(Mini-Series) Episode 3: Celebrity Culture

Hey, welcome back to part three of our miniseries, the Kingdom Marketing Mindset for Authors. And my name is Shelly Hitz. So today's topic in this series is celebrity culture. This. This is a big one. And I know from talking with you, and we've been mentoring writers for over 12 years, and primarily Christian writers, doesn't mean you have to write Christian books, but that you are of faith yourself, that something that many of you struggle with, with marketing is feeling like other people are going to see what you're doing and think that you are being self promotional, greedy, prideful, all the things, right? And first of all, I want you to think about marketing a little differently. What if you think of marketing instead of being self promotion, being relationships, being evangelism, discipleship, a way for God to use you in this world and in this culture we live. However, it's very easy as any kind of public figure in 2022, which is where we're at right now, to be seen as some sort of celebrity. And you know, our pastor Daniel Grothri Grothe said, when people try to give you accolades, receive it, but don't fall in love with it. And I thought that was so good because I think sometimes as Christians, we can get into this place of receiving affirmation or, you know, whatever it might be, and yet in false humility, right? Oh, no, no, no. You have a gift of writing, you have a gift of teaching or whatever it is that God has given you. Receive that affirmation, those accolades, whatever it is, but don't fall in love with it. Keep the main thing. The main thing, right? Seek first the kingdom of God, and then all these things will be added unto you. And right now there's a lot of pressure to create a platform, right, to build this audience, and we talk a lot about that. And yet there's this fine balance. And so what I want to encourage you today is to keep your focus on Christ. And that's what we do here in this Kingdom Writers Conference in our membership, Christian Writers, Christian Book Academy. And also, if you didn't know, we have a podcast, Kingdom Writers. But that's what we try to help you do in this process and not get stuck being afraid that you're going to become, you know, part of the celebrity culture or go down the path of humanism or pride or greed and then just hiding your gift, right? We're wanting to help you to let your light shine. Matthew 5. But for the glory of God, Matthew says, let your light shine before men so that they may see, you know, your works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Right? Not so that they can glorify Shelly or they can glorify you, but so that they can glorify God. And to be honest, you know, C.J. and I never set out to be celebrities or to build this big platform or anything. I was a physical therapist for 12 years, and it was a very rewarding career. God totally switched things around for me. I call it the twists and turns of life and has led us down this path. And I've wanted to give up so many times. But when I look back and I see, like, you know, numbers are just numbers. We don't put our trust in numbers. But it, you know, sometimes people want to learn from someone who's actually done what they want to do. Right? And so we've not only published over 70 books, written and published, but we've actually sold books and over half a million. But we're not a household name. People don't know us. We don't have this huge platform. And, you know, God is able to use each one of you and do the things that he's called you to do without, without having to go down this path. Now, if God gives us that right, if he allows us to have this huge platform and position, then let's use it for his glory. Amen. Keep people around you that can, you know, like C.J. and I are mentors. Keep people like us or other writers that you meet in this group around you to help you walk through this. Because, to be honest, I've been in online business since 2004, and so I've been doing this a long time, been full time, completely. Quit my physical therapy job in 2011. So it's 11 years full time in this. And sometimes it feels like my heart is walking through a landmine trying to navigate all of this, all of this online marketing and social media and platform and all of this stuff. I won't say that I have perfected it or that I have it exactly right, but I will say that God is leading us. And when I start to stray off, he brings me back. The Holy Spirit will convict us. Right? We have the Holy Spirit. If you are a follower of Christ, then you have the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is able to lead, guide, comfort, correct. You know, all of those things convict. And so I wanted to leave social media completely. Years ago, I had a legitimate social media addiction, and it had become an idol in my life, and I was on it all the time. And. And my relationship with social media now is completely different. Those of you that know my story know that I also struggled with an addiction to pornography. So I know what addiction is. And I had a legit addiction to social media and email.

