Should All Heads Be Talking?
Beware Talking Heads
A growing number of believers are building platforms.
Many speak from sincerity and many howl from injury.
Some of these platforms are not centered on proclaiming Christ but on exposing other Christians, dissecting political figures, or positioning themselves as the voice of insider knowledge that the rest of us supposedly can’t see clearly.
The niche varies. The spiritual danger does not.
Some of this work is necessary. The church has real scandals. Civic engagement is a real responsibility.
But somewhere between righteous concern and the dopamine of a growing subscriber count, a person stops being a faithful believer who uses their voice and becomes a talking head.
A talking head finds identity, audience, and income on a steady supply of other people's situations or thin speculations.
Not long ago, I became concerned about someone I cared about who was building exactly this kind of platform.
He had real experience and legitimate concerns. But his content had drifted from conviction into something else: a growing archive of critique, insider analysis, and speculation that was becoming the center of his public identity–pulling him away from the Christ-oriented voice he had been called to have.
I wrote him a letter. I share it here, with identifying details removed, because the concerns apply far beyond one person.
Friend, I hope you are doing well. That’s actually why I’m writing.
I’m reaching out because I’m concerned that the content you’re creating has become disjointed from the rest of your celebration of Christ. I’m thrilled for the growth you’ve experienced–and as someone who cares about your soul, I’m also concerned that the market demands for viewers and attention are steering you off course as a follower of Christ. I don’t need a response, but I’d love for you to prayerfully consider three things:
1. The project you are undertaking is dangerous for your soul.
Fame is a variation of the drug of power, it seems. Scripture warns of both, and we ought to be serious about the dangers of living for the eyes and praise of men. Building a platform must be done with a serious commitment to live in view of God and directed by the fear of the Lord alone. When paychecks are connected to viewership and approval, this will be a regular challenge you must consider.
Our Lord was very clear about the dangers of focusing on the sins and flaws of others (Matthew 7:3–5). The log in our own eye must be addressed before the speck elsewhere. The measure we use must be the measure we’re prepared to receive (Luke 6:38). A project that requires volumes of content evaluating others is incredibly dangerous for the soul and should only be undertaken with the most serious reflection.
2. Even if you navigate this stewardship well, this project may still be destructive for the souls of others.
The Lord does call some to special dangers (James 3:1). If this task is one you still desire to pursue, I think the rule of love may slow or change your direction profoundly (1 Corinthians 16:14). Recent years have shown how divisive this kind of content can be for the church, especially when it operates on partial information.
The content you create needs to be more than true; it should be masterfully crafted as words that build up to fit the occasion (Ephesians 4:29). Not many areas of the church are dealing with this type of content well, and your impact on the Lord’s church should be a chief concern in your stewardship.
3. Beyond the dangers, there is cause for real concern–the project itself shows traits that match New Testament warnings about false teachers.
The New Testament is full of warnings about false teachers and divisions in the body (Romans 16:17–18; 2 Peter 2:3). But the warnings against speculations and the allure of deeper insights may be the most relevant here (1 Timothy 1:3–4).
You have more access than most to people and situations with real impact. However, I think you should be careful not to build a following on special insight and speculation (Colossians 2:8). You want your voice to be centered on–and continually amplify–Christ (Colossians 1:28) throughout your life. Your work may focus on many things, as a doctor talks mostly of medicine. But the way a doctor talks of medicine will impact his ability to speak of Christ.
I hope these words are received from brother to brother, with the goal of our Lord’s glory and the flourishing of His Church.
Jesus Over Everything.
The letter raises three concerns, but beneath all of them is a single insight: sustained critique is spiritually influential–and it forms you in a direction you didn’t choose.
We tend to think of formation in positive terms: prayer, Bible reading, worship, and fasting.
But we become what we behold.
We are formed by fixation on failures and speculations.
The person who spends hours each week researching, scripting, and publishing content about other people’s failures is being shaped by that practice.
The person who spends hours consuming it is being shaped by that diet.
Jesus didn’t warn about the speck and the log because He was soft on sin. He warned that fixation on another’s sin is one of the most effective ways to become blind to your own.
When platform growth depends on finding the next failure or suspicion to discuss, the mutation accelerates.
You don’t notice the log growing because the audience keeps applauding your eye for specks.
The letter also names something the church has been slow to recognize: “insider knowledge” is one of the oldest traps in Scripture.
Paul warned Timothy about those drawn to speculations rather than the stewardship of faith (1 Timothy 1:3–4). The modern talking head–regardless of niche–functions in this exact pattern: I was there. I have access. Let me show you what they don’t want you to see.
This builds audiences quickly. It also builds audiences whose loyalty is anchored to the insider rather than to Christ.
Two questions are worth sitting with:
If you create or share content: Is my celebration of Christ growing or shrinking in proportion to my influence?
As you consume content: Is this making me more like Jesus by helping me see and treasure Him, or just informing me about other people’s failures?
Whether you’re the one creating this content or the one consuming it, the deeper question is the same: How is this shaping me?
Every platform is built by two parties–the voice and the audience. Both are doing spiritual work.
Discernment is valuable. An appetite for controversy dressed up as discernment is not.
If you dare build a platform–make sure it builds–the good of others and the glory of Christ.
As you’re hearing voices–think about what it builds–beware of a spirit of critique and a cult following.