I wore black writing poetry and songs in coffee houses until I graduated.
Might the audience be for evangelicals who relate with James Davison Hunter’s warnings from almost a decade ago? He wrote that, “much of American evangelical “culture war” engagement was based in a heightened sense of resentment–a resentment posture that is heightened when the group holds a sense of entitlement–to greater respect, to greater power, to a place of majority status. While I was at Liberty, Jerry Falwell’s moral majority was just coming to an end–because of my major and the student leaders with whom I had relationship, I didn’t hear “the condemnation and denigration of enemies in the effort to subjugate and dominate those who are culpable.”[12]
However, In the late 80s, social media didn’t exist and rarely would I have turned on the nightly news in my dorm room. I learned and grew tremendously during college; my worldview expanded and my moral outlook improved. I wonder why? Perhaps I was too far removed from the culture wars? My point is that even in the midst of a broken religious system, I was drawn to the power of the Cross because the message was so clear. As I read the authors who are pointing and calling about the brokenness, I am longing for the Gospel to be compelling for the next generation.
Which Audience Might Be Best for this Book?
This past weekend, my husband and I were having an in-depth conversation with a known New Testament author and his wife about Christian nationalism, Donald Trump and the Church. We said we were concerned that Christianity needs to be sectarian again and remove Trump from the rhetoric so the Gospel will be compelling. This led me to think that a good audience for this book would be those who correlate Trump with Christianity–and until then we need more voices pointing and calling to the religious and political behaviors that converge the two. As Martyn Percy taught in Oxford, “Words can dominate, mislead and manipulate; a leader’s goal is to be honest[13] and direct.”
[1] Berry, Wendell. Citizenship Papers: Essays. Catapult, 2004. P. 41.
[2] Clear, James. “Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results : An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones.” New York, New York: Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2018.
[3] Malik, Kenan. Not So Black and White: A History of Race from White Supremacy to Identity Politics. London: Hurst, 2023.
[4] Lukianoff, Greg. “The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust and Threatens Us All–but There Is a Solution.” New York: Simon and Schuster, 2023.
[5] Bunton, Martin. The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Very Short Introduction. Illustrated edition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2013.
[6] Haidt, Jonathan. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. New York: Penguin Press, 2024.
[7] Moore, Russell. Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America. New York, New York: Sentinel, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2023.
[8] French, David. Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2020.
[9] Du Mez, Kristin Kobes. Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. First edition. New York, NY: Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, 2020.
[10] Moore, Beth. All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2023.
[11] Moore, Russell. Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America. Pp. 44, 69.
[12] P.122.
[13] Percy, Martyn.
About the Author
Pam Lau
Pamela Havey Lau brings more than 25 years of experience in speaking, teaching, writing and mediating. She has led a variety of groups, both small and large, in seminars, trainings, conferences and teachings. Pam’s passion is to see each person communicate with their most authentic voice with a transparent faith in Jesus Christ. With more than 10, 000 hours of writing, researching, and teaching the heart and soul of Pam’s calling comes from decades of walking alongside those who have experienced healing through pain and peace through conflict. As a professor and author, Pam deeply understands the role of mentoring and building bridges from one generation to another. She has developed a wisdom in how to connect leaders with their teams. Her skill in facilitating conversations extends across differences in families, businesses, schools, universities, and nonprofits. Pam specializes in simplifying complex issues and as a business owner, has helped numerous CEOs and leaders communicate effectively. She is the author of Soul Strength (Random House) and A Friend in Me (David C. Cook) and is a frequent contributor to online and print publications. You can hear Pam’s podcast on Real Life with Pamela Lau on itunes. Currently, Pam is a mediator for families, churches, and nonprofits. You can contact Pam through her website: PamelaLau.com. Brad and Pam live in Newberg, Oregon; they have three adult daughters and one son-in-law. One small, vocal dog, Cali lives in the family home where she tries to be the boss! As a family they enjoy worshiping God, tennis, good food and spending time with family and friends.11 responses to “Where are Leaders Pointing and Calling?”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Hi Pam,
While visiting in Texas, I was surrounded by those who believe in the “orange Jesus = Donald Trump.” There were t-shirts saying “I am voting for the felon.”
Wow. Little critical thinking going on here!
But then, my hearkened back to the political tensions I have with my GoodSports Hungary staff. Most have bought in on Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s stand on Christian morals/values PLUS his pro Putin and Anti Ukrainian stance. I gather republicans LOVE Orban and his autocratic approach to government.
