Out of the Mouth of … a TV Anchor?

Sunday night news on our local Fox affiliate, and a couple stories received more in-depth treatment than usual. One such was a story about a Christian school that “fired” eleven employees because of their doctrine. (Inwardly I groaned. Another story bashing Christians?)

As it turned out, the school’s sponsoring church made the decision to become more involved in the school’s operation and to change a perceived lax hiring policy that allowed others with differing doctrines to work in the school. Consequently four teachers did not have their contracts renewed and seven other staff were let go.

The news show interviewed a number of people involved, including the principal. The staff members themselves were not the issue, she said repeatedly. Rather it was the doctrines they and the churches they attend espouse in a couple key areas.

After this thorough (for television) treatment of the story, the news program then had three guests to discuss the issue (should a school fire teachers who don’t believe the same way as the sponsoring church).

The first was one of the teachers who lost her job. Second was a clergyman from one of the churches that disagree doctrinally with the sponsoring church, and third was a representative of a religious school system in the same community (the particular school/church at the heart of the discussion declined an invitation to have a representative included).

The teacher was articulate and described the situation without rancor. She said that the changes were first presented to the staff back in January. She didn’t know at first if the new policy would apply to her. If I remember correctly, she’d been on staff for fourteen years. Another teacher had been with the school for twenty-two years.

The clergyman was equally well-spoken. He presented a case for unity and for not letting non-essential doctrines divide Christians. The representative of the religious school system said they have no doctrinal requirements of their staff. In fact, they would hire a Hindu or a Buddhist as long as they were committed to accomplishing the school’s core mission. (And what would that mission be, I wondered.)

In the end, after the teacher had answered another question and the clergyman had answered another question, the anchor who was doing the asking said, It’s all about whether Christ is preached, isn’t it? It’s all about whether Christ is preached.

OK … I sat there unsure I’d heard him correctly. But he repeated it. What a very Christian thing to say (“What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. And in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice” – Phil. 1:18), and it came, not from the Christian teacher or the clergyman or the religious school system spokesman. It came from the TV anchor.

Now I’m wondering what kind of feedback he’s received.