The following is a reflection from Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger for Detroit Catholic.
A few months ago I attended a conference in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was an excellent gathering of bishops, Catholic media experts, and theologians focused on the topic of media evangelization in the Church.
I was intrigued by one expert presenter who offered a compelling insight about Catholic media sites. His point was that when we engage with Catholic blogs, podcasts, websites or other platforms, we are being spiritually fed either by an influencer or by an evangelizer.
The difference is significant.
A media influencer is typically a self-promoter, one who seeks keyboard clicks, growing follower counts, and ever-greater visibility. Influencers are often found within the “culture-warrior” subculture and tend to define themselves by who or what they oppose, and by extension, who or what they want you to oppose. As a result, the more popular influencers tend to stir strong emotions in their audiences, especially feelings of righteousness or anger toward their perceived enemies — especially their perceived enemies within the Church.
It may be subtle or not immediately obvious, but for the influencer, it’s all about winning and losing. To borrow an analogy from the Gospel, the influencer is happy to point out the splinters in the eyes of others (Matt. 7:3-5). But the "plank" in the eye of the influencer is that Jesus insists that all of us are brothers and sisters, the children of one heavenly Father. There are no exceptions. To hate any group — to want to win by defeating a perceived enemy — is to hate or want to defeat a portion of the Body of Christ!
So much for the influencer. A true media evangelizer is quite different. Rather than self-promotion, the evangelizer is a “Christ-promoter.” They are seldom “culture-warriors” and are not focused on negativity. Rather, they invite those living within our culture into a dialogue about Jesus and toward a joyful Catholic life.
From one vantage point, the difference between influencers and evangelizers can be articulated as follows:
The influencer says, “See how my life reflects Christ for you,” keeping the focus on themselves.
The evangelizer says, “See how Christ illumined my life and can do the same for you,” keeping the focus squarely on Him!
Brothers and sisters, the media is seldom neutral. As we feed our minds and souls on content produced by a multitude of media sites all claiming Catholic identity, we should ask ourselves a critical question: Am I being spiritually fed by evangelizers focusing me on Jesus, His Gospel, and His Body the Church? Or am I enjoying an invigorating but toxic buffet of conflict, denunciations and judgments, but seldom ever joy?
The difference, from the vantage point of authentic Christian spirituality, is a matter of life and death.
Yours in Christ,
Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger
