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Presence Weekly: The Clout of the Followed

An Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

[First Things]

General Update: Our newsletter resumes after an extended hiatus as we prepare to launch a new website, finalize a rebranding initiative, welcome two new staff members, move toward the publication of our first whole-life discipleship catechesis: 1 Peter: A Whole-Life Discipleship Journey, and prepare to introduce our first Senior Fellows.

Calendar Update: If you are in Washington, please let us know if you are interested in joining a 14-week discipleship cohort (meets 8 times) using our new curriculum, 1 Peter: A Whole-Life Discipleship Journey.

[The Devo] The Clout of the Followed

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

In 2008, Joe Fernandez had his mouth wired shut for three months following jaw surgery. Fortunately, for Joe, new and emerging technology allowed him to still communicate with friends, and even a larger group of people he had never met.

The Modern Gathering of Followers

That technology was social media.

Mark Zuckerberg had launched TheFacebook in 2004, as a platform for college students to share their “current status,” before retooling and relaunching as Facebook in 2005. In 2006, Jack Dorsey and others launched a “micro-blogging” company that they hoped would appeal to more people than Blogger - a platform launched in 1999 that attracted people who had long-form thoughts they believed others wanted, and even needed, to hear. Their new platform, Twitter, would limit verbal expression to only 160 characters and, hopefully, draw an entirely different user base. Both platforms grew quickly and exponentially.

Which brings us back to Joe Fernandez.

Realizing that he could use social media to communicate to a wider audience and that people were engaging with his posts sparked an idea: what if we could quantify a person’s clout by analyzing their social media footprint through an algorithm that looked at followers and engagement actions like reposts, retweets, likes, and comments. In 2008, Klout was born to assign a score of 0-100 to everyone on social media. Effectively answering the question, How important are you and your thoughts?

As is now widely understood, gaining followers is key to gaining social media clout. This requires posting something people “Like” and want to engage with. The already famous use social media to keep themselves in front of their fans, now followers. The want-to-be-famous post hopes to connect with friends and others on emotional, relational, vocational, ideological, or cultural topics that resonate in such a way that the post becomes viral, expanding their reach for their next post. In other words, gaining followers is all about saying the “right” thing, in the “right” way, at the “right” time. Saying the “wrong thing”, the “wrong way”, at the “wrong time could result in something seen as terrible since 2005 - losing followers and clout. Unfortunately, “right” is measured by increasing clout, not by actually saying the right words, in the right way, at the right time.

Which brings us to Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount.

The Original Gathering of Followers

Matthew, a Jew and reformed tax collector, wrote his gospel from a Jewish perspective aimed primarily at a Jewish audience. In the first 4 chapters, Matthew recounts the lineage of Jesus, his birth, the visit of foreign dignitaries, his flight to Egypt to avoid an infanticide intended to kill him, his return to Israel, baptism by John, and temptation in the wilderness. Throughout these first chapters, Matthew uses the word fulfilled and the phrases “so it is [or was] written” or “so it was spoken” repeatedly to draw attention to the fact that Jesus was someone with clout, even though he was largely unknown.

However, the turn comes in Matthew 4:17 when it is announced that “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” We are not told what this meant quite yet, but we are told that Jesus quickly began gaining followers. The first followers followed because they were asked, told, actually, to follow.

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Demanding people follow you is one thing; having them flock to you in droves is quite another. Gaining followers in this method requires fame, and fame requires doing something to get famous. Without social media, that means your fame will have to spread by word of mouth, and for that to happen, you are going to have to do something really extraordinary. Of course, that is exactly what Jesus did.

23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

This is the second time in this passage that the phrase “the kingdom” has been used. Initially, we are told that “Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus was asking people to acknowledge their sin, which presumes they were sinners, and to walk in a new path because “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” right now. That is a hard message, not likely to gain followers despite its time-sensitive emphasis. But here we are given another perspective on the kingdom that has people rushing to follow Jesus. Apparently, there is some connection to the kingdom of heaven being at hand and the healing of the diseased and afflicted - the repairing of what was broken.

The Expectations of Followers

The people beginning to follow Jesus were the weak and wounded, the sick and sore. They were people on the weak side of a power differential. They were living in an occupied Israel, with a political world run by Rome and a religious world run by the Pharisees and Sadducees. Religion, at this time, in many ways had become more about performance than formation.

Matthew gives this connection a name: “the gospel.” In Greek, the word is εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion), meaning good news or good tidings. It is where we get the word evangelical, a word that has become so conflated with socio-demographics in the public square that, according to Barna, it has come to mean: anti-homosexual, judgmental, hypocritical, too-political, or irrelevant and extreme. Today, for most in the public square, the word evangelical is not synonymous with good news but quite the opposite.

