Living "Above Reproach" in a World Full of Jay-Zs and Rated R Movies

Now and then I come across the negatives aspects social media can have on our culture. Often it gives people who have a bone to pick a voice. Or it gives people who should not open their mouth (keyboard) a voice. Or people say things they shouldn’t say out loud. Or they say things to other people over a screen they would never say face to face. None of these options are good ones. I’ve had my fair share of tweets, wall posts, and blog posts that I’ve deleted, so I’m as guilty as the next guy.

Yesterday Mark Driscoll, a well-known pastor from Seattle, said this on Facebook and Twitter:

“It’s a Jay-Z soundtrack kind of day. Watched his NY show this weekend – I know he says bowling words but man the guy is a genius.”

People went ballistic on him (read the post thread here, and check out all the stuff said on his FB wall as well, simply unbelievable). But this post isn’t about Mark Driscoll, as big as his platform may be, or even about the people who think its ridiculous that he listens to Jay-Z. This post is about living above reproach.

1st Timothy 3:1 lists as a requirement for pastors or elders the importance of living “above reproach.” Romans 13:13 says, “Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see.

I have no problem with the idea that church leaders should be living above a certain standard. They are examples, people are watching, and I believe God desires a higher standard of living from his leaders. This isn’t to say that people who are not pastors can do as they please and God won’t care, just that God recognizes the pedestal leaders are often put on.

The problem I have in all this, in Mark’s statement and in the response from thousands of people, is: who gets to decide what that “standard” is?

Is a rated-R movie inappropriate for Christians to watch? For pastors? Only if it has nudity or gory murder scenes? Who says? Does listening to rap that has cussing bleeped out make you a bad pastor? What if you cuss and you’re a pastor, are you then disqualified from church ministry?

Even last week one of my favorite bloggers and musicians was called out by many for using the word “damn” on twitter. They thought he had crossed a line that was inappropriate for a Christian leader to cross.

Social media often gives a voice to the self righteous who desire to place their standard on others. God clearly outlines standards in the Bible and those are very clear. But God doesn’t say “thou shalt avoid listening to any Jay-Z song or thou hast sinned against thee.”

(I’d go as far as to say Jay-Z’s performance on SNL last spring was possibly the best live musical performance I’ve ever seen and I don’t even like rap or hip-hop much. The pastors who read Mark’s post and thought, “I don’t even know who that is” need some serious help in understanding today’s culture.)

The problem isn’t Jay-Z or Mark Driscoll or social media. The problem is us. We always feel the need to impose our standards on those around us while often failing to meet them ourselves. This is an extremely pointless thing to do when we have zero relationship with a person (as is the case with almost everyone in this example).

I’m curious though…

How do we determine what is acceptable for Christians or pastors?

And beyond that, how do we uphold that standard?