Parish News Article: July 2026
Monthly Message
July 2026
I admit my knowledge of social media is only second-hand, but I understand that many people, especially young ones, tailor their lives by what an influencer tells them is the right food to eat, clothes to wear, what to believe, and that such influencers are able to make a living from the products they recommend in their outpourings. What is more disturbing are the negative effects of some of these creators of culture, especially on the minds of children, and young people when exposed to some of this content. I am, in particular, thinking of the way some portray women in what can only be described as in medieval terms, by, such as, Andrew Tate and his so called Manosphere. Boys are told that girls are only in search of a source of money, and that girl-power has gone too far, and men are now second-class citizens. It seems females are to be banished back to the kitchen sink! There is also the influence of online pornography which, it seems, is too easily accessed by the young. Such material, I understand, often shows degrading and even dangerous treatment of women. In the light of this, should we be surprised when young boys of 13/14 seriously attack girls?
The question I pose today is - should followers of Christ shape their lives by the human influencers and their suggested pattern for life? Now it may not matter in respect of being influenced on many daily choices, though these can have an impact on how we view nature, and how much of our food industry involves endangering the future biodiversity and survival of human life on earth. What is more important is what influences our basic beliefs and hence shape our actions.
The church needs to point all to the one true influencer – Jesus Christ. It is his influence which sets the pattern for Christian lives, lived as those who seek to follow the example of Jesus, the one who drew circles that embraced others rather than excluded them, who treated women with respect; remember they were first to learn of the Resurrection. So, what the Kingdom of God needs, especially for our young people, are men and women whose Christian life inspires them to follow Christ. ‘Christians in Sport’ seems to me to have the credentials to give this kind of witness, as too do those who serve their communities selflessly in food-banks, youth groups etc.
Of course, we are not called to imitate Christ in such things as dress, or the food we eat etc. Rather as Paul entreats his readers to ‘Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus’ The spirit of which is well captured by Kate B Wilkinson in her hymn-verse 1 ‘May the mind of Christ my Saviour, live in me from day to day, by his love and power controlling all I think or say.’ She wrote a 6th verse, which has been omitted from most hymn books, but which I think is worth having: ‘May his beauty rest upon me, as I seek the lost to win, and may they forget the channel, seeing only him.’
Revd John Whittle