We live in a culture that is defined by fame. A culture that is saturated by fame. A culture that sees its worth based not on financial security or social standing like previous generations had. Our cultural moment sees the acquisition of fame as the greatest good, we measure our value by followers, fans, and likes. If you ask most kids what they want to be when they get older they usually say a YouTuber. That is not what kids said when I was young. When I was a kid, most kids wanted to be the president, a businessman, a policeman, or a teacher.
The lie that our culture has given into is that if I have fame I will be enough. Our culture has placed fame above power and money because those things, in our information, social media-driven culture flow toward fame. Sadly this desire for fame is not absent in the church. We measure the success of our work as a pastor by weekend attendance and event participation.
What is more tragic is the people who are supposed to be a prophetic voice to the perils of culture have themselves turned the vice of fame into a virtue. Celebrity preachers wearing streetwear worth thousands, hanging with A-list stars proclaiming that they want to “Make Jesus Famous.” As the years have passed we have seen the reality is that those same celebrity preachers became more famous and Jesus became more distant. Because a heart that pursues fame as its greatest good can not pursue Christ. The way of Jesus is antithetical to fame. Jesus would regularly say hard things that were not popular because his kingdom is an upside down kingdom. Yet so often the temptation and the advice given to pastors is to avoid controversy. Don’t say things that will alienate anyone.
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Source: Church Leaders, Sam Luce
BCNN1 WP 