Christian Celebrity Culture
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Andrew
1 Cor 4:13 - "We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world (another translation - the scrapings from everyone's shoes) - right up to this moment."
Wow, what's going on with the Christian worship and leadership scene? There's the fall of Todd Bentley, one of the leaders of the supposed "revival" in Florida, and the outrageous fall of Mike Guglielmucci (of Hillsong and Planetshakers fame), who wrote the song "healer" as an outflow of him supposedly learning he had terminal cancer - he was lying! How sick is that? What's going on in the Christian worship and leadership scene?! I have good friends who have family that have gone to Florida to "catch the fire". We have an amazing young Christian man in our church who has cerebral palsy, his favourite song is Healer because he felt that the guy singing that song (Mike Guglielmucci with his terminal cancer) could identify with him. This week he found out that Mike Guglielmucci's terminal cancer was a lie (this guy even sung with an oxygen tank as part of the charade!) when in reality this was part of how Guglielmucchi was dealing with his addiction to pornography! What the hell is going on in Christian circles!? I'm not into shaming him (him and his family must be going through hell right now), but asking what's going on in our church circles that someone would want to do this? I'm sure the answer to that is very complicated, but I'm immediately struck by one aspect - the Christian celebrity culture. So many of our leaders are obsessed with becoming some sort of celebrity that they'll go to any length to get there. And we can't remove ourselves from responsibility when we are often the ones fueling, encouraging and idolising this ugly obsession (going to conferences, concerts and buying cds and dvds). The Christian celebrity culture and leadership obsession in the West is very ugly. It comes with tantalising promises of fame, success and triumph that are NEVER promised in scripture.
The church in Corinth also had a leadership obsession, connecting themselves around superstar leaders - "I belong to..." (put in here your favourite superstar preacher, singer, whatever) and the churches wanted a superstar leader, just like the superstar leaders that secular gatherings had, who would look good and wow the crowds. They were embarrassed by Paul and some of the other Christian leaders who didn't fit the superstar leader style (1 Cor. 10:10 "For some say "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.""). In 1 Cor 4, Paul defends himself and his humble, self-effacing leadership style as being what specifically Christian leadership really looks like. To do this, he uses irony and satire to mock the Corinthian desire for high status and high rank (Christian celebrity culture) as being totally UNCHRISTIAN. The point that Paul makes in 1 Cor 1-4 is that Christian leadership is NOT meant to look like secular leadership or celebrity culture because it has been redefined by the cross:
1 Cor. 4:8-13: "Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign - an that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena (this is an image of captured slaves who were dragged around at the rear of a Roman victory parade as the spoils of their victory before they were slaughtered). We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ! (celebrity secular leaders boasted of their wisdom and hated foolishness) We are weak, but you are strong! You are honoured, we are dishonoured! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands (something disgusting to any civilised Roman leader). When we are cursed, we bless; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world (or another translation - "the scrapings from everyone's shoes") - right up to this moment."
Here's a clip of an interview with Mike Guglielmucci:
5:42 PM
Care to suggest a better model that would practically work?
I struggled with a lot of things in that post. Two things that stick out:
"So many of our leaders are obsessed with becoming some sort of celebrity that they'll go to any length to get there."
What are you talking about, Picard? Huuuuge stretch in my view. Where do you get this idea anyway? Examples?
"And we can't remove ourselves from responsibility when we are often the ones fueling, encouraging and idolising this ugly obsession (going to conferences, concerts and buying cds and dvds)"
So I should stop coming to church then. Don't want to be seen as encouraging the idolisation of you or the worship team. You seriously think that everyone that goes to conferences/concerts do so to idolise the speaker/performer? Keep in mind my first question about an alternative model when answering this. If we're talking about ulterior motives, I'd go with idolising themselves before idolising others.
Expect a talking to this Sunday :P
7:07 AM
BAndy, I look forward to talking about this with you in person because, to be honest, without being able to read your body language, I struggled with your comment and found it a little "over the top" for someone who is a personal friend. I might have missed your cues...
I may have been a bit too sweeping in my post but I fear you may have fallen into my trap too! "You seriously think that everyone that goes to conferences/concerts do so to idolise the speaker/performer" I don't think that was what I said. If I did then I am sorry and I retract it. I do think the conference, cd culture is a huge modern phenomenon. I work and move within the world of Christian leadership and I can tell you that I do believe we have serious problems with hero worship. I see it generally amongst the Christian world (and if I'm really honest I'd say especially in the world of Christian music, youth and the groupie culture and the Christian leadership obsession), I see it personally within me (my unhealthyndesire to pedastool people) and I have personally experienced it (people blowing smoke up my butt to define me as someone I definately am not and cannot live up to).
