I think social media influencers are ruining our theology and our ability to learn spiritual truths.
This past year, a man on Instagram gained a lot of notoriety and influence in the Christian space on social media after he de-transitioned from being a trans woman following an encounter with God. He quickly gained a lot of followers on Instagram and TikTok as he talked about how he was stepping into life as the man God created him to be and quickly sought to find a church to be part of.
The first couple of months of his rise to influence were highlighted by his seeking after God and attending different kinds of churches in order to find one where he could get plugged in. He ended up seeking to join the Catholic Church and regularly posted about his growing faith journey and how God was changing him and helping him accept his identity as a man of God.
Over the past year, he quickly rose to a sizable Instagram following and several paid sponsorships from different Christian entities. He was featured on several podcasts and did collaborations with other large Christian influencers online.
In the past few weeks, it’s been speculated based on a privately posted post online that he had rejected the traditional Christian sexual ethic and attempted to go back to a life living as a trans-woman while claiming that he was still following Jesus. This has sparked a large online conversation.
This is simply an example of a trend that I’ve seen happen over the past century, as the mediums of technology have allowed communication to expand further and further from the individual communicating.
For most of our history, we’ve been influenced by the people we tangibly can touch and talk to. Spiritually, that would take form in the place of our local church, our local priest or pastor, or the local leaders in our geographic area. Yet now, we’re influenced by people we will never meet, whose backgrounds and inner lives we don't understand, and whose messages we have no context for.
Often, we find ourselves influenced more by online influencers than by our local pastors or Bible teachers. We listen and repeat more from 45-second sound bites than we do from 45-minute sermons in the local church. These influencers can carefully craft divisive, emotive, or catchy one-liners that elicit reactions and acceptance from people online. These things are often more formative in the Christian life today, especially for young people, than the ideal, weighty, and thoughtful exposition of the Scriptures in the context of the local church.
Oftentimes, the things that are posted across social media are the things that actually get people’s attention. Emotive headlines, catchy titles, or rage-bait comments are more often shared and propagated, while simple, faithful exposition of the word is often overlooked.
Here’s my pastoral admonition to you.
Stop relying on digital sources for your primary theological education. Unless those sources are from your local church pastor or a person you know personally, who is able to verify their intentions, righteousness, integrity, and abilities. Commit to your local church. Commit to the faithful exposition of your local pastors and teachers. Commit to engaging in the scriptures for yourself. Limit your exposure to Christian teachers who are new to the faith or have little background in church leadership.
In a world full of voices, we must now become so much more selective in the voices we give credence to.