Am I Thinking for Myself—Or Just Following the Crowd?

Am I thinking for myself—or just following the crowd? Have you ever asked yourself that? And

more importantly, how do you tell the difference?

Romans 12:2 tells us: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind….” 

I absolutely love this verse. When I think about it “Do not conform” means that you don’t just mindlessly go along with the culture around you—maybe even the church culture as well. It means don’t copy the behaviors and beliefs of those around you, in the church or out of it, just to fit in. Instead, we are to let God transform us from the inside out by renewing our mind, by changing the way we think, through His Word and Spirit.

That’s easier said than done, especially when you look at others instead of yourself!

It was just last Wednesday I had the privilege of driving my grandkids to and from school.  Whenever I drive we have this little routine of singing as loud as we possibly can: on the way there, we sang “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” at the top of our lungs (yes, even Grandpa gets in on E-I-E-I-O). We, myself included, giggled as we mooed and oinked, and I thought to myself how lucky I am to be a part of these kids' lives. But the real surprise came in the afternoon when I had to pick them up. As soon as they clambered into the backseat for the ride home, my sweet grandkids started yelling one thing, over and over: “67!… 67!… 67!”

At first, I wondered if I’d missed something—67? Was it a page number from math class? A secret code? “What does 67 mean?” I asked, truly confused. They just laughed like I’d told the funniest joke. “It doesn’t mean anything, Grandpa!” my oldest finally managed between giggles. They then explained (with a mischievous grin) that “67” is just a silly phrase all the kids were shouting that day. No reason. No context. Just because. It’s the latest viral inside joke among their friends, picked up from the internet and the schoolyard.

I thought, funny, not funny. In the span of a single school day, my grandkids, ages 4, 6 and 10, had gone from singing a classic nursery rhyme to spouting a random phrase that means absolutely nothing. It was cute and harmless on the surface—just kids being kids. Yet, as I navigated the evening traffic, I couldn’t shake a question: What made “67” catch on like wildfire? 

In fact, the more I researched the more I found out that kids worldwide were suddenly yelling this meaningless number in unison? And what does that say about how easily and quickly groupthink can shape our children?

Before I could wonder why can’t kids be like we were, I took a humbling look in the mirror. It dawned on me, it’s not just kids, adults catch the groupthink as well.

I remembered back when I was a brand new Christ Follower all my new Christian guy friends were trying to sell me generators because of the great Y2K threat which was looming. I had never heard of it from my secular friends, but apparently lots of people were preparing for the worst.

And who can forget the great toilet paper panic of 2020? Seeing others hoard in our news feeds created a sense of urgency to do the same; this kind of chain reaction is groupthink at its finest.

The truth is, grown-ups fall prey to groupthink all the time. It just looks a little different for us. Instead of TikTok memes, we have social media feeds, search engines, news cycles, and influencer-driven trends with AI nudging our every thought and action. The mechanisms have gotten more high-tech, but the human vulnerability is ageless.

Think about how we consume news and information. Ever forwarded an article because it had thousands of shares, assuming it must be credible if so many others are sharing it? I have – only to later double-check and find out it was misleading. In fact, studies show that on X (formerly Twitter), false news spreads significantly faster and wider than true news, precisely because it often appeals to emotions and people retweet it impulsively. We see a bunch of folks sharing a shocking story, and we join the chorus without pausing to verify. The crowd’s behavior sweeps us along.

Think about conversations in our social circles or church communities. If I am not careful I find myself nodding in agreement with a viewpoint, not because I truly examined it, but because it was the popular opinion in the room? Psychologists actually have a term for this phenomenon: the “illusory truth effect.” Studies show that if we hear an idea repeated often enough, we tend to believe it’s true – whether or not it is. 

In our media-saturated world, an opinion (or even a false statement) can start to feel like “common sense” simply because it’s echoed by so many voices. We’re bombarded with certain talking points on our favorite news channel, or we see the same memes and slogans shared on social media, and gradually those ideas solidify in our minds. Repetition creates familiarity, and familiarity can masquerade as truth.

What is so sad is that groupthink has permeated almost every aspect of our Christian life today as well.  Some of it is most certainly good, that is for sure, but some of it is very hurtful to the cause of Christ.

Stay tuned, because next week we will explore how to tell the difference between being transformed by God’s Word, or conformed to society’s groupthink.

And to finish this week with great news–Nigel has reached out to us. He said: "Based on the commitment of support from Back to the Bible USA, we have gone ahead and ordered the StarLink system for Back to the Bible Jamaica which we expect to be delivered next week. It will certainly help in our own continuous connectivity. Being a portal system, we look forward to helping those we can, to be in touch with loved ones. We really appreciate your support."

In His service and yours,

P.S. If you have a comment or prayer request, contact me here: or call me and leave a message at 1-800-811-2387. And be sure to join me tomorrow through Friday on our new podcast Spiritually Fit Today.