Celebrity preachers and star-struck Christians

There are many Christians today, who claim to hold to the fundamentals of the faith, and who attend churches where the gospel is faithfully preached, yet who are also fans of big name celebrity preachers that are anything but faithful to the word of God. Men like Mark Driscoll, Rick Warren and Joel Osteen, women like Joyce Meyer, somehow attract a following within conservative denominations, their status as a celebrity preacher being such that many believers are either deceived or ignorant as to their true nature; that they are 'false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves'. How is this so, that so many within the evangelical church today are attracted to the teachings of these false prophets, and have become 'star-struck', unable to see beyond the name and the personality.

1. A lack of discernment

One of the main reasons behind such a state of affairs much surely be that there is a great lack of discernment amongst believers. There is neither the ability nor the desire to discern between truth and error. Do we know error when we see it? Do we even think of looking out for it? The great baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon said that 'discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right'. It is easy to discern between the teachings of Christianity and Islam, or between Christianity and Romanism, but what about Calvinism and New Calvinism? What about Evangelicalism and Neo-Evangelicalism? The most dangerous error is that error which is mingled with truth, that which appears on the surface to be Christian, yet when it is looked at in depth it is riddled with the poison of heresy and compromise. A perversion of the truth is far more perilous that a blatant deceit. Prominent Christian teachers such as Joyce Meyer and Mark Driscoll may make some comments that are not unscriptural in themselves, yet when their teachings as a whole are examined it is clearly seen that they do not faithfully preach the whole counsel of God, but are in error on vital truths. Being right on one point of doctrine does not excuse error on another. Do we see the need to discern between truth and error and the need to 'try the spirits whether they are of God'? Simply because a preacher may be well known, popular (even among our Christian friends) and have celebrity status, does not mean that they are faithful ministers of God's word and that we should accept their teachings without examining them. It is the duty of every Christian to exercise discernment in their spiritual life and to 'hold fast that which is good'.

2. A shallow and limited theology
In his letter to the Corinthians the Apostle Paul said 'I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able'. Although the believers at Corinth had received the Christian faith, they had not grown and matured in their understanding of it, but were still babes in Christ. So it is true of many today, for another reason why many Christians are taken in by many celebrity preachers is that they have not developed any depth in their theology. In explaining their conversion they still cannot describe it in any more depth than having 'asked Jesus into their heart' despite being saved for many years. Doctrines such as regeneration, adoption and justification are deemed to be too deep for their study. A shallow theology such as this will lend itself to the appealing quotes which many celebrity preachers will make, and their other theological errors will do unnoticed. Indeed it is a shallow theology which will result in an inability to discern between truth and error. On one occasion Joyce Meyer made the following comment about the Lord Jesus Christ; 'The minute that blood sacrifice was accepted Jesus was the first human being that was ever born again'. If we do not understand the doctrine of regeneration, of what it means to be born again, then we will likely not see the heresy in that statement, but will continue to quote her because she sounds good and says things that appeal to us. If however we have applied ourselves to the study of the word of God and are well grounded in our theology then we will easily recognise error and those who propagate it. Doctrine is not something to be disregarded as unimportant but is vital if we are to identify the wolf through his sheep's disguise.

3. The influence of social media and the internet
The internet and social media have many positive features, yet they also make it much easier for us to become influenced by false teachers. Whilst social media, and the internet in general, has made it easy for us to access the teaching of many good evangelical preachers, it has also exposed us to those who are not orthodox in their theology, and those preachers, who in times past we would likely never have heard of, or had very little contact with, are now so much more accessible to us. The speed and freedom which we have to access information through the internet means that there is little to guard us against the influence of error if we are not vigilent and aware of the need for discernment. We can very easily become influenced by false teaching, and attracted to a celebrity preacher long before our minister has warned against them from the pulpit. Great care is required when following the lead of others in what teachers we associate ourselves with. Our friends may have 'liked' a particular preacher or ministry and it can be easy to do likewise without giving thought to the faithfulness of that preacher beforehand. Even our friends can err, and because they approve of a preacher is not sufficient reason in itself for us to do likewise. Do not assume that the preachers you see quoted on Facebook and Twitter by your Christian friends are faithful preachers of the word.
 
4. Today's celebrity culture
Psalm 135:15 says that 'The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands'. Whilst there are still those around the world who worship idols of gold and silver, for many today their idol is the celebrity. Much of what is broadcast on television is geared towards creating celebrities, other programmes have a celebrity version of their normal show. Magazines are full of the details of the lives of celebrities. It is the celebrity who has the millions of adoring fans, who will defend and worship him. Even among Christians there is a great desire to follow what celebrities are doing, and to keep up with the latest news. It is perhaps not surprising then that Christians are drawn to a preacher who also has that celebrty status, who commands a great following, and who is even prominent within mainstream media. With popularity being seen as something that is the an essential measurement of success, we then want to follow a preacher who is popular. The world loves its celebrities and so Christians also love their celebrity preachers. Of course that is not to say that we should not hold faithful men and women of God in high regard, yet we ought not become attracted to them simply because of their celebrity status, nor think of them as being beyond criticism. The defining factor of what a good preacher is should not be their celebrity status within the church, but their teaching measured in the light of God. How popular they are is of no great importance, yet what they teach is everything when it comes to considering whether we accept or reject them.

5. A disregard for biblical separation
The word of God is very clear on how we should regard false teachers, we are to separate from them and have no association with them whatsoever. We are to 'come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing'. The extent of our separation from error is seen in the word 'touch'.  We are not simply to refrain from handling that which is unclean, but we are not even to touch it. The Old Testament laws on cleanliness did not require any long association with a leprous person, or an unclean beast, in order for a person to be considered unclean, but only a touch was required. Our separation from error should not be partial, but complete. This does not mean that we only quote or follow those whom we are complete agreement with on every point, for this is impossible. It is essential doctrines which we are concerned with, and where any teacher compromises on a fundamental teaching, we should reject them absolutely. We should not limit our view of separation to being simply that of leaving an apostate denomination, but should ensure that in no way whatsoever do we associate ourselves with, or promote the teaching of those who are in error. We will not miss out on anything through this course of action, but will be blessed by God for it. It is not as if there is a shortage of faithful preachers, both today and from the past, for us to learn from! 

What then is our attitude to be as regards today's celebrity preachers? We do not reject them simply because they have celebrity status and are popular, but we do not blindly accept them on that basis either. We are to try all things by the word of God, regardless of name, status or reputation, accepting only those who are faithful to the blood and the book. Don't be star-struck by the name, but in all things seek to bring honour and glory to the name that is above all names, that of the Lord Jesus Christ.