Podcast Resource
“There you are,” instead of “here I am.”
From an article/podcast in Christian Union,
“Performative Religion and Our Need to Be Liked” March 23, 2022
When Facebook introduced the “like” button in 2009, NYC Pastor Jon Tyson, argues that everything changed. What had been a platform to connect with friends and family became a place where individuals began to post so that they could receive approval—likes. This small addition totally reoriented the psychology of society and the understanding of the self because a performative dynamic entered in.
In his first podcast in a six-part series Tyson, entitled “Converting the Church–Everything to Show,” was posted Feb. 15, 2022. He unpacks Jesus’ critique of the Pharisees’ performative religion and reveals how the same self-seeking spirit has crept into today’s church, disappointing and disillusioning people seeking truth. Only by being secure in our identity as God’s Beloved, as Jesus was, can we recognize the true greatness of a life spent poured out on behalf of others in sacrificial servanthood, and then actually live in a way that walks into a room and says “there you are,” instead of “here I am.”