But God showed me at that time when I wanted to leave it all, he said, shelly, it is a battle, but it's a battle worth fighting. And I'm still trying to figure out what's gonna work best for me, our business. And I'm adapting things and changing. And you know what? You can, too. It doesn't mean that you have to be on social media to sell books. You can use Amazon ads, you can use collaborations. You know, there's SEO, there's so many ways to market books. But what is God calling you to be? What is God calling you to do? And allow yourself to follow him in that. So Andrew Murray says this in his book Humility. Here is the path to the higher life. Down, lower down. Just as water always seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds men abased and empty, his glory and power flow in to exalt and bless. And so many times we think if we empty ourselves, if we die to ourselves, if we get to the place where we are humble and serving and all of these things that we will be stepped on. We will. But no God. God says he will enter us. His glory and power will flow into us. And Andrew Murray's reminding us that then God will be the one to exalt and bless, Right? God will be the one. If you are faithful with a little, you will. He will make you ruler over much. God will be the one to give you that promotion. God will be the one to make things happen in whatever way he has set out for you. And, you know, it looks different for all of us. Not all of you will sell half a million books. That's okay. That's okay. It will look different for all of us. I look at certain authors like, you know, that John Eldridge, and, you know, other people that are like, oh, man, they are just crushing it, you know, using the world's terms. And sometimes the Lord just has to bring me back that, that, that comparison that, you know, no matter where you're at, no matter what level of success you've had, there's always going to be someone that's had more success, always going to be someone that's had less. So there's always that tendency to compare, contrast, compete, you know, all of those things, and to just allow God to be working in us for him to be our main focus. And so what I have found that has really helped me, and it was part one of this series is having business meetings with God. You know why this helps me when it comes to this whole topic of celebrity culture? Because it's keeping my eyes on God. I just had a Christian Book Academy member this week say that he's been getting some coaching and stuff, and he's just been feeling this pressure and to build this big platform to add coaching and, you know, this and that and speaking and da, da, da, da. You know, we've all been there. And what I found is I have to turn off the noise. And so find a mentor that you really resonate with. If it's me, great. If it's C.J. and I, great. If it's somebody else, great. But you know what? You're going to meet a lot of speakers in this conference, and if you just start, you know, getting on all of their email lists and all these things, you know what it's going to start creating to create noise and pressure of like, oh, maybe I need to go do this, and maybe I need to do this and this, this, this, this, this, this. Unsubscribe from all but a few and find just a few mentors, one or two maybe, that are speaking into you right now. And then most importantly, seek God. And so our Christian Book Academy member, I was talking to him, and he's just like, oh, I just. I love writing, but all this other stuff feels so much pressure. And I said, well, what has God been telling you in your business meetings with God? With him? He said, oh, wow, that's. That's such a great point. I haven't been having those. And so, you know, he's been listening to a person, a coach or a mentor, instead of listening to God first. And it can just become this pressure to do more, more, more, to grow bigger, bigger, bigger. And sometimes God doesn't have that for us. Sometimes he has a season of obscurity. I had that a few years ago where I felt like God told me, shelly, get off all stages, no podcast interviews, no public speaking. You know, I just had a couple keynote speeches, and it was like, say no to everything. Go into a season of obscurity. So that it's kind of like you remember the old school film where you take pictures, and then you'd put that film in a dark room or somebody would. They would develop it. He's like, I'm developing you in this season of obscurity. So if you're in a season of obscurity, embrace it. Allow God to develop you and know that it's different for all of us. But the thing that's really helped just keep me grounded are those business meetings with God, prayer, connecting God's word and not listening to every voice, turning off a lot of the voices, unsubscribing from a lot of emails, muting or unfollowing people on social media and really keeping my focus. And so I hope that this has encouraged you today to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33. I could talk for a lot longer on this because I think this is not only something that you struggle with at times, but that can keep you stuck from marketing because you're afraid that you're going to fall into the celebrity culture trap. But God is with you, friends. He is not going to let you fall. He is holding you with his righteous right hand. And so can you trust him today? And can you trust him to take these steps of faith into marketing your books so that people's lives can be changed? I get emails all the time about people who have been impacted by my books, and it is just one of the most rewarding things, people. No one else will probably ever know that I've received those emails or those lives have been touched. But God knows. God sees your faithfulness, friend. He sees your heart and he is cheering you on. He is your biggest fan and he is going to receive the glory when we put him first. Amen. All right, so let me pray for you, Lord. Thank you so much for every kingdom writer listening right now. I just pray that this encouraged them that they are not only just ready to die to themselves and strip away any of the things that the world says we need, but they're ready to be filled with your spirit, with your glory, so that we can. So we can give you the glory, Lord, for everything that you do. I pray that you would lead and guide each one of us into the steps of what you have for us as we market our books. One day at a time, one step at a time. You know, it's just we sometimes we want to do it all. We just want to get it all done and we want to see the results now. And it's this microwave society like, go, go, go. And yet sometimes, Lord, it's just the. The quiet, small, faithful steps day after day after day, the consistent small actions that we do day after day. And I just pray that if there's anyone listening that is not having business meetings with God, that they would stay, start doing it on a regular basis, meeting with you for their marketing, for their plans, for their writing. And I just thank you for all that you're going to be doing in and through this conference. We give you the praise, the honor, the glory in Jesus, powerful name. Amen. All right, friends, I hope this encouraged you, and I will see you in the next episode. Bye. Bye.