In our age, where the digital reigns supreme and voices of all sorts clamor for our attention through the screens we carry in our pockets or keep on our desks, it’s easy to get lost. Lost in the zeitgiest. Lost in the sea of opinions that often seem louder (and more convincing simply because they are louder.)
But let’s take a moment. Pause. And consider where we’re turning for wisdom, especially when it comes to following Jesus, to understanding what it means to walk in His ways, to grasp the depths and riches of Christianity.
Here’s a thought, a “hot take” if you will, but bear with me:
The wisdom of your local church —
the pastors, elders, small group leaders, and yes, the gray-haired saints who have weathered countless storms of life
the folks who gather in community groups to share life —
this wisdom is a gold mine. Untapped by many, yes. But priceless.
Contrast this with the voices of cultural commentators and thought leaders that dominate platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok. Names like Candace Owens, Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, or Andrew Tate may come to mind.
They speak on a myriad of topics, including Christianity at times, with confidence and a certain persuasiveness that can’t be denied.
But here’s the crux of it:
Time spent with the former —
those in your church,
those who have walked the path of discipleship,
those who have committed to the local body of Christ,
those who desire to see the kingdom of God flourish in and through you —
will invariably prove more fruitful, more shaping, more enriching to your faith journey than hours spent consuming content online.
I say this as someone who creates content online!
In simpler terms: a little less time on YouTube and a lot more time in meaningful, kingdom-oriented relationships within your church community will be transformative.
This isn’t to fully dismiss the insights that can be gleaned from various voices in our culture (well… as someone who cares about the discipleship of young men, I will go on record saying I dismiss anything Andrew Tate has to say), but rather to emphasize where the heart of discipleship truly beats.
It’s about investment — kingdom investment. The kind that builds up, that walks alongside, that shares in the burdens and joys of life, that sees and encourages the image of God in each other.
It’s in these relationships, in the living, breathing community of believers, where our discipleship is truly forged and fashioned.
So, perhaps it’s time to reconsider where we’re turning for guidance, insight, and growth in our walk with Christ. Maybe it’s time to lean in a little closer to the wisdom residing in the church, in its leaders and its members, all striving together to follow Jesus in a world that often seems to pull in every other direction.
In the end, it’s about where we’re making our investments. And investing in kingdom relationships within the church?
That’s an investment that bears eternal dividends.
Follow up question: so are you against watching media pundits who comment on Christianity?
Let’s get something straight: It’s not wrong to tune in to the voices that echo through our media, discussing matters of faith and spirituality.
Truth be told, I do it myself. It’s part of engaging with the world, of being informed, of seeing where faith intersects with the broader cultural conversation. It’s good, necessary even, to understand the dialogue that shapes our society.
But here’s the thing, the heart of the matter: In our pursuit of wisdom, of understanding, it’s all too easy to find ourselves isolated. Surrounded by screens and speakers, rather than people. We let these distant, albeit insightful, voices shape our worldview, our understanding of Christianity, our very faith.
And yet, wasn’t God’s intention always a bit more… communal? A bit more intimate?
The Church — with a capital C — has always been about family. About community.
It’s there, in the laughter and tears of a small group meeting in a living room, in the prayers whispered in the corners of a sanctuary, in the shared meals and shared lives, that we find something profound. Something transformative.
God designed us to grow not in isolation, but in the rich soil of community. The Church family.
Here, among the faithful, the obscure, the humble, lies a wealth of wisdom. Wisdom that doesn’t clamor for likes or views, but that speaks in the quiet, consistent language of life lived in pursuit of Jesus.
It’s so easy, isn’t it, to be captivated by celebrities? To find ourselves scrolling through opinions and analyses, forgetting the treasures hidden in plain sight among the people God has placed right beside us. Those who have walked the path of faith not with fanfare, but with steadfastness. Those whose lives testify to the grace and mercy of God, even without a platform or a spotlight.
It’s about balance. It’s about remembering that while the voices from our screens can add value to our understanding, they cannot replace the irreplaceable — the community, the family, the Church.
God’s design was always for us to grow together, to be shaped by the myriad of stories and experiences that make up His body on earth.
So yes, listen (in moderation and with a grain of salt) to the talking heads, engage with the discussions, but don’t forget the incredible wealth of wisdom waiting for you in the less obvious places.
Don’t let the media form your discipleship, leave that task to the family of God.
Find your formation in the quiet dangling conversations, the shared journeys, the faithful presence of those walking alongside you in the pursuit of what it means to follow Jesus.
In the end, it’s about where we choose to look for guidance, for wisdom, for growth.
And perhaps, just perhaps, we’ll find what we’re looking for not in the noise and the frenzy of the wider world, but in the quiet, faithful presence of the Church family God has placed us in.
Thanks for reading! For more from my ministry, check out www.goodlion.org
Your Local Church Will Do Far More For Your Faith Than Pundits Like Peterson, Owens, and Shapiro was originally published in GoodLion Theology on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
