You’ve learned about spreading Bitcoin with love, so now where do you get started?
Well first, you need to figure out who to talk to and where they’re coming from. This is one of the most important factors in successfully orange-pilling your church, or really any organization.
If you don’t find the right person, or if you approach the right person in the wrong way — or even at the wrong time or in the wrong context — this can make or break your cause.
The right person at the right time
The book of Proverbs has all kinds of warnings about speaking too much, or at the wrong time, or in the wrong way. For example:
Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing.
Proverbs 27:14
So you see, even if you are blessing your neighbor, doing it at the wrong time defeats the purpose.
It’s important to remember that your neighbors at church are individuals. They come from all walks of life, and they each have their own unique experiences that color their worldview.
It’s true that the pastors, elders, deacons, and other leaders at your church ultimately all have the same goal of fulfilling the great commission, but each office demands a specific focus and each person brings their own personality to that role.
This means some people will be more naturally disposed to learning about Bitcoin, while others will think it’s a distraction or even something to avoid at all costs. Don’t be discouraged — this is normal.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
1 Corinthians 12:27
As a committed member of your church, you should already be dedicated to building real and lasting relationships with the other members of the body of Christ. It’s on the basis of these relationships that you can best determine who is ready to hear about Bitcoin, and who is in the best position to do something about it — hopefully it’s the same person.
Keep in mind that even if you have a great relationship with the perfect person, the timing might be wrong. This is something we’ll discuss at length in a future part.
Questions to ask yourself
So if you think you’ve identified the right person — and we highly recommend starting with just one person — here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Where are they from?
- What is their socio-economic situation?
- What generation are they?
- What is their current attitude towards Bitcoin?
- Do they have lots of free time?
- Do they like books and long-form content, or tweets and 5-minute YouTube videos?
Where they’re coming from
People from America and other so-called “developed” countries will have a harder time understanding the need for something like Bitcoin. We are well banked, have access to markets and financial products, and can generally send and receive money when and how we like.
On the other hand, people from “developing” countries often understand Bitcoin quicker, because they’ve experienced hyper-inflation first hand, or they’re unbanked, or they’ve seen the greed and corruption that are rampant and more visible in their governments.
But this contrast isn’t necessarily just between developed and developing countries either. You may also see it between people from cities versus rural areas, or even people with white collar jobs versus blue collar jobs.
In general, the more disadvantaged you’ve been, or the lower you’ve started on the socio-economic ladder, the more likely it is that you’ve had a need to know about something like Bitcoin — and thus the easier it is for you to recognize and appreciate it as the solution when you do see it.
A changing world order
As of this recording, the elders and leaders in your church are likely to be Baby Boomers or Gen-X’ers.
It’s important to understand that, unlike younger generations, Boomers and Gen X’ers grew up in a world of American exceptionalism. They trusted in the institutions of democracy and capitalism, and they witnessed those institutions triumph over socialism and totalitarianism, which treated their portfolios well.
They’ve experienced commodity, equity, and housing markets that only go up and to the right for the majority of their lifetimes, and it will be hard for them to accept that there is a changing world order, or why this time is different.
For more context on why this time is truly different, check out Ray Dalio’s book Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order, or watch his summary video of the book.
So all of this presents a challenging backdrop for you — the town crier who sees the barbarians at the gate. Your message is contrary to decades and even centuries of conventional wisdom to these generations, and you must sympathize with how audacious it can sound in this context.
Because of this, most of your leaders will probably be no-coiners, or even never-coiners. So expect resistance, and expect it to take longer than you hope. Again, that’s okay.
Long or short, be empathic
Another reality of our modern culture is that many people don’t prefer to read books or consume other long-form content anymore. The tik-tok-ization of our world has created a whole generation of people with short attention spans, and this is unfortunate when it comes to explaining complex topics like Bitcoin.
If you happen to have someone who likes long-form and has lots of free time, great — but be prepared with the appropriate resources for the purpose and the person. We’ll share some of our favorite resources in a later part, and we’ll also maintain an updated index of books, videos, and podcasts on our website at magnalia.foundation.
But whether your particular pill is short or long, be empathic — most people find topics such as the theory of money, Austrian economics, and modern monetary theory dry and boring. Not everyone is interested in or has the time to care about economics, or how money works, or what the Federal Reserve is doing.
Humility before your leaders
Pastors in particular spend much of their time with front-row seats to all kinds of problems that technology can’t solve, and they are often told by members how to do their jobs. Members rarely understand what being a pastor entails, and how hard it is, so you need to be very careful about your posture, attitude, and even the thoughts of your heart.
Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king.
Ecclesiastes 10:20
As Christians, we are called to submit to our church leaders, and this can be a very hard pill for Westerners — and especially libertarian-minded Bitcoiners — to swallow.
In other words, you need to be humble, and not a know-it-all, and be realistic about the fact that not everyone can or should be as interested in economics or technology as you are. Pastors and churches have a lot of fish to fry, and many of them bigger than what’s happening at the Federal Reserve, especially in light of eternity.
In the end, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to spreading Bitcoin with love, and we are here to help you. If you need advice, or even want us to talk to your leadership about specific topics or questions, get in touch with us on our website, or email contact@magnalia.foundation.