Ep 122: The Algorithm Is Not Your Shepherd (w/ Caleb Sampson)

What has the algorithm been preaching to you? Let’s talk about that in just a sec.

Welcome to the show. I’m Daniel Dalp, and this is For Your Sunday Morning Drive, the short podcast with the goal of providing some motivation, encouragement, and helping you to recenter your mind on those spiritual things on a Sunday morning just like this, or whenever you listen.

We are joined this morning by Caleb Sampson. Caleb currently serves as the Director of Media Marketing at Heritage Christian University, and he’s the minister at the Jacksonburg Church of Christ in Florence, AL. He’s on the board and serves as the director of the Ministry League network of podcasts, which we’re a part of.

Caleb is also behind thecfc.org. I’ll spell that out in the show notes today. It’s a growing hub for ministry opportunities, podcasts, and practical resources. He does all of this while being the father of five. He’s a busy dude.

And I’m encouraged that we have guys like Caleb in ministry doing some great things. I’ll have links in the show notes of this episode to all the cool things and projects that he’s got his hands on. So please check them out. It’ll be worth your time.

Caleb, thanks for joining us this morning. Let’s go ahead and get the show on the road. This is episode 122: “The Algorithm Is Not Your Shepherd.”

Let’s go to church. Are we there yet?

Good morning. By the time you hear this, you’re probably already on your way to worship. And if your house is anything like mine, your “on the way” was probably hard-won. I’ve got five kids, and I’m also a minister, which means we’re usually the family that needs to be there early. So the chaos just starts earlier too. Somebody can’t find a shoe. Somebody’s been asking, “Are we there yet?” since before we even left the driveway.

Some Sundays, just backing out of the garage feels like a small miracle.

Either way, before you pull into that parking lot, let me ask you something. Before you hear the sermon this morning, have you already heard another one?

Maybe it came through Facebook or Instagram, or that quick glance at your phone that was supposed to last 30 seconds and somehow turned into 15 minutes. The preacher hasn’t stepped in the pulpit yet, but something may have already been preaching to your heart, telling you what to fear, who to be angry with, and why everybody else looks happier and more blessed than you.

So here’s the question: What was it preaching?

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

That word “conformed” carries the idea of being pressed into a mold, shaped, formed, sometimes so gradually we don’t even notice that it’s happening. And that’s exactly how a screen works on us.

Nobody opens an app and says, “I think I’ll let this reshape my heart today.” It happens one post at a time. One video, one headline, one more scroll, and eventually whatever keeps getting our attention starts shaping our thoughts, our emotions, and even our faith.

Now, the algorithm behind your feed knows you pretty well. It knows what makes you pause, what makes you laugh, and what keeps you watching. But it never asks whether what it shows you will make you more like Jesus or guard your heart.

It asks one question: “Will you keep watching?”

The algorithm is not your shepherd, and it wasn’t built to protect your soul. It was built to hold your attention.

And let me be honest with you: I’m not preaching to you from the outside on this one. Part of my actual job is living on social media. I run the digital media for Heritage Christian University, which means I’m on these platforms every single day on purpose.

So when I talk about a feed shaping your heart before church, I’m not describing somebody else’s problem. I’m describing my own phone, my own thumb, my own heart.

And here’s what I’ve learned: The technology isn’t the enemy. It can do tremendous good—to spread the gospel, to teach Scripture, and to encourage somebody who’s hurting.

But there’s a difference between using your phone and letting your phone use you, between checking your feed and being spiritually fed.

So take an honest look inside this morning. What has your feed been producing in you? Has it made you more grateful, or maybe more jealous? More focused on Christ, or more consumed with everybody else?

Because something is shaping you, training you what to love and what to fear and what to think about when the room finally gets quiet.

And discipleship doesn’t only happen inside a church building. It happens through the voices we keep letting in, the screen we reach for in the morning, and the last thing we see at night.

So before you arrive, take a moment to reset. You can’t erase everything you’ve seen this week, but you can decide which voice gets the final word.

In a few minutes, you’ll pull in, turn off the engine, gather your Bible, check your hair in the mirror—or, like me, don’t have any hair—and tell the children to act like they have been raised by civilized human beings.

Before you walk through those doors, take a breath. Let the notifications wait. Release the comparison. Step away from the outrage. The world can keep on scrolling without you for a little while.

The algorithm wants your attention because your attention is valuable. Jesus wants your heart because your soul is priceless.

The world says, “Keep scrolling.” Jesus says, “Follow me.”

The world says, “Compare yourself.” Jesus says, “Abide in me.”

The world says, “Look at everybody else.” Jesus says, “Fix your eyes on me.”

So before the preacher begins this morning, ask yourself one more time: What has been preaching to me? And then make the decision.

Let the feed go quiet. Open your Bible, open your heart, and let the voice of God have the final word.

Let’s pray.

Father, thank you for this day and for the chance to worship you. Forgive us when we let lesser voices take the place that belongs to you. Quiet the noise inside us this morning—the anxiety, the anger, the comparison.

Prepare us to listen carefully, to worship sincerely, and to leave more like Jesus than when we arrived.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Caleb has shared some fantastic thoughts with us this morning. Now it’s time for us to talk about them.

Our discussion questions for this week are:

What has been preaching to you lately?

What emotions does social media most often produce in you?

What would change if you fixed your eyes on Jesus before your screen?

And I’ll turn it over to Evelyn for today’s kids’ question:

What do your parents do that shows you Jesus is important to them?

Hey, thank you for listening. Thank you for taking time out of your busy week to share some time with us on a Sunday morning.

If you like today’s episode, please share it with a friend and check out foryoursundaymorningdrive.com for ways you can support the show.

Big thanks to Caleb Sampson for helping us out today.

I hope you have a fantastic week. Focus on who’s important, and I’ll see you Sunday.