Movements, Celebrity Pastors, and Pride (Edwards)

Celebrity pastors have been a thing in America for a long time. From the awakenings to the revivals to present day conferences and mega-churches, people have absolutely flocked to their favorite pastors in unhealthy and unbiblical ways. A man with a big presence, charisma, and fine speech can start a movement which is like a …

Evangelicalism’s Popes (Lints)

(This is a slightly edited re-post from December, 2015) It’s ironic and humorous when Christians mock or discredit creeds and confessions while at the same time firmly attaching themselves to some well-known preacher, podcaster, or blogger. Many Christians who are anti-creed are pro-celebrity pastor. This anti-confessional and pro-popular leader mindset is not new. It was …

Praise-Seeking Pastors [or Shaggy Donkey Ears] (Luther)

I probably don't have to explain the celebrity pastor ethos that is a major problem in Christianity today. In fact, some pastors want to be famous and well-known. Social media has made this problem worse. Anyway, in the "Preface to the Wittenberg Edition of Luther's German Writings", Martin Luther had some cutting things to say …

The “Blessed Anonymity” of Pastoral Work (Peterson)

 One time when someone asked Eugene Peterson what he liked best about being a pastor, he said, "baptisms and funerals."  The person was confused, but as they discussed it, Peterson told him that he liked baptisms and funerals because at these events, he was not in the spotlight.  And that, he explained, is the way …

The Danger of Popularity/Celebrity for Preachers (Newton)

 In a 1767 letter to one of his friends who was a pastor, John Newton said that a pastor has "two counter-streams to withstand."  Both of them, he said, will swipe the pastor off his feet unless the Lord upholds him.  What are these two counter-streams? Opposition and popularity.  Newton wrote that popularity is actually …