I just enjoyed a very beautiful day in the neighborhood. To be honest, I never was a huge fan of Mr. Rogers. I was an older child when the show began, and I found it kind of boring. And when my own children were watching it, I wondered if Mr. Rogers was too weak to be a good model, especially for boys.
Having just seen this incredible movie, I am moved and convicted about how wrong I was. In fact, I would like so much to be more like Mr. Rogers. More importantly, it seems to me that I and most people in the American church today NEED to be more like Mr. Rogers. Here’s why.
Mr. Rogers was gentle.
I’m afraid I used to see this as weak. That’s a problem, because Jesus said that HE is gentle. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29 ESV).
Not only am I called to take on that yoke of gentleness, everyone is supposed to be able to see it! “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5 NIV).
Often I have wanted others to see my strength, not my gentleness. That leads to arrogance.
Gentleness requires me to really trust God. When I don’t, I am impatient and snappy with others—because I trust myself.
When I trust God, I don’t have to fix everything. I can be gentle. Mr. Rogers did not seem to have a need to always be right and for others to know he was right. I need to be gentle like Mr. Rogers. American Christians need to be gentle like Mr. Rogers.
Mr. Rogers spoke truth in love.
I have heard that phrase all of my Christian life. But what I have often seen this mean in action, and unfortunately many times in my own actions, is that I know the truth, and I’m going to make sure everyone else knows that I know the truth. And I’ll tell you that I love you as I do it!
But that really doesn’t look a lot like love, does it? Mr. Rogers did not ignore hard issues. He helped people deal with bitterness, divorce, death, and depression.
He helped people see the truth, but he never came across as trying to convince them he was right and they were wrong. When people interacted with Mr. Rogers, I never sensed that he was trying to win an argument. He was trying to win them!
As I look back on my early years of ministry, I am often saddened by some of the things I said and wrote. They were simply designed to win arguments and convince people that I knew a lot. And in trying to speak truth without real love, I was neither loving nor truthful.
As I’ve gotten older, I have been moved to the core of my heart by those in my life who have truly loved me and spoken truth to me. I want to be more like that for others. I need to speak truth in love like Mr. Rogers.
And the American church? There’s no shortage of people “speaking truth.” No shortage of people debating truth online, dividing over selfish “truths” in their churches, and pointing out how far others are from the truth they should know.
There’s a lot of “speaking truth,” but there’s not a whole lot of love. The American church needs to speak the truth, actually in love. Like Mr. Rogers.
Mr. Rogers helped people.
He genuinely cared about people. He answered every letter by hand. He took pictures of all those he met to show his wife. He prayed every day for the people he met—by name. He was known for delaying filming every day to spend time with a sick child.
He was interruptible, always ready to change course to care for someone—kind of like Jesus stopping for beggars, lepers, children, and a broken woman at a well.
Jesus was never too busy for people. He cared when they hurt. “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36 ESV).
Mr. Rogers followed Jesus on this compassionate path. I need to help people like Mr. Rogers did. The American church needs to help people like Mr. Rogers did.
The church in America has become a place where kindness and encouragement are rare. In Mister Rogers’ neighborhood, they were normal.
Maybe we should all follow Mister Rogers—and Jesus—to a new neighborhood of authenticity and community. Maybe revival looks a lot like a beautiful day in Mister Rogers’ neighborhood.