“…social media encourages a pastor to pander. Influencers live and die by their audience. One of the driving goals is always to grow that audience, and you do that by giving people what performs well. Over time, you learn what your audience craves, and you keep serving it to them. … it’s rare to see influencers confront their own audience in any serious way, especially in ways that rebuke a negative tendency. Instead, their default is to flatter and pander. That’s not because they’re uniquely dishonest people. It’s because that’s what grows a platform.”
(Michael Foster) I’m a pastor. And I’m also a pastor who has participated in influencer culture. As Reformed Christians go, I’ve had a fairly well-listened-to podcast and a decent-sized presence on Twitter, Substack, and Facebook. I’ve been on plenty of other podcasts. I’ve spoken at conferences. I’m friends with, or at least acquainted with, a number of well-known influencers. This is something I have firsthand experience in.
So, this is self-criticism. And it’s driven by a simple desire: I want to finish well. I do not want the very real temptations of social media’s reach to undermine my God-given calling to the pastorate. But to explain where I’m coming from, I need to say something about how I understand pastoral ministry in the first place. And that starts with a scene from one of my favorite documentaries.
The conservative voice and Christian content are being silenced more and more. CRN offers a lifeline to conservative people of faith who are disgusted with social media and the leftmedia for failing to report, even blocking, important news stories that don’t comport with the far left’s narrative. CRN does charge for subscriptions. Sign up HERE (right side of page) to receive news and commentary.