A couple weeks ago, Derek sarcastically responded to people who had been criticizing his statements from an article in The Huffington Post about tolerance in the contemporary American church. Plenty of people had reasoned arguments. Plenty more were really sarcastic, sophomoric takedowns of Derek, casting aspersions all over the place.
As someone who considers Derek to be a friend, this dismayed me greatly, especially because he and I come from different faith traditions, as I am a United Methodist and hold to its tenets. You can disagree with someone, even strongly, and do so in a very loving way. I came to know Derek starting in the 2003 timeframe, right as his solo career was kicking off. Everyone who knew of my faith leanings knew that Derek and I were opposed in a lot of soteriological ways, and they also knew that Derek used to really rough people up for being Arminians back in the day. He and I have never had a cross word about soteriology, because we believe that we share so much more in our theology than we don’t.
#bbpBox_26749158115250178{background:#1A1B1F url(http://a3.twimg.com/a/1292975674/images/themes/theme9/bg.gif) no-repeat !important;padding:20px;}#bbpBox_26749158115250178 p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px !important;margin:0 !important;min-height:48px;color:#666666 !important;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px}#bbpBox_26749158115250178 p.bbpTweet a {color:#2FC2EF !important}#bbpBox_26749158115250178 p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px !important;padding-top:12px !important;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6}#bbpBox_26749158115250178 p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px}#bbpBox_26749158115250178 p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0px 0px !important;width:38px;height:38px;padding:0 !important;border:none !important;}#bbpBox_26749158115250178 p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}#bbpBox_26749158115250178 p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}being a semi-public, unofficial spokesperson for a particular way of looking at the world is an odd thing
derekwebb
derek webb
as a general rule: i'm fine with responses and i'm fine if folks wanna unfollow. but please don't issue an 'unfollow threat' as a responsederekwebb
derek webb
I’ve created an Editorial category for this entry, purely because I want to say that anyone issuing an unfollow threat is acting foolishly. On Twitter, you choose whom you follow. On Twitter, you choose whom you follow. On Twitter, you choose whom you follow.
If Derek Webb says something that you don’t like on Twitter, don’t follow him. If you don’t like the things he says in interviews, just don’t keep him on your horizon. Derek Webb doesn’t owe you anything for your fandom. You’ve bought his records, you’ve attended his concerts, and you’ve told your friends about him. You’ve helped him make a living so that he can provide for his family. If you decide that you don’t like his music for any artistic reason, stop supporting it. Don’t buy it. Don’t recommend it to friends. Don’t go to a show.
The way that I have always understood Derek’s career is this: he tells the truth as he understands it. I think that we as Christians understand that none of us fully perceive God’s Truth. Because of this, we are left with everyone grasping for the truth as they understand it. There’s an old saw that the level of a man’s intelligence is the degree to which he agrees with you. If you though that Derek Webb was really smart when he wrote She Must and Shall Go Free and really offbase when he wrote Stockholm Syndrome, then you’ve got the problem here.
Reasonable people can reasonably agree. Unreasonable people issue unfollow threats on Twitter. I firmly believe that an unfollow threat says much, much more about the person issuing it than the target.
