Have we finally come to the end of the road for the Christian celebrity era?
In a recent podcast, Dr. Michael Brown tackled this subject and how God may be dealing with those who find themselves glued to the “celebrity” Christian mentality.
“I truly believe that God, in these days that we’re living in and in the days ahead, is going to deal a serious blow if not a death blow to celebrity Christianity,” Brown says.
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One of the problems Brown points out is that Americans have taken Christianity and used its premise to exalt men and women instead of the Lord.
“We have built a culture now of exalting the man of God, exalting the woman of God, exalting this anointed person…it is destructive, it is harmful, and to the extent that we as leaders cultivate it, it is a sign of sickness in our own soul,” Brown says.
Brown notes that the problem isn’t God using men and women for great things; it is the character within us. Brown believes that the moment we begin to think we are better or greater than another, we find ourselves in dangerous territory.
“It has nothing to do with how many people you reach. You may reach 10, you may reach 10 million. That’s not the issue. The issue is not whether people know who you are or not. The issue is a celebrity spiritual culture where being a leader makes you into a celebrity, where it feeds into the flesh,” Brown says.
“You present yourself in such a way as to be the man or the woman of the hour, and all eyes are on you,” Brown continues.
The problem, then, is not whether or not people have platforms, but whether those platforms are made to draw attention to yourself or to the goodness of the Lord.
“Is it built around a person, or is it built to draw people to the Lord?” Brown asks. “Is it built around a performance…or does that man or woman of God bring us into a deeper encounter with God?”
Brown further points out that “servants don’t strut.” Those who truly serve the Lord seek humility, not pride and fame.
While we’ve seen many Christians in the limelight lately step away from their positions for varying reasons about scandal and sin, perhaps this is the perfect opportunity for us to reflect on what is in our own hearts. Are we serving the Lord with our entire heart, or is it all about ourselves? Take this chance to seek the Lord and His righteousness above all else.
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Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
