Babel and the Baptist are at odds. Let’s make a name for ourselves. Let’s not. Let’s increase our following. Let’s decrease, dwindle to peanuts, and baton everything toward Christ. How can we increase our social media buzz? How can people see more of Christ by what I do? There’s a fuzzy tension here.

“Let us make a name for ourselves” (Genesis 11:4).

This is my confession. I’ve dabbled and stumbled into the sin of self-importance, ego, vain glory, and tooting my own rusty horn. I’ve wished for a platform—not a soapbox on my corner of the web. Who doesn’t want to be noticed? Who doesn’t want their peers to think you’re a go-to kinda person, a savant who’s able to smash words and ideas together—tastefully—like a veteran Marble Slab manager?

So, who? Well, off the top of my head: John the Baptist. He’s such a rascal isn’t he? He really gets under the skin, irritating what our flesh wants. We must decrease. Christ must increase.

BABEL VERSUS THE BAPTIST

Babel and the Baptist are at odds. Let’s make a name for ourselves. Let’s not. Let’s increase our following. Let’s decrease, dwindle to peanuts, and baton everything toward Christ. How can we increase our social media buzz? How can people see more of Christ by what I do?

There’s a fuzzy tension here. It’s possible to want to help others think biblically, to look to Christ, to learn God’s word, and also “market” or strategize or share online. Martin Luther and George Whitefield utilized the technology of their day to spread the gospel and God blessed their ingenuity. It is possible.

Maybe the only way to navigate this area is to proceed with caution. Warning: Live Minefield. Go slow. Be mindful. Consider every step. Listen to counsel.

The challenging part here, at least for me, is the writing and publishing industry makes this super-duper tough.

THE PLATFORM AT BABEL

As a young and unknown writer, I’m presented with challenges in publishing. My first book was published a couple of years back with Kregel. As time passed, and my agent sent out new book proposals, we kept hearing the same thing. “We love Jeff’s writing. He’s a great communicator. Clearly, Jeff has a bright future in writing. However, we have to pass on this proposal since his platform isn’t where it needs to be.”

Ouch.

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