Social Media and Podcast Changes
Hello Friends,
As we approach the end of 2024 and get ready for all that will come with 2025, I wanted to let you in on some intentional changes I’ll be making to my social media use AND the What If Project podcast.
No, I’m not ditching social media. And NO, the podcast isn’t going anywhere.
BUT.
I am changing the way I use my personal / podcast platforms - mainly, Facebook and Instagram as I’ve deleted X, TikTok, and all others over the last year - and the frequency of the podcast (which I’ll get to in a minute).
Why changes to social media use? A few reasons.
ONE: this past year I read a few books that made a big impact on my thinking regarding the role that screens play in our lives …
The Anxious Generation by Jontahan Haidt
Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab
The Power of Intention by Wayne Dyer
Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty
Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
How To Do The Work by Dr. Nicole LePera
All of these books are different, but when taken together they really shine a light on how much social media can drain us of our time, our energy, our compassion, our hope, etc. And since I not only manage social media for my own podcast, but also for Bart Ehrman, Alexander John Shaia, and the podcast of one of my friends.
Well.
I’ve got a lot of social media on my phone, all the time … and it can be a time sucker because after seeing Bart’s notifications and checking in on the comments and then looking at Alexander’s and doing the same and my friend’s podcast and my podcast and my personal stuff … it’s easy to just get mindlessly lost in all the feeds before returning to consciousness and realizing an hour is gone.
TWO: as I continue to “deconstruct” and rethink my faith, my life, my understanding of God, etc. I’ve had some interactions over the past year with both Conservative and Progressive-minded Christians alike that have left a less than desirable taste in my mouth, which has reminded me of the need for boundaries in all areas of life, including the digital world.
Because, yes - I am continuing to deconstruct. I mentioned this in a previous post, but my first “level” of deconstruction was leaving the world of Conservative Evangelicalism and moving to a more Progressive Christian world. But, now I’m noticing that the same energy that I moved away from when I left in the Conservative world is very much alive in the Progressive world.
“You need to think like this.”
“We are right, you are wrong.”
“If you don’t vote this way, you’re not a real Christian.”
“We will fight until the end!”
“THEY are evil!”
“THEY are wrong!”
“WE are right!”
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.
I’m in search of a new way, a way that seeks to bridge gaps as opposed to further them, unite instead of divide, promote love from a posture of curiosity rather than a hate from a posture of judgement.
In short, I don’t want to once again BECOME the same sort of energy that I left behind.
And what’s that look like? I don’t know. And “I don’t know” is familiar territory for me because when I left Evangelicalism I didn’t know where I was going either - I just knew it was away from there, onto something different.
Not everyone likes that, I’m finding. Ive been called a “Butthurt Snowflake” by Conservatives for my thoughts on racism, LGTBQ inclusion, etc and (most recently) I’ve been called “A Special Kind of Vile” by Progressives for my focus on love and unity and compassion in times when we’re expected to judge and fight and (really) hate.
Sigh.
No one is happy with everything you do and social media makes it hard not to care, honestly. We are never going to make everyone happy, not everyone is going to like us. And sometimes social media makes it tempting to create content that makes everyone happy (or most people happy) so that they stick around, they throw a like behind the post, they subscribe, they sign up, they follow, etc.
I don’t like the way that makes me feel, and I want to stick to the intuitive voice inside that is leading me in the direction of love and unity because I honestly believe that the best act of resistance in times of animosity and hate and judgement is not division and cancelling and more judgement, but … love.
“Love your enemies”, Jesus said … and that’s not a command I’m willing to gloss over or lable as a suggestion or try to explain away by saying things like, “well, Jesus flipped over tables too.”
Love is an act of resistance and I intend to dig deeper into all that means and entails in 2025 … regardless of how hard it may be, regardless of how ‘vile’ that might make me appear to some.
THREE: I’m tired of the social media game. I grew my TikTok account to 5,000 followers and deleted it. Twitter was up to almost 20,000 followers and I deleted it. Instagram is at 11,000 followers and … I don’t know … what’s the point? Who really cares. I’m tired of trying to “create content” that will catch people’s attention, add to my follower count, etc. I’m tired of checking to see how many likes a post got, how many shares, how many comments; and I’m tired of Facebook and Instagram telling me that “this week you reached X,XXX less people than last week. Try making a catchy reel!”
It’s exhausting.
And.
I really don’t care anymore.
I’d much rather spend my time doing things I enjoy and not having to figure out how to “curate it” for the various algorithms and various audiences across all the different platforms because, really, what works on Instagram doesn’t always work on Facebook, both of which rarely work on TikTok. Lots of people enjoy the thrill of trying to make stuff that hits all the audiences on all the platforms, but I don’t.
FOUR: Organization. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of what gets posted where, to be honest.
“Did I say that thing about God in a comment? Or was it a blog post? Substack? And if a comment on social media, what platform was it on? Instagram? Facebook? And if on Facebook, was it in a group? On a page? On my page? AND did I say it on Bart’s page, Alexander’s page, or my page?”
