Kingdom Influencers: Navigating the Dangers of Digital Discipleship in the Age of Online Influence Ep.2

What if your digital influence was guided by spiritual wisdom? What if your online presence was grounded in a deep understanding of faith, away from the temptations of fame, the dangers of spiritual immaturity, and the guile of false prophets? Join me, LeeAnn Fox, as we plunge into a nuanced discussion on digital discipleship. We examine the challenges that face online influencers, particularly those who are young and may be without the guidance of spiritually mature mentors. We also explore how Romans 12:2 inspires us to transform our minds and concentrate on godly values.

Imagine a world where young influencers are guided by a circle of spiritually enlightened mentors, where false prophets are recognized and their influence thwarted. Picture an online space where the message of Jesus Christ is shared with love and authenticity. This is the world we hope to create. This episode is a vital resource for anyone wishing to use their digital platform to spread the message of faith while avoiding the pitfalls of digital discipleship. Together, let's learn how to become Kingdom Influencers in this digital age.

If you are interested in taking your digital discipleship to the next level through blogging, YouTube, social media, and/or online Bible study groups, be sure to join my private FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/kingdombloggers
You can also follow me on YouTube where you will find a variety of helpful tutorials for navigating each of these important platforms: https://www.youtube.com/@KingdomBloggers

Transcript

LeeAnn Fox: 0:02

Welcome to the Kingdom Influencers podcast, where our mission is to get more Jesus online. This podcast will equip and empower ministry leaders as well as regular everyday Christians to take the message of Jesus Christ throughout the digital realm. I'm your host, Leanne Fox, digital Ministry Coach and the creator of the Kingdom Bloggers Ministry, and I am so excited and honored to be a part of this journey with you. Let's get started. Welcome, kingdom friends, to the second episode of the Kingdom Influencers podcast. So last week, if you joined us, we talked about the power of digital discipleship, like how awesome it is to have the internet to enable us to reach people all across the planet and every nook and cranny, any place that has an internet connection. Right, it's just this awesome tool. So today I want to flip the script a little bit, because I think it's very important that we not just talk about the greatness of things, but we also talk about the dangers. And there is a dangerous side to digital discipleship, to being an influencer, right, and so, even if you're not necessarily talking about it in a godly way, like a Christian influencer, when people put you on a pedestal because of your knowledge, your, you know, fame, whatever it is that level of what people see you can quickly go to your head And there's a lot of bad things that could come from that. So today I'm going to talk about three specific ways that being an influencer doing digital discipleship can actually be dangerous, and I'm also going to kind of give you some ideas and ways to kind of prevent that from happening. So we're going to kick off with a verse that I think really covers this whole topic. Everyone should be familiar with this Romans 12, 2. So this one is going to be read from the NIV translation And then I'm going to read from the amplified as well, because I think it really kind of expands what this verse is telling us. So the NIV Romans 12, 12, 2 says do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is His good, pleasing and perfect will. So the amplified version goes like this and do not be conformed to this world any longer, with its superficial values and customs, but be transformed and progressively changed as you mature spiritually, by the renewing of your mind, focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes, so that you may prove for yourself what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect in His plan and purpose for you. I love the amplified version because it just kind of takes some of the main pieces of the verse and really expands it into words that we understand, and this one specifically superficial values and customs The world is very superficial, especially in the online space. Spiritual maturity right, i mean we have a lot of spiritually immature people that can easily be swayed in the wrong direction. And focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes, that's the most important thing here. We always want to be focusing on God, not on the things of this world.

LeeAnn Fox: 3:28

So let's hop over into talking about the dangers. So there are basically three dangers that I've kind of like things I've observed in the years that I've been doing this. Number one is the temptation of fame. Right? I mean fame is something that I mean it can be good, right, because when you are famous, you have a platform. Unfortunately, people, as the fame grows, as they get more and more popular and influential, they tend to not necessarily use it for God's glory but for their own, and we'll expand on that in just a minute.

