Key Question: How many national politicians can you name? How about local politicians? The digital world has a tendency to overwhelm us with the numerous injustices occurring all around the globe, while we often miss the opportunities to right wrongs in our own neighborhood. What would it look like to shift your focus a little closer to home—to the areas and issues where you have the ability to respond directly to injustice?
We are back with the third season of Just Neighbors, where we are learning to practice biblical justice and compassion together. If this is your first time, welcome, and if you are a long-time listener, welcome back to our little neighborhood. Ryan MacDonald, our co-host from season one, is back to share the mic with Jami.
Here to help us kick off this brand new season is our first guest, Brett McCracken. Brett is an author and journalist based in Southern California. He serves as a senior editor at The Gospel Coalition (TGC), where he writes on the intersection of faith and culture. Today, we’re thrilled to share our conversation with Brett about a topic that is weighing heavy on all our hearts.
You don’t have to look far to be overwhelmed by the injustice of our world. Our social media feeds are filled to the brim with events that overburden our souls while failing to lead us towards practical actions that bring about justice. The digital landscape is having an impact on how we engage with the culture, our neighborhood, and our fellow humans.
In this episode, Brett leads us to ponder the implications of being engrossed in the digital space, how we may be missing out on developing empathy and compassion for our neighbors, why we should hone our focus on local issues, and much more.
NEIGHBOR-TO-NEIGHBOR IMPLICATIONS:
- Placing boundaries and practicing mindfulness around how we consume and engage in the digital space is an everyone issue, not just something our children need to grapple with.
- We often choose to retreat into our phones rather than engage with the world around us. When we do this, it hampers our ability to extend empathy, compassion, and genuine connection to our fellow humans.
- We were meant to observe injustice in our physical world and then respond with meaningful action. However, due to the overwhelming amount of information at our fingertips in the digital age, we are more and more aware of problems, but less and less empowered to take action.
- God never intended for us to carry the weight of this much injustice without the outlet of action.
- Get out into your community to right wrongs. This could be getting more involved in local politics, volunteering at an organization, or engaging with your local church.
- Seek to be more present with people in the physical world.
- [BOOK] Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age
- [BOOK] The Wisdom Pyramid: Feeding Your Soul in a Post-Truth World
- [BOOK] Uncomfortable: The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Christian Community
- Connect with Brett on his website, X, Instagram, or The Gospel Coalition Newsletter
Meet Our Guest
Brett McCracken is an author and journalist based in Southern California. He serves as a senior editor at The Gospel Coalition, where he writes on the intersection of faith and culture. His books include The Wisdom Pyramid, Uncomfortable, and his latest title, which he co-authored, Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age. He lives in Santa Ana, California, with his wife, Kira, and their four children.
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