Fired After Endorsing Vaccines, Evangelical Insider Takes a Leadership Role
The New York Times
Daniel Darling was at the center of a media storm over the summer. He hopes to lead a more civil discussion at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas.
A year ago, Daniel Darling was following news reports about the development of the coronavirus vaccines with eager anticipation. His family had all had Covid-19 themselves, and his children had lost their beloved piano teacher, an otherwise healthy 50-year-old woman, to the virus. The pandemic was personal.
Eventually, vaccination became personal for Mr. Darling, too. In August, endorsing the shots from an evangelical perspective cost him his job as spokesman for the National Religious Broadcasters, a largely conservative group of some 1,000 members employed in Christian media. The news exploded not just in evangelical circles but also into the mainstream media, giving Mr. Darling a turn in the polarized news cycle that he had previously observed from the sideline.
“God has put me at the center of the storm,” Mr. Darling recalled thinking to himself in the moment. He was determined not to respond with vitriol. “Can I demonstrate forgiveness?” he wondered. “Can I make an appeal to Christian unity?”
