Forrest Frank vs Cory Asbury: Did He Go Too Far?

The internet does not reward kindness,

it rewards mockery. And that's exactly

what artist Forest Frank found out after

people started responding to the video

he posted of him breaking his back on a

skateboard. Now, was Forest's reaction

to this whole thing dead on, or was it

much to do about nothing? Welcome to

Provoke and Inspire, where I wrestle

with culture and current events by

asking, "What would Jesus think and what

would Jesus do?" Now, about a month ago,

Forest Frank fell off a skateboard and

hurt his back. He posted a very

heartfelt video about it and the

reaction was overwhelmingly positive.

Now, since then, a number of social

media influencers and artists have made

videos that in my mind playfully mocked

Forest original post. The latest came

from Corey Asbury of Reckless Love Fame.

And this caught the attention of Forest

himself, and he ultimately responded.

Now, when Forest began playing Cory's

video in his response, I'll be honest, I

initially thought it was kind of funny.

But then Forest very graciously and

creatively explained how traumatic this

moment was for him and his family. He

reminded viewers that he's human and

that while these videos may not have

been tended with malice, they still

caused harm. He invited Cory and all of

us to consider the impact of our words

and humor, that behind every post and

joke, there are real people. Look, I

don't think Corey meant anything overly

harmful, and he even admits that later.

But I think Forest has a valid point.

Our internet culture has shaped our

behavior in ways that aren't good. Paul

warns us to not be conformed to the

patterns of this world, but to be

transformed by the renewing of our

minds. That applies to how we behave

online as much as anywhere else. Social

media has created a kind of

depersonalization. The distance of the

screen makes it easier to mock,

criticize, and be harsher than we would

ever be. face to face. In real life, if

I tell a joke at someone's expense,

there could be immediate consequences,

sometimes even physical ones. That

built-in accountability forces to weigh

our words more carefully. Online, those

consequences don't exist. And so, troll

culture flourishes. On top of that,

there is a culture of chasing attention.

The internet doesn't reward nuance,

kindness, or patience. It rewards the

extremes. The harsher, the funnier, the

more costic the content, the more clicks

it gets, even at someone else's expense.

And whether we realize it or not, that

shapes our behavior. Forest raises an

important challenge. As followers of

Jesus, we need to rehumanize our online

interactions. The Bible is full of

warnings about the power of words and

their consequences. Peter says we'll be

held accountable for every reckless word

we speak. That's a sobering thought for

me personally because I've spoken more

than my fair share of reckless words.

Like James warns us, our tongues can set

a whole forest on fire. This is a

reminder to love people more than

algorithms and to honor Christ with our

words and actions. From everything I can

tell, Corey did just that. And in the

end, I think this was a big win for the

kingdom and for anyone willing to take

this lesson to heart. Thanks for

watching Provoke and Inspire. If you

enjoyed this content, could you do me a

favor and hit that like button, leave us

a comment because this ultimately is a

conversation. Hit that bell thing, I

think, right? And uh YouTube seems to be

recommending another video for you to

watch. Check it out. Stay involved.

Also, provokeandinsspirepodcast.com

for everything else. That's it. Peace.