Your exaggeration about not coming to church because of idolisation at least touches on the ongoing reality that I absolutely have to be aware and very careful about projection - people idolising you as someone great when you're not. Some people project on to the person up front ideals they wish were true rather than what is true. They try to define you instead of letting you define yourself and in doing so they don't know you as you but merely their projections (or their brokeness written large). All pastors are taught in training that many people project and idealise you in ministry because you're "up the front" - they see you as the perfect husband compared to theirs, the perfect dad compared to theirs, the perfect Christian compared to them, the father that they've never had (and on it goes). Many of the affairs that happen (all too often) within ministry are associated with projection and idealisation and counter-projection (from the pastor). Unfortunately there are many predator pastors and Christian leaders who are aware of these things and use it to prey on people (I won't give examples but there are many).
Another basic example I'd give is for you to read the adverts of churches seeking pastors and ask what sort of pastor are they seeking by what they say and how does it match with what Paul says? Quite often it seems churches are seeking the sort of leader that Paul was fighting against. You were on our search committee for our new youth pastor and know how careful we were with what we said we were after because of this. We'll talk more in person but if you're after others on this go here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/leaders/newsletter/2007/cln71022.html
Here: http://www.soulpurpose.co.nz/life/image/almost-famous-christian-celebrity-culture/ (includning quotes from Mark de Jong about Parachute.)
Here: http://fritchie.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/the-cult-of-christian-celebrity-and-public-speaking/
And here: http://mrharvey.blogspot.com/2008/04/thanks-chris.html
I think with sooo many Christian leaders aware of this (or have had train wrecks associated with this) it might be a problem...
As for alternatives, I genuinely don't know. A really good start is not to be discerning rather than naive about it.
See you in about 3 hours :)
2:57 PM
It was a huge schock hearing that Gigliemucci was lying. There's no way to justify what he did... But was it really the fact that he wanted fame?? Or was it more that he felt that his addiction was something he could'nt admit to in the church? 'Healer' is an amazing song, no matter what lies hide behind it. I have no clue as to why he did lie about it, but I think it's sad that he felt he couldnt have just said "This(porn) is what I'm dealing with, and I believe God can heal me from it."
Im not blaming the church or anyone, and this is a huge issue with him being in the "public eye" but why did he feel that there was such an expectation on him that he couldnt have been honest about it...?
-Josie
3:27 PM
Yeah, I thought that it might but I couldn't be bothered making it all nice since I was just going to talk to you in a few hours. I wouldn't have written like that if you didn't know me.
This is a quote from the first link:
"My problem is not with the celebrities, but with the groupies who have made them such."
I would definitely agree with. However, from how your post was written it feels as though you have more of a problem with the celebrities than you do with the groupies? Though, you have far greater experience in christian circles than I have or probably will ever have so as such I very much value your opinion.
I definitely agree with your last point too: "A really good start is not to be discerning rather than naive about it." It's just that, as we talked about today, if you happened to be in a position where people started idolising you, I'd imagine you could do everything in your power to divert the adoration but there are always going to be people that do it anyway. ESPECIALLY when there is a huge audience. I guess that is why there is no easy alternative. Even if someone is doing something with the purist of motives then it will always be tainted by those people, you know?
8:46 AM
BAndy, I wasn't trying to bully you, I just wasn't sure if your tongue was in your cheek or what?
I have a problem with both celebrities who allow their own idolisation to go unchecked and with groupies who allow their idolising to go unchecked. I am guilty of idolising certain authors, mentors and leaders and often have to be reminded who I worship. I once wrote an e-mail to George Wieland (my NT lecturer at Carey) saying how I was preaching through Luke and how I found myself going back to his words and what he'd taught us in his class on Luke and how brilliant he is. George e-mailed me back and said how he'd always found Luke a brilliant gospel that had often drawn him to walk nearer to Jesus and closer to God. Without being mean or rude, (and I don't know if it was on purpose or unknowingly) he pointed me off himself and onto Jesus - we need more of that!
In terms of celebrity leaders, you won't find them having free for alls (where you can disagree with the pastor) or holding family forums (where the whole community seeks the mind of Christ for the church) or having blogs where multiple people from the church contribute because for them, they are the Lord's anointed and their ideas are God's ideas. There are Christian circles where this style, or a slight variation of it, goes unchecked - it is very ugly. It is often very subtle and couched in lots of pious God talk...