LeeAnn Fox: 4:03

The second one is spiritual immaturity. You know we have a lot of young people. Young people and maybe newer believers. If you will that now have this just powerful tool at their hands, right, and you know when you're immature in the knowledge of something or in the consequences, if you will, you can do a lot of damage without really intending to. I mean, we see that with our teenagers, just, and young adults, you know the 18-year-olds going out on their own for the first time. They don't quite think through the long-term effect of their actions. Right, And in our world as influencers, you know, having this platform that reaches millions of people at the click of a button, you can easily do a lot of damage by not truly understanding. You know the biblical context of something or how it's being applied, but you could do a lot of damage in your life too. I mean like people coming down on you and then you're like, oh my gosh, i really messed up, and things like that. So we'll talk about that one as well.

LeeAnn Fox: 5:12

And then the third one is false prophets. Social media especially, but even blogging and YouTube and all the places. The internet makes it so easy easier than probably ever before in history for false prophets to really get in there and do damage. They can easily sway people. Why? Because they have direct access to people, and so, as with anything in this world, there's good and bad that comes from it. You know I've talked many times about how Facebook people are like. Facebook is the enemy, and it's just this horrible thing that was created. Well, yes, people are going to use it. The enemy is going to utilize it for his purposes, which is why it is so important that followers of Christ learn to use it for God's glory, right, we can't let anything out there be only used by the enemy, and it is equally, if not more, important for us to also rise up and use it so that we can counter the false prophets out there. And so that third one we're never going to get away from, but it's just a part of doing business, if you will.

LeeAnn Fox: 6:21

So let's talk about the first one temptation of fame. You know, we, as Christ followers, know that everything we do should always be for God's glory. God is the main purpose in everything sharing the good news of Jesus. That is always the goal. But in the influencer world, fame can easily go to your head. We've seen it. I mean, we see it all over the place, where you know, the bigger you get, the bigger platform you get.

LeeAnn Fox: 6:48

You know, maybe you start like me right now, sitting in my house with no shoes on in a tank top. Just came back from walking my dogs I mean I'm a hot mess, right, but literally I'm sitting here, it's just me and my dogs, and that's how they start. And then eventually they make it to this level of being invited to speak at conferences in front of thousands of people And you know, that can really give you a big head. It's like, wow, i'm awesome, right, and that temptation of fame is powerful And it can easily transition you from making this about God and building his kingdom to building your own kingdom. Wow, i made it this far. How much farther can I go? And there's a fine line in there because, on one hand, obviously, the bigger platform I have, in other words, the more followers, the bigger audience, that's, more people I can pour into But that line is so, so tiny, so just fragile, that it can easily be crossed into literally making it more about the growth than about Jesus.

LeeAnn Fox: 8:09

And so we always have to be mindful of that as we grow up get bigger in this kind of influencing world that we do everything that we can to make sure that God always remains at the point, that we never get distracted by the fame, by the fortune, by the more, more, more. And you know we see this in social media all the time. I know my pastor he taught my church unlimited pastor, bill Cornelius. He's amazing And he puts it in really good perspective. A lot you know with Instagram and Facebook and all of that, it's like the reels of people's lives that we're seeing all the time and how awesome it is.

LeeAnn Fox: 8:48

But as influencers, we tend to compare ourselves to. Well, this other influencer has this many followers and I, like I'm nowhere near that. What are they doing that? I'm not, and we tend to maybe do want, like be tempted into doing things that just aren't godly right. And this is where in this verse, in the Amplify version, it says focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes. A godly value is not I need to get more followers so I can be as good as her. That's not a godly value. Now, if you're trying to get more followers because obviously that's more people that are going to hear the message that you're sharing, that's totally understandable. But the number, the followers themselves, becomes the focus and that's where it becomes ungodly, and so it's just very important that you be mindful of that as all times. Do not compare yourself to other influencers and strive to meet them or be their equal. Always strive to simply do what God has called you to do. Now, one of the ways I do that and this way is really going to apply to both number one and number two the spiritual immaturity. But keeping a circle of godly counselors is so important, and that comes in many different kind of forms right? So I lead this ministry Kind of bloggers is my regular ministry for those of you new to the podcast and what I'm doing And it has grown tremendously and I thank God every day for the growth that I've had.

