Yesterday, John Pavlovitz was blocked by the Christian Bloggers Network on Facebook.
For those who don’t know, John is a popular Christian writer whose posts go viral with appalling regularity. (No, I’m not jealous at all.) The Christian Bloggers Network is, well, pretty much what the name suggests: a place where thousands of Christian writers like John and me to share our content with each other.
Facebook groups can play a big part in building an audience—every blogger’s biggest challenge (followed closely by what happens once you’ve managed to get an audience). The right group, with a little bit of timing and luck, can generate thousands of new readers for your blog. I was lucky enough to have this happen to me when the Unapologetically Episcopalian FB group shared my post on why I love the Episcopal Church. (I still owe them a cake.)
Now, these groups are not public property. Their admins are perfectly free to decide what flies and what doesn’t on their pages.
In the case of the Christian Bloggers Network, one of its two admins has shared the view that progressivism is a “self-imposed mental disability,” so it’s not surprising they don’t take kindly to some of John’s content.
Yet, it is the Christian Bloggers Network, after all. Not the Conservative Christian Bloggers Network. Or the Evangelical Christian Bloggers Network. Or the Everyone But Progressive Christian Bloggers Network.
Interestingly, they didn’t stop at blocking John. They’ve deleted almost every post sharing his content or asking why he was blocked. (See one example below, which got taken down within minutes.) They’ve offered no explanation that I’ve seen—either publicly or privately to John.
(Update: they’ve blocked me as well. Yay!)
Now, if you’ve read John’s blog for any length of time, you might have noticed there’s a pretty consistent theme to his writing. It might be summed up as this: Christians, don’t be jerks.
John has written about depression, doubt, what (not) to do if your kids come out, how we use the Bible as a weapon, and how we treat those who leave the church. In every case, his message is basically: be kind.
This, apparently, is anathema.
Which begs the question: what does pass as Christian, according to groups like this?
Labeling Catholics as Satan worshippers? That’s acceptably Christian, it seems.
Peddling end-times hysteria? (Never mind Jesus’ teaching or the 0-for-who-knows-how-many-times-now record of end-times prognosticators.) You better believe that’s Christian.
I don’t even know what this is, but apparently it’s Christian…
Jesus wants to make you a millionaire? Oh so Christian.
To be fair, the admins at the Christian Bloggers Network may or may not agree with any of these posts. Yet each of them was posted to their page, and none have been taken down.
But telling parents of gay kids to love their children no matter what? That’s not Christian, evidently.
Proclaiming peace to your Muslim neighbors? Not Christian.
Asking other Christians to “radiate the kindness and humility of Jesus” to those who are struggling with faith? That’s SO not Christian.
Photo: John Pavlovitz FB page
Ben Irwin 
Thanks for highlighting these problems. Over the last few months I’ve also observed bloggers who express egalitarian views (vs complementarian) be ostracized on Christian Bloggers Network. One person was blocked – an egalitarian female blogger who blogs on women in the church. So John Pavolitz is not alone. Or when there was discussion after shared posts on egal/comp issues, those with egal views were in essence bullied or treated with hostility – with little efforts for diplomacy or civil discussion. (I know not all of those with complementarian views behave in this sad manner, but the ones on Christian Bloggers Network are giving themselves a bad name.) Yet the Christian Bloggers Network seems to side with those who are unable to have civil discourse, and apparently only complementarian views are welcomed.
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Obviously there is an issue with the term progressive…. It’s to broad!! The blog itself has grown older, more conservative and now lacks progressive Christian values. How about a new Christian blog network entitled Christian Revolutionist Bloggers?
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What, do they think by blocking every single person who holds a different perspective that they can stop that perspective from existing? Sad.
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Good for you! I subscribe to both of you and think each of you is a breath of fresh air much needed these days—especially on social media! Blessings on your work and witness!
Ann
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Thank you Ann!
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I was blocked too…and everyone who stood up for me was blocked. Its craziness.
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Someone else mentioned that a “female egalitarian blogger” was blocked, and I wondered if it was you. Seems some people just can’t handle a strong, confident female voice speaking truth!
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I left on my own after they banned Jory. The constant KJV only posts, the constant “prophetic” hysteria posts, the hate toward those who have different views. Nothing about it is Christian. Not shocked they banned John.
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Yeah…I realized afterward that I only scratched the surface of the not-exactly-Christian content shared there.
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18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin,[c] but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
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Methinks ’tis an old white guy thing.
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I have grown so weary of Christian’s anymore that I no longer want to be associated with it. The hypocrisy is so large and the hatred for those that don’t fit in their special little box is wide. The GOP claiming Christianity as their own while spewing such hatred to so many and each other. I am over it.. As a Gay man, I want to cry just about every day at the things I read that are directed my way and too so many who just want to love God, follow Jesus and to become better people for it. The world just saddens me anymore.
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Shepherd Thoughts has no lack of Christian blogs, Christian videos, podcasts, and articles based on Biblical views and thoughts. You may learn the early expansion of Christianity over there.
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I was blocked on Sept 3, for not agreeing to stop hotlinking images on my blog.
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follow
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