I was struggling with my Jesus Job (loved that phrase, Claire) and discussing the situation with one of my professors when she said, "Who does your ministry primarily support? Because many ministries primarily function to support and please the minister." And since then I've seen it everywhere - ministries designed primarily to function for the ego of the minister who designed them (including myself, which was part of the reason I left my Jesus Job).
The other catch-22 with what you've pointed out is that, on the one hand, the people who get published in the Catholic/Christian space, who get book deals and speaking engagements, are people with large social media followings. And that means that they're spending a significant amount of time creating those platforms...time that's not spend in the real world living a life gaining wisdom worth sharing. While, on the other hand, some of the most interesting, thought-provoking Christians I've met would struggle greatly to get a book deal because they don't have a social media following. To some extent we're auctioning off our collective thought to the people most committed to branding Christianity rather than living for Jesus. I'm overstating this somewhat. I don't think everyone on social media isn't living a real life. And I don't think the people are just to blame - the risk-adverse "industry" of Christianity, where the people who get contracts and speaking gigs are the people who meet a certain social media threshold, is also at issue here for me. But all of it feels like we're living for the machine rather than dismantling it.
I'm 100% right there with you, Claire. Another thing I've learned, after being in this online "business" 12+ years — the creators I most resonate with are ones that do something else besides their creating. They're not *only* podcasters, YouTubers, bloggers, Instagrammers, etc. They also teach, or farm, or practice law, or bake really good bread at home, or lead their neighborhood book club. It's because whatever they then share online comes from an overflow of their life, not the culmination of it. I've learned this the hard way but it makes me a much, much better writer when I do other things like garden, teach high school, and lead pilgrimages.
OK, from easy to hard - first and foremost, still waiting to hear your thoughts on The Seven Storey Mountain. Did you finish it already?
I also read a book by Jessi Klein recently, but I read You'll Grow Out of It and found it rather bleak. Parts of it were smart and funny but overall I didn't like it. I am always interested in funny books about motherhood, so I'll add I'll See Myself Out to the list and see if I like it better. I like what I've heard of her comedy so I found it pretty surprising that I didn't like her book.
The short version of my main response to your essay is - I have left behind a lot of social media and Catholics I used to follow because, to a person, they were all trying to sell me something. Books, Beauty Counter, liturgical living, homeschool curricula, didn't matter what it was, I realized that 1) they didn't know me (this seems fairly obvious in retrospect! But I'm slow sometimes :-) and 2) social media had trained me to think that I "knew" them and conditioned me to buy their stuff. Furthermore, I had no real friends in real life so all my advice was coming through screens. Now, some of this was good advice! I am a better mother because I have been reading these people's blogs for over a decade, well before I had children of my own, and their words have given me tips, perspective, wisdom, you name it. But it came at the expense of building a real community, and I realized far too late that I was paying a very steep price. I lost those years to the internet (and COVID, let's be real) and they're not coming back. My loss.
The other thing influencer Catholics and social media have done to me is to fool me into thinking that These Women Wouldn't Like Me, which is a hard pill to swallow when I feel like I know and like them! Because of social media I know their children's names, I know their wedding anniversaries, etc., etc. I internalized that I was a Bad Catholic because they wouldn't approve of me for a variety of reasons, some substantive, some not. I think if I met these women in person we could at least be friendly, if not friends. But the need for hot takes and perfect photos has given the Devil an opportunity to tell me otherwise, and shame on me for listening to him.
Finally, I want to be very clear that I am not shaming these women (or anyone) for making a living this way. Like you said Claire, this may be their ministry, and deciding that is between them and Jesus! But this culture and this method of evangelization has, on balance, done much more harm than good to me in the past 10 years, so it's got to go. It's hard to opt out of the digital spaces where lives are lived now, but it is unquestionably the right choice for me.
Thanks for this essay. I'm not inclined to Jesus Jobs personally (unless you count music ministry lol) but I do feel the pull to PAY for things instead of just sit down with what I have and what I know and PRAY DAILY, READ SACRED STUFF, etc. The basics :) On the consumer side, it is so easy to scroll Catholic insta, read Catholic articles, watch Catholic Youtube (my boyfriend and I are hard core Pints W Aquinas viewers), or shop Catholic products instead of actually spending time with the Lord!!! Oof. I just wanted to validate your argument on another side: we can't just be Jesus Consumers.
I did have a clarification I wanted to ask, I think you probably meant what I think you mean, but I wanted to clarify.
At one point you wrote that if you "think it's your job to help someone get to Heaven", that you shouldn't be in your Jesus job. But then you talk a ton about evangelizing which IS helping someone get to Heaven (though of course, not doing all the work because Jesus). When you said "Helping them get to heaven" did you mean it in a cliche tella-evangelist kind of way?
Thanks for acknowledging how hard it is to evangelize and live as a Catholic in the secular day to day. I have my church circle of friends that I have a common language with, but can't say the same things to my sisters and mother, I try but...it's a challenge for sure. There are days that I dream of doing work for the church, but than I look at myself and know the hard truth that that isn't my calling, I am needed as a witness in my everyday IT job and calling others to Jesus just in the normal everyday way that I live.
