Reels and short vertical videos of all sorts populate our social media feeds. While many of us try to avoid endless scrolling, we almost always catch a few every day, especially if friends or colleagues are sharing them.
Several months ago, clips from a popular podcaster were going around. I would not have called their message “Christian,” exactly. They could be better described as Jesus-positive or God-friendly. Whatever the case, they were not excplicit about any belief in Christ or the Bible.
After watching those, I was directed by the algorithm to another speaker who was much more pointed in their gospel message. They were good videos. Some were excellent videos. And I generally accepted and believed everything I heard.
Not long after, I saw a standard-length YouTube video featuring both men. And I watched. The results were not nearly as positive. Instead of tightly-edited sound bites, it featured an uncut conversion. Both freely (and forecefully) expressed theological positions. There were heaping portions of confusion, mixed with ignorance, sprinkled with questionable applications of scripture.
To be clear, I have no problem with any of those things. Plenty of Christians – especially new Christians – don’t have the benefit of attending a strong church. Many display these deficiencies because they haven’t been discipled by a mature brother or sister. This is normal for a person in that position. They deserve no criticism for it.
I would have ignored this altogether until I heard both of these gentlemen quoted (or referenced as an authority) in personal conversations about spiritual things. In both cases, I asked something like “how much do you know about that person?” Beyond their reels – it was revealed by the answers – very little.
This is where we find our problem. Short, mobile-focused, slickly-produced videos are consumed in large numbers. They are influential, even for those of us who try to avoid their influence. But this format’s limitations are obvious. It doesn’t allow for the kind of explanation and context that is necessary to have meaningful input on matters of eternal significance.
Behind a series of insightful clips may lie a greater body of wisdom – or not. Viewers are often left guessing. And those who lack the discipline to stop scrolling and investigate could be left with a false impression. They may even – by their liking, sharing, or subscribing – be perpetuating that false impression.
For any speaker (wise or unwise) the format itself is deficient. It’s certainly not like a book, in which complex arguments can be made and then explained. It’s not even like an article, which may be thousands of words and appears on a website that also contains a biography.
Fast, punchy, quotable clips catch the attention. They are all too easy to quickly like and share without knowing any background information on the quality or the credibility of the speaker. There’s no time for this in a reel. And I assume there is very little appetite for it among reel-consumers.
Christian viewers should remember, a “content creator” can be a theologian or seasoned Pastor. They can have sound, well-established, orthodox theology. They can study the Bible for thousands of hours and be tested on the effectiveness of that study by mentors and peers. They can write thousands of words explaining Old and New Testament texts. They can have integrity, which is confirmed by years of observation among friends and colleagues. Or they can just have a camera, a point of view, and a social media following.
Reels may be a starting point for finding out which type of commentator we’re dealing with. But we need to hear a whole lot more. Especially if we’re fighting confusion, ignorance, and questionable applications of our own.