The Culture of Celebrity Pastors

Putting ourselves first is as old as day one (I mean, day six). The difference today is that the ability to reach the fruit, feed that temptation, and be applauded for it has never been easier. Just consider these low-hanging branches: YouTube, MySpace, iTunes, iMac, iPod, iPad, and iPhone. “I, me, mine . . . it”s all about me” is now our culture and religion. The “culture of celebrity” is the “culture of narcissism” on steroids. It is the narcissism culture normalized, popularized, and finally celebrated. American pastors live inside this culture, and they are tempted to give into it.

I should know, because I”ve been tempted for years. But as a result of one conversation, that temptation is diminishing in me.

I will share that story in a moment, but first let me clarify what I”m not saying. I am not saying that being a celebrity pastor is bad. I am saying, however, that desiring to be a celebrity pastor is bad. Some pastors are celebrities as a result of being faithful and gifted. And some pastors are celebrities (or wannabe celebrities) as a goal.

Paul mentions both groups in his second letter to the Corinthian church. In the first instance he tells them he is sending to them, along with Titus, “the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches” (2 Corinthians 8:18, New American Standard Bible). It appears this leader”s fame resulted from his faithfulness. In the second instance, Paul sarcastically refers to a group of self-promoting leaders as “super-apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:5; 12:11). Both were famous; one as an outcome and one as an ambition. Paul, himself, makes this distinction in Philippians when he says, “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love. . . . The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition” (Philippians 1:15-17).

We know from these letters that some Christians have a misguided devotion to some of the celebrity leaders. So the fault wasn”t only on wrongly motivated celebrity leaders, but also on the followers who helped create a culture that nurtured them. Paul wrote to those followers to warn them of this behavior. We don”t know whether Paul ever wrote to celebrity leaders about the dangers of desiring celebrity status, but that is whom I am writing to and what I want to do.

The purpose of the “What”s Next” column isn”t just about responding to future conditions, it”s also about creating future conditions. It”s not just asking “what will be next?” but “what SHOULD be next?” This leads me to my story””actually, more of a sentence than a story.

Celebrity Crisis

I have a dear friend named Nick Yphantides (Yee-fan-tee-dees). Nick (aka “Dr. Nick”) is the chief medical officer for the 3 million-plus residents of San Diego County in California. His name likely would be on the short list for any upcoming surgeon general appointment. He is a well-known, dearly loved, and larger-than-life personality in Southern California. At one time he was the youngest elected official in San Diego County, where he became known as “the big man with a big heart.”

Big man? Nick weighed 467 pounds. He lost more than half his weight 10 years ago when he went on an amazing weight-loss journey that makes people both laugh and cry when they hear it. Big heart? Dr. Nick is a huge advocate for the poor””because of his devotion to Jesus. His proudest professional accomplishment is that he has never worked on an insured patient. One more thing you need to know is that Nick loves all the attention, but that is not his ambition.

Last year I went to see Nick when he was entering a crisis. Sitting in his kitchen, he shared with me some of the pain in his personal life and how it touched his professional life. Then with tears in his eyes, he said, “I don”t want to be a celebrity. I just want community credibility.” He expounded on that statement, and then expressed his frustration with some Christian leaders he felt desired celebrity more than credibility.

That sentence hit my heart. I”ve been tempted by the desire for celebrity, but I”ve also despised that desire. It has been a real tug-of-war for me. The problem has been that on one side of the rope I”ve had a clear desire named “celebrity,” but at the other end of the rope I”ve had a vague, unnamed notion telling me “you shouldn”t want that.” That notion didn”t have a strong enough pull to win.

What Nick gave me is a named desire”””credibility,” and it is stronger than the desire for celebrity. This was a gift and challenge for me, and I want to pass this gift and challenge on to you. Desire credibility””community credibility and Christian credibility””more than you desire celebrity. Care more for the mission than recognition. Make Jesus famous. And if you do become well-known, have it be because it was an outcome of following Jesus and leading with credibility.

Brian Mavis is executive director of the Externally Focused Network. He also serves as the community transformation minister at LifeBridge Christian Church in Longmont, Colorado.