THE FAILURE OF CELEBRITY CHRISTIANITY
1 Timothy 3:6 (NIV 1984) [An Overseer] must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.
The days of celebrity Christianity are over; if not, they need to be soon. I am defining celebrity Christianity as one where spiritual influencers gain massive followings. Perhaps they took a stand on a faith issue that made them popular among Christian culture; perhaps they were well-known for something else, maybe a musician, athlete, or politician, and their vocal profession of faith bolstered them to religious stardom. Whatever the reason for their popularity, they can gain huge followings and become immediate authorities on culture and doctrine, especially among the younger Christian public; yet, their faith has not been tested, and their theological credentials are circumspect at best. Not that their faith is a sham; it may very well be authentic, at least at first, but the intoxication of influence and the ego-boosting effects of hundreds of thousands of fans can take its toll. A spiritual influencer lacking in Biblical understanding can quickly find themselves subject to the pressure of their fans’ admiration. As Christians, we need spiritual heroes, often looking for them among our peers or in our immediate cultural surroundings; this is not necessarily bad, for Hebrews 12 gives us a less-modern version of such. Biographies of the great saints who have lived the past two thousand years can greatly inspire, but those biographies are usually most impactful after the people have died. All those in the Hebrews 12 Hall of Faith were long dead when the author penned his challenging historical narrative. Our attempts at modern hero-making are overly influenced by YouTube, Instagram, podcasts, and Television (for those who still watch it). Depth and an enduring faith are not prerequisites. One great feat that goes viral, and congratulations! You're in the modern Hall of Faith. But it can happen to anyone, not simply those shallow in theology. Pastors, who know their Bibles and have faithfully followed them for years, are also vulnerable. The drug of being an influencer can disassemble the faith of the most ardent spiritual leader. I could name names, but that would miss the point and start an Internet search to see if I am right. The point is: biblically speaking, spiritual influencers are held to a much higher standard, as they should be (see Jms 3:1), for their spiritual failures can devastate many.
The Apostle Paul says an overseer (a pastor or influencer of faith, to be relevant to our topic) must not be a new convert lest he become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. That is harsh! It should cause all faith influencers, pastors included, to tremble. All Christians, influencers or not, have a journey of faith to make; some fare better than others, but that journey should be much more private than modern Christian “celebritydom” allows. The Christian hero who faithfully preaches virginity and models it all the way to marriage is honorable, very honorable, but when that same star goes soft on homosexual sin, that is not so honorable. Most certainly, they have the right to wrestle with the application of scripture to modern culture like the rest of us, but not at the expense of hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, of vulnerable young people who need clarity in seriously confusing times. The Apostle Paul had the authority to disallow the installation of pastors who were rookies in the faith; yet, if he were alive today, this apostolic authority would be usurped by an intangible, ecclesiastic hierarchy that picks influencers based on likes and retweets. There may not be a choice, except that the chosen influencer chooses to limit their influence, but who does that? After all, are not all open doors of influence from the Lord? Uh, no! Sometimes, open doors are not from God at all.
While we may not be able to control who the latest spiritual influencer is, we can be more responsible with whom we choose to endorse. Instead of joining the bandwagon of the latest heroic saint who admirably stands their moral ground in an increasingly hostile culture, maybe we can celebrate that stance without making the person an instant celebrity. Perhaps their pastor, if they have one, instead of affirming their new fame, should counsel them to ten years of deep study and discipleship before sending them with stardom status into a hostile world that preys on them, hoping to catch them in a catastrophic failure, or even worse, win them over to their side and parade them around as another convert to their cause. Whatever the path forward is, celebrity Christianity needs to take a back seat to an increasing manifestation of the Spirit of Christ, where His Word is preached, His power displayed, and His transformation of the human heart witnessed; and, wouldn't it be great that amid such displays no one can remember the names of the influencers involved? Now, that would most certainly be an oddity. I hope the days of celebrity Christianity are over and the days of Christ being manifested on the earth take their place.
