CELEBRITY CHRISTIANITY

I am not the author of this piece. Although we haven't gone down this road in Australia (I think) we do have our mini celebrity christians, so let this be a warning to us. There should be only one celebrity in our churches and that is Jesus. If there are others they should be counselled about their lack of humility.

Some bigheaded preachers demand rock star treatment. If the apostle Paul were around today he might throw rocks at them. Just when I thought we had finally taken enough abuse from the egomaniac ministers in our midst, I've learned that some of our leaders are taking things to a new extreme. We've moved beyond the red carpets, limousines, and entourages of the 1990s. A new strain of the celebrity virus is spreading in large segments of the church.

"What is this sickness spreading in the body of Christ? All I know is that God is grieved by all of this shameful carnality."

One friend of mine in Texas recently inquired to see if a prominent preacher could speak at her conference. The minister's assistant faxed back a list of requirements that had to be met in order to book a speaking engagement. The demands included:

* A five-figure honorarium
* A $10,000 gasoline deposit for the private plane
* A manicurist and hairstylist for the speaker
* A suite in a five-star hotel
* a luxury car from the airport to the hotel
* Room-temperature Perrier

This really makes me wonder how the apostle Paul, Timothy, or Priscilla managed ministering to so many people in Ephesus, Corinth, and Thessalonica. How did they survive without a manicurist if they broke a nail while laying hands on the sick?

It gets worse, if you can believe it. At a conference in an East Coast (USA) city recently, a pastor stood on a stage in front of a large crowd and smugly announced that the guest speaker was "more than an apostle." Then the host asked everyone to bow down to the person, claiming that this posture was necessary to release God's power.

"This is the only way you can receive this kind of anointing!" the host declared, bowing in front of the speaker. Immediately, about 80 percent of the audience fell prostrate on the floor. The few who were uncomfortable with the weird spiritual control in the room either walked out or stood in silent protest. So today, I guess it's not enough to feed a celebrity preacher's ego by treating them like a rock star. We also are required to worship him.

And apparently in some places you even have to pay big bucks to speak with him. In a city in the South, a well-known preacher is known to ask for money in order to secure a five- or 10-minute counseling session. The minister uses Proverbs 18:16, "A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men" (NASB), to support this bizarre practice. Some people are known to give more than $1,000 for a short meeting.

People on fixed incomes need not apply. (That would include lepers, blind beggars, Samaritan women, or any other social outcasts who were welcomed and healed by Jesus without payment.)
Source: J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma magazine