A Twitter exchange & why the wisdom of spiritual formation saves the world

"This week, I was scrolling through Twitter (which I try not to do) and came upon a rather one-sided exchange where Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr. attacked Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission head Russell Moore.

Moore had tweeted that the situation with migrants at the border was an issue of Christian compassion and character. Strangely Falwell attacked Moore for the statement. It is strange considering both he and Moore are part of the same Christian tradition (Southern Baptist Convention).

But notice: he didn’t attack the statement. He attacked Moore himself.

The response – which I won’t include here because it isn’t worth reading – is an attempt to belittle, degrade, and reduce Russell Moore as a person. Granted, we all lose our temper sometimes and say things we don’t mean. There has been no apology, retraction, or otherwise since the statement was made. The assumption is that this was meant to stick.

When I read that statement the thought that came to mind is this: “This isn’t about issues or perspectives. This is an issue of character formation. It is an issue of spiritual formation.”"