Maybe it’s that I’m 42 and getting old, HA!, but it’s hard to remember what content is where sometimes. Streamlining things will help me keep my own thoughts straight.
—
All that to say, what will be changing?
Well, three things - 2 regarding social media, 1 regarding the podcast.
ONE: I’m shifting ALL of my thoughts about God and faith and spirituality to Substack and Patreon (the same content will be shared on BOTH so no need to subscribe in both places unless you want to); and before you ask or wonder - NO, there are no paywalls. People CAN sign up to be a paid or non-paid subscriber on both, BUT (from this point forward) paid and non-paid subscribers get the same content.
Again: there is NO SPECIAL CONTENT for paid subscribers. And so if you go to read something and there’s a paywall, it’s most likely an accident so just let me know.
And I realize that no, that’s not the best way to “make money”; but I’m not out to make money. I’m out to share ideas and art and thoughts that bring joy and challenge the norms of our world. I don’t want “money” to block someone from getting that and being part of a small community if they choose.
BUT.
If you can be a paid supporter? And you have the means to subscribe for $7/month, $20/month, etc … my family and I are so grateful - all the money we bring in from Patreon and Substack helps pay for groceries.
Sometimes I will write weekly.
Sometimes daily.
Sometimes 2 or 3 times a day.
Some posts will be long.
Some will be short.
BUT, that’s where all of my thoughts on God and faith will be found AND it’s where I will interact with people too.
Yes.
As part of this experiment in 2025, I will no longer interact with people regarding God, faith, politics, etc. on social media platforms. It’s draining, it rarely leads anywhere good … and (this has been my observation so far) people on Substack and Patreon typically want to engage in a supportive way and can disagree without calling names and becoming verbally violent.
TWO: Facebook and Instagram? I will use those to share …
Links for new podcasts.
Books I’m reading.
New Art in the Art Studio (lots of that coming in 2025!).
Reminders that people can head to Substack and Patreon if they want to interact around my thoughts about God, faith, etc. AND share their thoughts with me and others.
Family updates and personal updates with people on my friends list - updates of Jordan and her amazing milestones, any job updates, podcast milestones, etc, etc, etc.
And, lastly.
I’ll follow along on the journey’s of my friends too and cheer you all on in your personal journeys.
Will it be like this forever? Probably not. I’m sure I’ll eventually head back to the socials to share some thoughts about God and faith and whatnot, but for now - I need some sort of degree of separation for reasons mentioned above.
THREE: starting in JANUARY the What If Project podcast will move to a BI-WEEKLY format where episodes will be released EVERY OTHER Monday instead of every Monday - this will (likely) continue until at least next Fall.
Why?
Two reasons:
First, because I want to give myself more space to pour into the other pieces of the project that have evolved over the years - mainly, the blog and my art.
Interviewing 1 person every week, preparing for the interview, editing an episode every week (audio and video), creating the promo materials every week … it’s a lot, on top of the work I do for Bart and Alexander. And although I love it and enjoy it, I am only one person and am finding I’m not able to pour into the other areas of the What If Project as much as I’d like.
The reality is that what started out as just a podcast has evolved into lots of other things that I want to create space for.
Second (and this is the biggest reason), as I said above I’m evolving into a new phase of my own spirituality - and the podcast has always been a reflection of my own journey as I explore topics that my intuition is leading me towards and invite others along for the ride.
I’m in a new layer of deconstruction and that requires me to do some more digging - to widen my reading, to research new material … and that takes time. I can skim a book on “deconstructing from Evangelicalism” or “hell” in an hour or so and feel comfortable enough to do an interview. I lived that world, I left that world … I get it.
BUT.
This new place of love and compassion and unity and oneness and being a bridge-builder?
Phew.
It’s a lot of new material with a whole new world of unfamiliar resources and voices and so I want to be thorough and I want to line up the best of the best to tackle these topics with me. Emails are already out to some new people and I’m really excited about the possible conversations on deck for 2025.
YES, we will still talk about deconstruction and the many topics that stem from it, but we’ll also be honing in on this new path of oneness that many hearts are hungry for post/mid-deconstruction.
So many are tired of tearing down.
So many are exhausted from the “us” vs. “them” discussions.
So many are tired of “choosing sides” and yelling at the other side.
AND.
Are ready for … something new - and we’ll explore that together.
Of course, however - there may be times when we do back to back episodes (to accomodate someone’s book release or because I have a backlog and don’t want to sit on epsidoes for too long), but for the most part - I am planning on them being bi-weekly.
—
And so there we have it - some changes being made and why those changes are happening. Nothing crazy, the biggest being that my thoughts about God and faith will be HERE on Substack and over on PATREON, and the podcast will move to bi-weekly after the New Year.
Oh.
Also - if you subscribe on Substack and Patreon (free OR paid), I want to be more interactive in the “chat spaces”. If you subsribe and turn on notifications you should get notified if I start a new chat - sometimes it’s just a general “hello” and checking in, other times it might be something about God or life or whatever. Feel free to jump in so I’m not alone - HA!
Anyways, thanks for reading and thanks for being on the journey with me.
Much love,
Glenn || PATREON / ART STUDIO