Sigh…in both countries the Christian platform has been hijacked by charismatic politicians. Propaganda abounds and so many that I love (both in Hungary, Slovakia and Texas) have fallen for it hook, line and sinker.
Satan must be giggling somewhere. Christianity equals crazy talk.
Sigh.
Time for a change YUP, and it must come from INSIDE the church.
Shalom…
Russell~
Your experience with Ukraine is so valuable to this discussion! To think of how people, Christians even, desire for a charismatic powerful leader to represent them just blows my mind. What do you think lies behind these motives?
In these times of uncertainty, I gravitate to the discussions we have had about “identity, tribes…”
Pam,
Your explanation of how a Pointing and Calling safety system enables trains to run much more effectively and safely is such a good analogy . As you asked whether our Pointing and Calling system is actually “reducing the errors leaders inflict upon the world?” I would say it has obviously been flawed. My husband and I often look at each other as we here all the rhetoric around the elections and say “How did we get here?”
Perhaps in a certain type of way, the younger generations are serving as a Pointing and Calling system for us. I, just pray, as you, that they would not deny the cross in the process.
Insightful comment, Esther~
How do you see the younger generation serving as a pointing and calling system in a good way? I ask because I am slightly nervous about all the hate I hear and see when they do respond on social media toward Christianity and politicians.
I thought about you and your husband as I wrote my post because I wondered if the AG Church suffers from what the SBC has suffered?
Excellent post, Pam, and it made me think — Did Moore do a good job painting a solid picture of the state of Evangelicalism in the U.S., or would he have done a better job had he left his readers with tools to help them as they have conversations with those who have converged/correlated U.S. politics (i.e, Trump) with Christianity? I think Moore did a pretty good job highlighting what’s going on in American Christianity, and yet, after reading your post, I also wonder if the good work of Moore (and others) could potentially be a subtle pathway toward James D. Hunter’s concerns and a politic of resentment. So much to think about.
Travis,
One of the areas I struggle with as a read and listen to thoughtful Christian leaders of our day is exactly what you mention: How might followers of Jesus maintain the centrality of Christ’s character while not being swayed by resentment when they speak, write and preach? Is there a line that when it gets crossed, goes too far? I am curious of who you would say does this with finesse?
Pam- I loved this post. First off: your drawing parallels between Moore’s work and safety culture is spot on. Unsurprisingly, in healthcare, we have such a high value on safety, that we have developed all sorts of tag lines, including: “speaking up for safety.” What would a similar tagline for Moore be?
I also appreciate your question to Travis of how we can maintain the centrality of Christ’s character while not being swayed by the trends of the fallible humans in Christianity…. It made me think again of Swoboda’s After Doubt where he encourages believers to test out their assumptions, while maintaining a commitment to Christ and his Word.
Jen, A similar tag-line for Russell Moore could be “Speaking up for Genuine Spirituality ?” I realize Moore doesn’t use that kind of terminology but might that be what he ultimately wants in writing this book?
I like that you mention AJ Swaboda’s book and encouragement to seek the answers, explore doubt while remaining true to Christ and His Word. That’s what I see and hear is troublesome to me – when people deconstruct without a firm foundation and never reconstruct. In 2019, I attended the Evolving Faith Conference that Rachel Held Evans started. An editor friend and I went wanting to know more about the purpose as we watched so many young people walking away from Christian faith. We were very encouraged by how many speakers focused their teachings on Scripture. One fact that caused me pause was the majority of attendees no longer attend church. Do you believe church attendance is necessary for spiritual growth and renewal?
Great past Pam…I likewise asked the target audience question…and I was concerned that Moore, being known as a Trump critic, would lose the audience that actually needed to hear and wrestle with his assertions in this book. In the end, is he simply, “Preaching to the choir”? If he is, it could be useful to help people frame their understanding around different evangelical challenges. However, it seems we need more voices reaching out to ‘re-evangelize’ the hyper-conservative, nationalistic evangelical contingent in a way that will help change people’s minds. That’s a book we’re going to read later on in the semester (How to have Impossible Conversations)…and I think we need to combine Moore’s points with a new strategy to reach the people who need to be reached. What do you think?
Scott, I am heading over to your post to read your thoughts but wanted to say to you what I said to Jen. Rachel Held Evans (who died suddenly when she was 37) had the courage and calling to take on this message. She started the Evolving Faith Conference for people who left the evangelical church. But what I hear you saying is what would the message be for ultra conservative Christians who just refuse to leave their camp believing FULLY that they are following Jesus Christ because of political policy. I want to think about it more deeply because I do know many people personally who think this way.