Who – or What – is Discipling Us?

Most months in this space I celebrate something that has happened or highlight what’s coming next. This month, I want to process something that’s been quietly stirring in me for a while, but now feels urgent.

After the death of Charlie Kirk, I received emails asking, “What is ECO’s official stance?” The question perplexed me for a couple of reasons.

First, I hope it’s obvious from our Essential Tenets that we abhor violence and the taking of life. Second, I don’t/can’t make “official statements” beyond that which is stated in our polity or theology. But what struck me most was what seemed to be underneath the question…which was desire for agreement in either venerating or villainizing Charlie.

This article isn’t about Charlie Kirk. It’s about what moments like these reveal: how easily our congregations, even leaders within ECO, are pulled into polarization. And I believe a significant driver is subtle, where we seem to be more and more discipled by social media than scripture and the Spirit.

How We Got Here

Cal Newport, a professor and digital ethicist at Georgetown, recently released a podcast episode entitled Is It Finally Time to Leave Social Media?  (I admit the irony of the fact that this article will be posted on our different platforms!). He describes how algorithmically curated conversation platforms nudge us down a slope: distraction, de-moderation, even disassociation. Most users won’t reach the extreme end, but even distraction and de-moderation (ie, polarization) will diminish our flourishing. If you listen to the first portion he talks about how this process occurs algorithmically and neurologically.  As I listened it became explanatory for what I have seen in others and even to some extent in myself.  

Newport isn’t writing from a faith perspective, but his observations should make us pause as followers of Jesus. If he’s right, then many of us are being discipled far more by algorithms than by the Spirit.

A Double Warning

First, beware of hidden discipleship.
I’ve seen these digital currents tribalize even our denomination. You’ve probably seen it in your own church. Instead of viewing one another primarily through our shared identity in Christ, we increasingly divide into camps of “us” and “them.”

Disagreement and debate are healthy in the body of Christ. But when those disagreements are shaped more by social media than by Scripture, they don’t draw us together—they drive us apart.

Second, think about the next generation.
Reports suggest younger generations are surprisingly open to spiritual conversations. But I wonder the impact that it has on these younger generations when they see Christians behaving online with the same toxicity as everyone else. What if we shifted our posture? What if we modeled a better way and more authentic way of dialogue and even disagreement for this generation in whom the Spirit seems to work?

The Question Beneath the Noise

I am not anti-technology. In many ways I lean toward embracing it. But I am increasingly convinced that the shaping power of social media may exceed what we realize. For some, it may even outeigh the shaping of the Word and Spirit.

So here is the real question I want us to wrestle with:

Who – or what – is discipling you most?

Is it the feeds that thrive on outrage and division? Or is it Jesus, who calls us to love one another, to disagree without dividing, and to seek first His Kingdom?

My prayer is that ECO would not be known for parroting the voices of our chosen platforms, but for embodying the voice of Christ—steady, gracious, and true.

In Christ,

Dana

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