Reporting on controversies

I know a little about Churches of Christ.

I was two weeks old when I first attended.

Except for the crazy COVID-19 period, I’ve spent most every Lord’s Day in the pews.

Related: Christian journalism means truth-seeking

In two decades with The Christian Chronicle, I’ve reported from all 50 states and 18 countries (I’m only 74 countries behind Erik Tryggestad).

Given what I know, I have a pretty good idea when certain articles are going to be controversial.

Such is the case with our profile of Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s state superintendent of public instruction. Walters, a member of the North MacArthur Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, has been on the Chronicle’s radar for a while. But we had not written about him until now.

Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction, listens to a question during an interview with The Christian Chronicle.

Our reason for the delay: We focus on news of national and international significance, and we deemed Walters a state official. But we also knew reporting on such a divisive figure would ignite a firestorm — a prospect we did not relish.

However, Walters burst into the national headlines with his mandate to teach the Bible in every Oklahoma classroom. This changed our perspective. We are a newspaper, after all, and he is a part of our fellowship. We could not ignore the story.

So we attempted to report on Walters as fairly and accurately as possible, reflecting his perspective as well as that of his critics — and including as much relevant context as space would allow.

A few readers accused us of promoting Walters’ policies. A few on the other side charged us with anti-MAGA bias.

But most praised the delicate way we handled a difficult subject.

We are extremely grateful for that encouragement.

While we don’t claim journalistic perfection, we strive — with a lot of prayer and reliance on our Savior — to report real news in a way that honors God.

While we don’t claim journalistic perfection, we strive — with a lot of prayer and reliance on our Savior — to report real news in a way that honors God.

Another story that generated controversy is our feature on a Tennessee church that sold its building, reallocated the money to various ministries and launched a new, community-focused congregation in a public school.

As we note in our report, this less traditional congregation worships with instruments and allows increased roles for women. We discovered those practices, which vary from most Churches of Christ, during our reporting process.

Again, some accused us of promotion. But that is not our intent. Again, our role is to report the facts as fairly and accurately as possible. Readers deserve to be informed. Faithful Christians can make their own judgments about doctrinal matters, based on their Bible study and understanding of God’s word.

We have said this often, but it bears repeating: We are not a teaching or doctrinal publication. We are a newspaper with news and opinion content in clearly labeled sections.

We thank you for your readership and support. We pray that God will bless you. And we ask that you pray that he keeps blessing the Chronicle, as he has for 81 years.

BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. Reach him at [email protected].

Filed under: Christian journalism controversial news Editorial Hermitage Church of Christ Inside Story instrumental music journalism Opinion Real News that Honors God Ryan Walters The Christian Chronicle Top Stories women in the church