Because I am OCD about spelling, spell check and homonym substitutions, I am compelled to point out that the phrase is "tenets of the faith" not tenants. I am so sorry to be that reader. (Paragraph 5)
I am beyond grateful I discovered your blog today! I was led here by Emily Stimpson Chapman! This is a topic I am very passionate about as well even though I now have a “Jesus job”again - I routinely warn anyone who will listen about the pitfalls of careers in “Catholic work” especially those at my alma mater Franciscan. I’m someone who returned to this world out of obedience to the Holy Spirit and certainly not because there was any inherent draw for me.
Thank you for sharing these well-written thoughts! Happy to be paying your monthly fee!
I’m not in the business but I can tell you that right before Lent I get 10+ emails from Catholic News podcasts, websites online retreats etc. It’s opportunistic and overwhelming. This is the only time of year Catholicism matters?
My parish just started a podcast - we have a new pastor and the new youth minister is savvy with social media ( thank goodness) The goal is about reaching out to a parish that has gone into a funk over the past three years. The funk has been COVID, lack of open communication, aging parish, few young families. The bulletin has thankfully been overhauled and Flock note announcements are improving by offering reflections from the deacons and priest.
I subscribe to podcasts, emails-mostly scripture based- that help me pray, reflect, contemplate the Lord in my daily life. I need it to get through the day with my job and home life.
I hope my parish succeeds in their small goal in the Jesus biz.
Loved this Newsletter. So, so good and thought-provoking and needed. In the time and space where it seems like everyone is telling you to "Get online and share" you ask "But is God asking you to?" And reminding us of the importance of listening to the Holy Spirit
Reflection Questions
Am I consuming more than I'm praying?
Is God asking me to post/share that?
Only thing I'll add is Catholic coaching via Metanoia Catholic has been amazing. Matt and Erin Ingold are authentically Catholic. The real difference I've noticed is Life Coaching (ie; Brooke Castillo) the question ends with What do I want?
Catholic Coaching, how I align my desires with the goal of growing in holiness and virtue?
In all we do, purchase, consume.. may it be lead by the Spirit.
If only you knew how much the DigiEvangelization has helped me. Jesus uses everything and everyone. The "bland" quote you say, is not quite bland to me. You know not the hearts of men. So humble yourself and let digievangelizers be!
I was struggling with my Jesus Job (loved that phrase, Claire) and discussing the situation with one of my professors when she said, "Who does your ministry primarily support? Because many ministries primarily function to support and please the minister." And since then I've seen it everywhere - ministries designed primarily to function for the ego of the minister who designed them (including myself, which was part of the reason I left my Jesus Job).
The other catch-22 with what you've pointed out is that, on the one hand, the people who get published in the Catholic/Christian space, who get book deals and speaking engagements, are people with large social media followings. And that means that they're spending a significant amount of time creating those platforms...time that's not spend in the real world living a life gaining wisdom worth sharing. While, on the other hand, some of the most interesting, thought-provoking Christians I've met would struggle greatly to get a book deal because they don't have a social media following. To some extent we're auctioning off our collective thought to the people most committed to branding Christianity rather than living for Jesus. I'm overstating this somewhat. I don't think everyone on social media isn't living a real life. And I don't think the people are just to blame - the risk-adverse "industry" of Christianity, where the people who get contracts and speaking gigs are the people who meet a certain social media threshold, is also at issue here for me. But all of it feels like we're living for the machine rather than dismantling it.
I'm 100% right there with you, Claire. Another thing I've learned, after being in this online "business" 12+ years — the creators I most resonate with are ones that do something else besides their creating. They're not *only* podcasters, YouTubers, bloggers, Instagrammers, etc. They also teach, or farm, or practice law, or bake really good bread at home, or lead their neighborhood book club. It's because whatever they then share online comes from an overflow of their life, not the culmination of it. I've learned this the hard way but it makes me a much, much better writer when I do other things like garden, teach high school, and lead pilgrimages.
OK, from easy to hard - first and foremost, still waiting to hear your thoughts on The Seven Storey Mountain. Did you finish it already?
I also read a book by Jessi Klein recently, but I read You'll Grow Out of It and found it rather bleak. Parts of it were smart and funny but overall I didn't like it. I am always interested in funny books about motherhood, so I'll add I'll See Myself Out to the list and see if I like it better. I like what I've heard of her comedy so I found it pretty surprising that I didn't like her book.
The short version of my main response to your essay is - I have left behind a lot of social media and Catholics I used to follow because, to a person, they were all trying to sell me something. Books, Beauty Counter, liturgical living, homeschool curricula, didn't matter what it was, I realized that 1) they didn't know me (this seems fairly obvious in retrospect! But I'm slow sometimes :-) and 2) social media had trained me to think that I "knew" them and conditioned me to buy their stuff. Furthermore, I had no real friends in real life so all my advice was coming through screens. Now, some of this was good advice! I am a better mother because I have been reading these people's blogs for over a decade, well before I had children of my own, and their words have given me tips, perspective, wisdom, you name it. But it came at the expense of building a real community, and I realized far too late that I was paying a very steep price. I lost those years to the internet (and COVID, let's be real) and they're not coming back. My loss.