What exactly is “the gospel of the kingdom?” This is not only an important question, but one that Jesus is eager to answer for his new followers.

“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.”

What Jesus says next we know as “The Sermon on the Mount.” It includes the famous Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer as well as some surprising intensifications of Old Testament Law, instructions for those interested in following Jesus, words about what to expect for doing so, and a picture of life in a kingdom led by Jesus. Jesus is about to say the “right” thing, the “right” way, at the “right” time, unhindered by the desire to gain a social media following, but motivated to gain true followers. In contrast to the algorithm-rewarded methodology of social media, Jesus was interested in gaining followers not through performance, but formation.

Musicians, actors, industry leaders, politicians, and public figures all use social media to keep their name and message in front of their followers. Social media platforms have even differentiated their purpose and demographics: X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Truth Social, and BlueSky. Today, followers on virtually all these social media platforms can be monetized, and those with large followings can become full-time influencers based on their c/Klout alone. (Having 1,980 followers on LinkedIn is a far, far way from influencing or monetizing anything!)

Joe Fernandez sold Klout in 2014 for 200 million dollars. Just four years later, in 2018, Klout was shut down on the same day the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation Act took effect, limiting how social media companies could use people’s information.

The clout of Klout lasted only ten years; the clout of Jesus has lasted over 2000 years.

Over the next forty-two weeks, we will listen to and consider the words of Jesus to those interested in following him. We will look to the Holy Spirit to illuminate our hearts and minds to the purpose of these words and how they call us to live in a posture of faithful presence in and for the public square and to participate in Christ’s mission of making all things new.

Application Questions

If you use social media, which platforms do you use and why? What determines your decision to “Follow” someone? What might lead you to “UnFollow” them?

What effort do you put forward in gaining followers for your social media platforms?

What expectations do you have of those whom you are following and why? What expectations do they have of you? What expectations do you have of those following you, and why?

[Faithful Prayer] 

  • Weekly delegation: The servants and leaders with the delegation of the state of Minnesota, as the state grapples with concurrent pressures of violent unrest and federal intervention.

  • News events: A pipe collapse caused over two hundred million gallons of sewage to leak into the Potomac River last week, marking a significant challenge for Washington’s municipal government. This is a project that is not without Federal government interactions and implications. As reported by district authorities, drinking water remains uncontaminated.

  • Personal: Prayer for someone working on the release of the Epstein files in a manner consistent with the wishes of the survivors. Prayer for a couple navigating potential medical support in their hope of conceiving their first child. Prayer for a senior Congressional staff member who continues to work on an important piece of economic legislation as they navigate multiple, divergent interest groups and party platforms. Prayer for a couple learning the ropes as first-time parents. Prayer for several State Department staff involved in important negotiations. Prayer for someone considering a Senate campaign run.

  • For Faithful Presence, as we work on several internal projects that will greatly expand our ministry capacity!

[The Page, The Pod & The Stack]

  • LISTEN to this FIRST → The Kirby Laing Center published this sharp reflection on how global conversations like Davos overlook religion, and why greater religious literacy is essential for understanding today’s moral and geopolitical shifts.

  • READ this NEXT → The Gospel Coalition published this clear & thoughtful overview of what the Bible actually teaches about Satan. Author Gary Miller does an incredible job staying grounded in scripture, historical context, and careful interpretation.

  • STACK this FIRST → The Rabbit Room published this article by Andy Patton on creativity, and its relation with community and natural collaboration.

  • The Barna Group published this study detailing how, after decades of ministerial decline, the number of clergy members quitting their ministries, or considering doing so, is starting to noticeably decline.

  • Christian Scholar’s Review published this article about the importance of taking perspectives, even if said opinion doesn’t immediately change others’ minds.

[What’s Happening]

This Week 

Next Week

  • Tuesday, Feb. 17, 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm, the Center for Strategic & International Studies is hosting a webinar, What is Causing Electricity Prices to Rise? about rising electricity prices and the effect the explosive growth of AI data centers will have on this trend.

  • Tuesday, Feb. 17, 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm, the American Enterprise Institute is hosting an online conversation, Are Schools Caught in a Digital Delusion? about the digitalization of education and whether new technologies have helped or hurt American students.

  • Friday, Feb. 20, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm, the Urban Institute is hosting an in-person forum, Reducing Jail Use through Pretrial Detention and Release Approaches, about pre-trial detention & release programs, and how certain practices may lead to lower future convictions & incarcerations.

  • Friday, Feb. 20, 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm, the Trinity Forum is hosting guest speaker Russel Moore in a discussion, What Does Citizenship Require of Us? about the relationship between Christian believers and secular government.

[Last Things]

  • We are recording podcasts, but the postings are on hold during a website remodeling project.

  • Please let us know how we can serve you, and any prayer requests, which are always kept confidential

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