Media Relations for Ministers 101/Grumbling

Another corker from Cake or Death. Reminded of it by yesterdays story on government plans to put a King James Bible into every school. I first read about it on the BBC site, but knew before I reached the relevant section that they'd have a quote from the National Secular Society opposing the project. So I left that link off and majored on some of the positive things being done in schools instead.

By 'coincidence', I skimmed the ABofC's 2011 Lent book yesterday, and was particularly struck by a chapter on 'Giving up Grumbling'. The automatic reaction of the media is to seek out the 'grumble' angle on any story. Conflict spices the story up a bit, but it also becomes almost impossible to celebrate anything with out a 'yes but.....' Living in that atmosphere isn't great for the soul.

CS Lewis put it like this:  "Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others... but you are still distinct from it. You may even criticize it in yourself and wish you could stop it. But there may come a day when you can no longer. Then there will be no you left to criticize the mood or even to enjoy it, but just the grumble itself, going on forever like a machine. It is not a question of God "sending us" to hell. In each of us there is something growing, which will BE hell unless it is nipped in the bud. ”

The media as the outer circle of hell? Or am I grumbling?