You may have heard of them, you may even follow their Instagram accounts or liked their pages on Facebook; ‘Celebrity’ worship leaders, pastors, and the ‘faces’ of large Christian movements. It’s almost unavoidable to have internationally acknowledged churches or church bands without some form of public identification or ‘fame’. But how far is too far when it comes to these church ‘celebrities’? Is it necessary for us to follow all these peoples’ personal social media accounts? I mean I'm not going to lie, it is interesting to see the life behind the person on a stage, but am I just being nosey, is it really necessary for me to know how many children they have or what their outfit of the day is?
I think it’s time we took responsibility for these so-called church ‘celebrities’. I mean these aren’t labels they’ve put on themselves, we are the people who follow their Instagram accounts, we are the people who create the hype and commotion surrounding specific churches, we are responsible for putting these churches and people on pedestals.
I think the danger lies in the way we see these people and these churches. Everybody has a personal and unique relationship with God, and it becomes unhealthy when we begin to compare ourselves to the people on the screen. For example, some internationally acknowledged worship leaders are quite well-known for being free in the way they move while they are worshipping, but does that mean if you don’t throw your hands in the air (like you just don’t care – had to add that in there) then you don't have as much freedom as they do, or you aren’t as close to Jesus as they are? No. Freedom for you will look different to what freedom means for another person. Your relationship with Jesus doesn’t have to fit a specific mould, it doesn’t have to look a certain way, you don't have to say specific words, you don't need to be anybody but yourself, it’s between you and God.
Idolatry is defined as the extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone. Basically it’s when we treat something or someone as God when they're not. I think we need to be super careful about how we look up to famous or well-known church leaders. Historically, a lot of church leaders only became ‘famous’ because of their relationship with Jesus. Being well-known by all was never their goal, being known well by Him was. The goal for us isn't to be more like these well-known leaders, it’s to be more like Jesus, he is our model, and he is our mould. The only person we should aim to make famous in this world is Jesus.
I think it’s time we took responsibility for these so-called church ‘celebrities’. I mean these aren’t labels they’ve put on themselves, we are the people who follow their Instagram accounts, we are the people who create the hype and commotion surrounding specific churches, we are responsible for putting these churches and people on pedestals.
I think the danger lies in the way we see these people and these churches. Everybody has a personal and unique relationship with God, and it becomes unhealthy when we begin to compare ourselves to the people on the screen. For example, some internationally acknowledged worship leaders are quite well-known for being free in the way they move while they are worshipping, but does that mean if you don’t throw your hands in the air (like you just don’t care – had to add that in there) then you don't have as much freedom as they do, or you aren’t as close to Jesus as they are? No. Freedom for you will look different to what freedom means for another person. Your relationship with Jesus doesn’t have to fit a specific mould, it doesn’t have to look a certain way, you don't have to say specific words, you don't need to be anybody but yourself, it’s between you and God.
Idolatry is defined as the extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone. Basically it’s when we treat something or someone as God when they're not. I think we need to be super careful about how we look up to famous or well-known church leaders. Historically, a lot of church leaders only became ‘famous’ because of their relationship with Jesus. Being well-known by all was never their goal, being known well by Him was. The goal for us isn't to be more like these well-known leaders, it’s to be more like Jesus, he is our model, and he is our mould. The only person we should aim to make famous in this world is Jesus.
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