LeeAnn Fox: 10:28

But I was spiritually immature when I got started on this journey that God led me to. Honestly, i tried to fight it every bit of the way because I'm like, yeah, i'm not. How can you expect me to do this when I'm barely learning the Bible myself? But God had a plan And fortunately, he put really amazing women and men in my life, and so I have this ministry that I lead, that I mentor other online Creators and things like that. It's not like a Bible study ministry, it's teaching others how to do what I do, and Those are my go-to.

LeeAnn Fox: 11:03

I have this mastermind group and it sees amazing women who write amazing content Christian content, biblical content. They're amazing women of God and even though I'm like their mentor in this this online digital discipleship stuff I Bounce everything I do off of them. When I share something, i want them to see at first. Actually, before I even publicly release something, i run it by them because I want to make sure that I'm not doing something Like like that the enemy got a hold of me and I didn't realize it. You know, and I trust these women.

LeeAnn Fox: 11:41

I also share it with the women in my, my personal life group. These women have no knowledge of like the online digital Discipleship stuff. It's my, my life group from church. It's a women's kind of Bible study group. I share it with them. We have like a group me chat and I'm like, hey, could y'all look at this, what do you think? because I want an unbiased or maybe I should say a biased like feedback. I want you to tell me is this good? but more importantly, am I, am I not keeping to godly values? is? does this seem to you like I'm letting the enemy infiltrate what I'm doing.

LeeAnn Fox: 12:17

Now, if one person that I share it with is like, yeah, i don't know what you were thinking, then I might think it's more of a personal opinion, but if all of them are saying I think you got this one wrong or this may be construed as You know, inappropriate or whatever, then I'm gonna change it, because This is a group of women that I trust to tell me that that this is just not biblical or this is not good, and so I encourage anyone who is You know, whether you're writing a book, a Bible study, you're leading a Facebook group, bible study, things like that, no matter what area of digital Discipleship that you are doing, do not go at it by yourself. Always have a group of Godly people to Bounce your ideas on and and basically keep you honest. Right, like we hear that in the regular world, like here, these people got to keep me honest. I mean even people overcoming addiction, things like that. They have their, their What do they call it? their sponsor that Helps. Keep them from reverting back over to the other side, right?

LeeAnn Fox: 13:24

Well, i'm not reverting to the other side, but I want to make sure the enemy's not infiltrating what I'm doing and Kind of sneaking in when I don't realize it, but also To keep me humble. I don't want ever this thing that I'm doing to consume me. I don't want it to be about the fame, the fortune, the glory. I want it to be about God's glory. I want That the this thing that I'm doing, whether it's through the blog or YouTube or here on the podcast, i want to always make sure that when I hit that on button and the words start coming out of my mouth, that it's always for God and not myself. And the only way I'm able to do that is Keeping that tight-knit group of Godly counselors around me. And so that is the one thing. If you take anything away from this podcast at all Do not try to do these things on your own, because the enemy is very smart and will find ways to infiltrate what you're doing. All right.

LeeAnn Fox: 14:23

So the spiritual immaturity in the second one you know whether you're a young person or you know you're older, like me, but you're spiritually immature because, like you, came to Christ late in life or you know, whatever the case, that's circle of godly friends, godly counselors, is even more important because you're still learning and you may do or say, or you know kind of comprehend things a little differently than what the intention was, and those godly counselors around you are able to make sure you are truly understanding, understanding it before you then put it out. Now. I do want to say this because I've had this happen in one of my past classes that I teach. I had a young woman, i think she was like in her mid, mid to late twenties and she did have a group. She was part of a group and the problem was her entire group of godly people were in the same season of life as far as age. They were all very young and you know, i think it's very important. I mean, we don't use the term elders anymore At least I don't think we do not in my circles but it's important to have elders in your group older women, older men, those who've been following god for a long time but are also just mature in general, mature because they've been on this planet a long time.

