I saw a headline in my Instagram feed on November 6 that read, “John Crist cancels tour after numerous reports of sexual misconduct; admits to ‘sexual sin and addiction struggle.’”
I thought, “Oh, wow, the Babylon Bee is getting edgier.” They had published a satirical article about Tim Tebow during the #metoo movement where women were coming forward and accusing him of treating them... respectfully. I thought this was another one in the same vein. But then I saw the account name, and it was Adam Ford’s newest, non-satirical news site, Disrn. This was an actual headline. This was real. John Crist is a sexual predator.
We consumers of Christian entertainment culture often idolize our good, clean Instagram content creators. These celebrities can range from comedian Jaron Myers, known for his Chick-fil-A music video, to David Crowder, a popular Christian music artist known for interspersing his normal posts with pretty great memes. We love to support those who make our lives better, be it by telling our friends about them or sharing their posts on our stories. They unify us over wholesome topics. We get to laugh at church culture with others in it, and that's a great thing!
But this innocent fun is sullied when it is abused and exploited. It cracks the unity we as kids and young adults enjoyed. It betrays our trust, the trust we didn’t realize we had placed in someone we had never even met. We didn’t know John Crist personally, but we had built a relationship with him through watching his comedically-long Instagram stories and sharing embarrassing moments. For there to be a much darker side to the man who brought us so much joy hurts. We feel betrayed. Deceived. It’s disheartening, but what can we do now? What is our next step?
I want to encourage us not to lose heart, but to be more moderate and cautious in our support and investment into the lives of people we can’t possibly know. Online, we build communities and cultures around people who are more brands than friends, and we forget that they are human and fallible.
I’m not condemning these artificial societies, because I actually greatly enjoy them and have seen a lot of good come from them. But I think the important part is to remember that they are artificial. To be blunt, we are merely consumers of what people like John Crist sell, which is themselves and their brand. And this is why we feel betrayed. We were sold a product with deceptively safe packaging, and now there’s a recall.
The implications of this are unfortunately widespread. Two of the women who came forward with their stories of how he tried to seduce them have now left Christianity as a result. If he was who Christians really are, then they didn’t want any part of that. And that should break our hearts.
DC Talk, a Christian band from the 90s, wrote a song called “What If I Stumble?” that dealt with this fear of leading people astray in weakness, thereby sullying the name of Christians. They thought through what it meant to be a Christian celebrity and the responsibility that went with it. They knew that people looked up to them, but also that they would fail their fans. This kind of scandal should sober us and bring us back to the reality of our own human nature, reminding us that we need to be cautious, but also that we need to give grace.
What John Crist needs right now is what we all need, which is the forgiveness of Christ and the grace of God. Since he has already publicly apologized, we as Christians need to forgive, even though it’s hard. That doesn’t mean trusting him again or putting ourselves in situations that could be compromising, but there is an inordinate amount of hate in Christian communities when celebrities are caught in sin, which should not be the case. What kind of testimony would it be for us to bite back the bitter words we want to say and instead pray for his healing and publically care for him by lifting Him to the Father? It is our love, our irrational love that only comes from God, that will set us apart from the outrage culture around us. This doesn’t mean that we forget or, God forbid, ignore what he did, but may we handle ourselves with appropriate anger at the sin, God’s love for the sinner, and support and love for the victims. Isn’t that what we are called to do?
This is a sad and sobering time for the church as a whole. I pray and exhort us to be wise and gracious to all those involved. May we not be surprised or react in sin, but may we honor God in our attitudes and actions.