National Religious Broadcasters

“What would Jesus Do” was a popular slogan used by evangelical Christians during the 1990s to remind them to live their lives in a fashion that demonstrated their faith in the Savior.

What would Jesus do in today’s troubled COVID-19 times?

The Good Shepherd would probably encourage His flock to get the COVID-19 vaccine so they can remain strong to serve Him and spread His message of salvation Gospel through their words and deeds.

What wouldn’t Jesus do? He wouldn’t muster His Almighty wrath and smite one of His faithful followers who endorsed the COVID-19 shot for its life-saving capabilities.

But that’s what His self-purported media messenger did.

The National Religious Broadcasters, an association of more than 1,100 members that claims a monthly audience of 141M people, fired Dan Darling, senior VP of communications, for spreading the Good Word about the COVID-19 shot.

Darling, a Nashville-based evangelical pastor, said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Aug. 2:

"I believe in this vaccine because I don’t want to see anyone else die of COVID. Our family has lost too many close friends and relatives to COVID, including an uncle, a beloved church member and our piano teacher."

That inconvenient truth unfortunately set Darling free of his NRB job.

Apparently, NRB has an official policy of neutrality on the COVID-19 vaccine, a position that is inexplicable.

When it comes to a decision about life and death, how can NRB cop out by rolling out a ridiculous neutrality stance, especially when the Delta variant is raging in areas once considered the Bible Belt and the heartland of the NRB?

There’s no word on who is taking over for Darling. NRB press secretary Elizabeth Bristow has not responded to an O’Dwyer’s inquiry about his replacement and whether the group plans to issue a statement about his Aug. 27 firing.

Troy Miller, CEO of NRB, told the Religious News Service that Darling is no longer with the group.

He called Darling “an excellent communicator and a great friend” and wished him “God’s best in all of his future endeavors.” Talk about faint praise.

Miller denies that Darling was fired, saying he was “offered a patch to another position.”

Darling certainly decided to go another path, one of truth and righteousness.

He wrote an op-ed in the Aug. 29 USA Today called “Why, as a Christian and an American, I Got the COVID Vaccine."

The NRB claims it exists “to represent the Christian broadcasters’ right to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.”

There would be a lot less dying in the world if the NRB spread the word about the importance of getting the COVID-19 shot.