The other thing influencer Catholics and social media have done to me is to fool me into thinking that These Women Wouldn't Like Me, which is a hard pill to swallow when I feel like I know and like them! Because of social media I know their children's names, I know their wedding anniversaries, etc., etc. I internalized that I was a Bad Catholic because they wouldn't approve of me for a variety of reasons, some substantive, some not. I think if I met these women in person we could at least be friendly, if not friends. But the need for hot takes and perfect photos has given the Devil an opportunity to tell me otherwise, and shame on me for listening to him.
Finally, I want to be very clear that I am not shaming these women (or anyone) for making a living this way. Like you said Claire, this may be their ministry, and deciding that is between them and Jesus! But this culture and this method of evangelization has, on balance, done much more harm than good to me in the past 10 years, so it's got to go. It's hard to opt out of the digital spaces where lives are lived now, but it is unquestionably the right choice for me.
Thanks for this essay. I'm not inclined to Jesus Jobs personally (unless you count music ministry lol) but I do feel the pull to PAY for things instead of just sit down with what I have and what I know and PRAY DAILY, READ SACRED STUFF, etc. The basics :) On the consumer side, it is so easy to scroll Catholic insta, read Catholic articles, watch Catholic Youtube (my boyfriend and I are hard core Pints W Aquinas viewers), or shop Catholic products instead of actually spending time with the Lord!!! Oof. I just wanted to validate your argument on another side: we can't just be Jesus Consumers.
I did have a clarification I wanted to ask, I think you probably meant what I think you mean, but I wanted to clarify.
At one point you wrote that if you "think it's your job to help someone get to Heaven", that you shouldn't be in your Jesus job. But then you talk a ton about evangelizing which IS helping someone get to Heaven (though of course, not doing all the work because Jesus). When you said "Helping them get to heaven" did you mean it in a cliche tella-evangelist kind of way?
Thanks for acknowledging how hard it is to evangelize and live as a Catholic in the secular day to day. I have my church circle of friends that I have a common language with, but can't say the same things to my sisters and mother, I try but...it's a challenge for sure. There are days that I dream of doing work for the church, but than I look at myself and know the hard truth that that isn't my calling, I am needed as a witness in my everyday IT job and calling others to Jesus just in the normal everyday way that I live.
Because I am OCD about spelling, spell check and homonym substitutions, I am compelled to point out that the phrase is "tenets of the faith" not tenants. I am so sorry to be that reader. (Paragraph 5)
I am beyond grateful I discovered your blog today! I was led here by Emily Stimpson Chapman! This is a topic I am very passionate about as well even though I now have a “Jesus job”again - I routinely warn anyone who will listen about the pitfalls of careers in “Catholic work” especially those at my alma mater Franciscan. I’m someone who returned to this world out of obedience to the Holy Spirit and certainly not because there was any inherent draw for me.
Thank you for sharing these well-written thoughts! Happy to be paying your monthly fee!
I’m not in the business but I can tell you that right before Lent I get 10+ emails from Catholic News podcasts, websites online retreats etc. It’s opportunistic and overwhelming. This is the only time of year Catholicism matters?
My parish just started a podcast - we have a new pastor and the new youth minister is savvy with social media ( thank goodness) The goal is about reaching out to a parish that has gone into a funk over the past three years. The funk has been COVID, lack of open communication, aging parish, few young families. The bulletin has thankfully been overhauled and Flock note announcements are improving by offering reflections from the deacons and priest.
I subscribe to podcasts, emails-mostly scripture based- that help me pray, reflect, contemplate the Lord in my daily life. I need it to get through the day with my job and home life.
I hope my parish succeeds in their small goal in the Jesus biz.
Loved this Newsletter. So, so good and thought-provoking and needed. In the time and space where it seems like everyone is telling you to "Get online and share" you ask "But is God asking you to?" And reminding us of the importance of listening to the Holy Spirit
Reflection Questions
Am I consuming more than I'm praying?
Is God asking me to post/share that?
Only thing I'll add is Catholic coaching via Metanoia Catholic has been amazing. Matt and Erin Ingold are authentically Catholic. The real difference I've noticed is Life Coaching (ie; Brooke Castillo) the question ends with What do I want?
Catholic Coaching, how I align my desires with the goal of growing in holiness and virtue?
In all we do, purchase, consume.. may it be lead by the Spirit.
Have a great week everyone
Xo
If only you knew how much the DigiEvangelization has helped me. Jesus uses everything and everyone. The "bland" quote you say, is not quite bland to me. You know not the hearts of men. So humble yourself and let digievangelizers be!
Í absolutely loved every bit of this.
"Dumbledore once said..." I guffawed
Thank you Claire!