LeeAnn Fox: 15:47

I know my view of the world now and how I translate and comprehend things is so much different than I was in my twenties, and so this is directed to young people, and I would say that's anyone under 30 really, if you want to, if you feel God is calling you into ministry or into being an online influencer for ministry purposes, do not think you can do it on your own. You are probably the most dangerous thing to the kingdom, honestly A young person. Without someone older and more spiritually mature to guide you, you may as well just go submit your application to the enemy right now, because he's going to, usually without you even knowing it, and it can be a little intimidating as a young person to seek out the wisdom and mentorship as an older person, because there's generational differences. Like a lot of older generation, they don't know this online stuff, so find someone who does. But even if they don't, you still always want to seek their counsel. So don't ever just get together with a bunch of other young people and think you guys can do this on your own, because that is a very dangerous thing And it can create a lot of havoc and it can just create a lot of problems for the rest of us trying to lead people towards God. I probably think that's maybe one of the more important parts of my conversation today, because I've literally seen this over the last year or two with some young people who have come to my class or that I follow online or whatever, and these are things that they're like yeah, well, i have this group. I mean they're my age, but this is what they're doing, what they're saying Like you need a grownup in the room. Y'all Like and I don't just mean that someone who's over the age of 30, i mean someone who is over the age of 30 and is spiritually mature. Right, that's very, very important.

LeeAnn Fox: 17:39

Okay, so the third one false prophets. I mean, that's pretty much like I said, we can't get away from it. They're there, they're going to be using this platform the same as us, so we just always need to be alert to that and ensure that. This is why we're needed, because the false prophets already know this is like a ticket to fame right here, like the false prophets now have this platform to reach millions and billions of people, and so if we're not there doing it, then those false prophets are the only ones out there spreading the gospel, their version of the gospel, which we know is not true. And so it's even more important because of that that those of us who do know this stuff or who have some gift that can be contributed in a godly way, are out here doing it, dealing with false prophets? I mean, the only way to deal with them is to recognize them. But for those who don't know how to recognize and discern it, that's where we come in Our content. Them following us can be like, well, hey, this other influencer said that's not true And it may hopefully encourage them to go dive deeper into scripture or maybe reach out to you for clarification. You have the chance to kind of educate them on false prophecy, like maybe they didn't even know that was a thing And so again, that's like I don't know. I think if we're not there, then the false prophets have free reign. I mean, that's basically in a nutshell. So all right, guys. So I hope this all made sense.

LeeAnn Fox: 19:14

If you are an online influencer in any capacity, whether you're a blogger, a YouTuber, maybe you do social media, maybe you're just like a regular person, right, like sharing this stuff on your page. You're like, wow, all these people really like what I'm sharing And you suddenly get this holier-than-thou attitude. Please don't ever do that, because that is the enemy sneaking in. But digital discipleship is powerful, but it can also be dangerous, and knowing the dangers of something going in enables you to be more aware, more conscious as you embark upon this journey, and I hope that you do have the ability to keep a tight circle of godly friends and godly counselors that you trust and that are spiritually mature, because this is where the spiritual warfare is taking place now. I mean, we've always had spiritual warfare, but it's taken on this new dimension in this online environment like nothing we've ever seen, and we have AI and all these things, and so it's really important for us to be there to represent, to do battle and to take people or provide people that map, that highway to heaven, because the enemy is using it to take them on a highway to hell right.

LeeAnn Fox: 20:37

So next week we are going to talk more in detail about that. We are going to talk about how the enemy attacks online influencers, attacks those doing digital discipleship, and then we gather that we're going to talk about how the enemy uses us or attempts to use us if we let him. Be sure to follow us here on the podcast, if, whichever platform you're watching or listening to us from, and if you're on Apple, leave us a review, share it with a friend if you found this helpful, and remember, if you aren't using the internet to influence there there's towards Jesus. The enemy is surely using it to influence them away from him. All right guys. God bless and have a great week. Bye-bye.