Are headlines discipling us faster than Scripture?
This year’s NFL Super Bowl halftime show was one of the most watched in history, reaching well over 130 million viewers worldwide.
Moments like that are not just entertainment. They are formation environments.
Before we go any further, let me be clear: this is not an endorsement of any artist’s broader catalog or worldview. It is an examination of our response to a cultural moment—and what that response reveals about how we are being formed and how we are leading.
I am an avid reader of headlines. Daily. Intentionally. Five to seven primary news sources across the spectrum. I do this on purpose, so I’m not insulated from what’s happening in the world and I understand the differing perspectives.
I watched the halftime show. Later that evening, I read the headlines. The reactions could not have been more different. Depending on the outlet, the same event was framed as artistic celebration, cultural pride, moral collapse, political messaging, or national embarrassment.
And that’s when I realized the questions many were asking weren’t the ones I was wrestling with. I saw legitimate questions and challenges, including:
Did I agree with every element of the performance?
Do I agree with every lyric, social stance, or cultural signal the artist represents?
Should Christians consume everything culture produces?
But they are not the question I’m raising here.
The deeper question I want to confront is this: Who is discipling our reaction?
In moments like this, it’s tempting to let our labels—political, cultural, even religious—shape our responses before we have examined our own formation. The question isn’t whether culture needs discernment—it does. The question is whether we are allowing the Holy Spirit or the loudest headlines to shape our posture.
As marketplace leaders, this matters more than we realize.
When I moved to El Paso and stepped into executive oversight of engineering, construction, pressure control, corrosion, and other highly technical operations, I did not have a root-level understanding of every discipline under my authority. Yet I was signing multi-million-dollar contracts, approving work, negotiating rate cases, and leading over 400 employees.
It was not possible to know everything. It was not possible to be everywhere. It was not possible to master every technical detail.
What I needed was discernment. Wisdom. Trusted counsel. Sound information. The humility to ask better questions before making consequential decisions.
Cultural moments are no different.
We cannot audit every lyric. We cannot fact-check every headline in real time. We cannot personally investigate every narrative that floods our feeds.
But we are still responsible for how we respond.
Scripture tells us to guard our hearts, for they are the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23). Paul reminds us not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). Jesus Himself prayed that we would be in the world—but not of it (John 17:14–16).
Notice what Scripture does not say.
It does not say withdraw from culture.
It does not say react reflexively.
It does not say assume the worst and amplify it.
It calls us to formation.
The gift believers have that the world does not is the Holy Spirit—the Helper, the Counselor, the One who guides us into truth. We are not left to instinct. We are not left to algorithms. We are not left to partisan framing.
We are called to discern.
The question is not whether culture is messy. It is.
The question is not whether artists are imperfect. They are.
The question is not whether media ecosystems frame narratives. They do.
The question is whether our posture is shaped by reflex or by renewal.
As leaders—especially Christian business leaders—we do not have the luxury of being discipled by outrage. Our employees, our clients, our communities, and our cities are watching how we think, how we process, and how we respond.
This is bigger than a halftime show.
It’s about whether we allow headlines to disciple us faster than Scripture.
It’s about whether something other than the Word of God and the Holy Spirit is tilling the soil of our hearts.
And it’s about whether we have the courage to pause long enough to examine what is shaping us before we speak.
Leadership requires conviction.
And it requires discernment.
Guard your heart.
Renew your mind.
And in every cultural moment—large or small—ask yourself:
Who is discipling me right now?
