The Double-Edged Sword of Christian Celebrity-ism

By Elizabeth Prata

SYNOPSIS

Christian celebrity culture is complex, with historical examples like John the Baptist and Paul showing genuine fame while Simon Magus demonstrated misguided fame. While some ‘celebrity’ leaders genuinely point to Christ, others succumb to deceit and false teachings. Christians are urged to examine their leaders’ character, ensuring alignment with godly principles and repentance practices, and also to constantly examine one’s own self.

I wrote yesterday about the blessings and dangers of social media for the Christian. I wrote this too as part of that essay but it got long so I split them into two separate thoughts.

When itinerant expositor Steve Lawson was exposed as an adulterer and G3 President Josh Buice as an evil slanderer within the space of 6 months, it raised a hearty discussion on social media platforms as to the appropriateness of the speaker-conference circuit and to the perils of Christian celebrity culture.

These are good discussions to have. As each Christian generation comes forward then dies away, the world presents different pressures to each generation. We in good faith try to sort them out in our collective pursuit of holiness and attempts to keep as pure as possible. (Philippians 4:8).

As for Christian celebrity, that is a two edged sword. What IS a celebrity? Is it when a particular person in the faith becomes widely famous? Has a large following? Leads a megachurch? Has fans? Gives photo opps? Autographs? What are the criteria in which we deem someone a “Christian celebrity?” Is it even wise to call someone a celebrity? Or even have celebrities?

I think we could say John the Baptist was a celebrity in his day. So were Paul, Peter, Apollos. Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, John MacArthur, Billy Graham, Beth Moore. But all these are not the same. Let’s dig in.

Doing ‘Christian celebrity’ right and wrong

Paul said imitate me as I follow Christ. He wanted people to emulate his Godly example. And so we all should admire, rejoice in, and emulate any person who has shown consistent Godly character. Pastors should receive double honor for their labors. They are on the front line, it’s harder. Honoring someone who has shown a steady proof of Godly ministry is not a wrong attitude because such honor actually praises the Holy Spirit.

Yet while Paul had said to emulate his example, Paul did not ask people to idolize him, nor set him in a separate, special circle like the Corinthians were doing when he charged them with cliques- “For when one person says, “I am with Paul,” and another, “I am with Apollos,” are you not ordinary people? (1 Corinthians 3:4).

Or a person could become prominent because they speak truth well and the Spirit in them resonates with the Spirit in us. John MacArthur comes to mind. He is well known around the world, leads a megachurch, has written many books, is applauded by his peers, yet he does not seek that fame and downplays it whenever possible. He also has remained within the confines of his goals; preach to his church and raise up men to preach to the Church.

In our day, we’d probably call John the Baptist a celebrity. Mark 1:5 says And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem. He was a smash hit. People hung on his every word. He had flocks of folks walking long distances to hear what he had to say. Yet when John the Baptist’s popularity began to wane and people began to follow Jesus instead, his disciples came to him worried about this waning popularity.

And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing and all the people are coming to Him.” (John 3:26),

John said He must increase and I must decrease. (John 28:30). He knew what his job was, point to Christ. John didn’t seek fame, he never altered his message to retain followers, he didn’t become puffed up. He stayed true to the God-ordained message as an ambassador and forerunner he was supposed to deliver. Period.

A Christian person may become popular because he is false. The world loves its own and can detect one of its own. The scripture at 2 Timothy 4:3 says they will heap up false teachers. To many, the teacher appears genuinely godly. But then we discover he is not actually godly when the sin is exposed, usually by God. (Numbers 32:23, Proverbs 28:13, Luke 12:2-3).

Sometimes people become popular and their private sins allow them to become conceited and they fall into the trap of celebrity. Others seek it out from the beginning because they are unsaved but want what they believe being a fake Christian can give them. See the tragic request of Simon Magus as an example.

Simon Magus was a celebrity, Acts 8:9-24 relates the tale. He was famous and he liked it, he himself boasted he was someone great. Then he followed Philip everywhere and was astonished at all the miracles. He saw Peter and John laying on hands for people to receive the Spirit, so he offered money to get some of that action, too. Peter cursed Simon Magus and sent him away.

In Luke 22:4 we read that even among the disciples they disputed about who was going to be the greatest. In Luke 6:26 we read that popularity and acclaim by the world can be a woe.

We see from those above examples that people always tend to divide into rival ministries and/or fall prey to the lure of popularity and all its pitfalls.

Celebrity-ism isn’t a new problem

Christian celebrities have always been with us. The first time Apollos was mentioned it was with compliments by the Gospel writer. He was eloquent and learned. He rose so fast in esteem after Priscilla and Aquila taught him the way more accurately, that he was more favored than even Paul or Cephas. But Paul squashed that by reminding the people that they and he were mere men, servants.

What IS a Christian celebrity? Just having a lot of followers is not really an indication. Charles Spurgeon was hugely popular and Beth Moore is hugely popular, but these two are not the same. Spurgeon always pointed to Christ. Moore preaches herself.

We can’t often tell a person’s internal motivations, but we can observe the actions stemming from them. John the Baptist and Paul refused to allow their popularity to deceive them into thinking they were something special. They consistently said that it is Jesus who is special. Secondly, they never compromised their message. They never strayed from their goal. So ask yourself, has this person consistently stayed above reproach? Or did this person when outed, is shown to have consistently sinned over a long period with only a reluctant or even an absent repentance?

Anyone with the Holy Spirit dwelling in them will undergo the Spirit’s pricking and tormenting one’s conscience, and the person will repent. Peter was immediately agonized over his denial of Jesus and cried bitterly. Judas never cried and only expressed regret.

If the Spirit is in them He will eventually make Himself known in a dramatic way to cause the person to be shaken out of their sin and to repent. The Lord may directly discipline the person who sinned. God sent Nathan the Prophet to awaken David’s conscience. The Prodigal Son’s sense came back to him in a pig sty. Paul publicly called out Euodia and Syntyche to reconcile. Nothing else is known about them, but I would surmise that being publicly called out by Paul in his letter to the Philippians (verses 2,3) may well have prompted them to settle their differences and live in harmony. Sometimes a simple encounter with Jesus will cause a person’s conscience to resolve toward holiness, as it did for Zaccheus, and ‘salvation came to this house today’. (Luke 19:1-9).

The Holy Spirit’s power is such that He guides us toward humility, not celebrity.

Conclusion

I don’t have the knowledge to definitively define what Christian celebrity is or isn’t. Sometimes we can tell if they are popular because they preach genuinely over long periods, and sometimes we are fooled by their good messages but their hidden sins until the end.

So those are some thoughts about social media, ministries, and Christian celebrity. It’s good to frequently privately assess one’s own activity, but when a big scandal happens it’s doubly good to reassess. The Bible advises this frequently-

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5).

But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting, but to himself alone, and not to another. (Galatians 6:4). Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers says of that verse, “The best antidote for such false estimates of self is severe self-criticism”.

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12).