{"id":1348,"date":"2023-09-06T12:55:31","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T12:55:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/06\/christian-leaders-remember-were-not-celebrities\/"},"modified":"2023-09-06T12:55:31","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T12:55:31","slug":"christian-leaders-remember-were-not-celebrities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/06\/christian-leaders-remember-were-not-celebrities\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian Leaders: Remember, We’re Not Celebrities"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Shane Idleman<\/span><\/a><\/span>, CP Guest Contributor
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Unsplash\/Greg Weaver<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Without question, one of the hardest jobs is being a Christian leader, especially a pastor. Close friends leave you, others betray you, social media slams you, the world hates you, and demonic forces rally against you and your marriage. This is why thousands exit the ministry each year.<\/p>\n

We are also often stretched financially, relationally, emotionally, and physically all while living in a fishbowl for the world to see. Pastors\u2019 wives feel it as well and they are often the unsung heroes in this battle.<\/p>\n

Popularity won\u2019t fix the problem <\/strong><\/p>\n

To deal with the stress of ministry, we sometimes believe that popularity (celebrityism) will fix our problems: Life would be so much easier if I could just be a mega-ministry pastor and have 100,000 followers and a popular podcast.\u00a0 Trust me, this is NOT the case. Busyness can be a cruel slave master.<\/p>\n

If I could go back to having a small church without a national calling, I may jump at the opportunity. The slower pace of life was refreshing. Remaining true to God\u2019s call (not mine) is the only thing that keeps me going.<\/p>\n

Let God grow it<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whether it’s itinerant speakers requiring Hollywood status, worship teams demanding the rock star treatment, or pastors chasing \u201clikes\u201d and \u201cretweets,\u201d celebrityism has infiltrated the churches on a scale never seen before.<\/p>\n

This must break the heart of God because \u201cno flesh should glory in His presence\u201d (1 Cor. 1:29).<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing wrong with God growing a ministry as long as we remember Who grew it. It\u2019s not about your position but your posture \u2026 the posture of your heart.<\/p>\n

American idol prevents revival<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are not celebrities: We are sent to help the broken, the hurting, and the lost. We are not building our ministry (let God handle that), we are called to build others. The American Idol mentality will never usher in another spiritual awakening; it will repel it.<\/p>\n

Granted, my motives aren\u2019t always pure if I don’t stay close to the Fountain of Living Water and drink deeply \u2014 brokenness and humility must be the fuel that fills us.<\/p>\n

The enemy\u2019s whisper<\/strong><\/p>\n

God took this small-town boy with dyslexia who was often labeled \u201cstupid,\u201d and called him to the ministry. God opened enormous doors to air my sermons all across America, write books, and speak nationally. For this reason, I must be on guard when the devil whispers in my ear, \u201cLook at everything you\u2019ve built.\u201d<\/p>\n

To be sure, there\u2019s nothing wrong with godly ambition \u2014 we must be disciplined and respond to God\u2019s call \u2014 but He must get all the credit and glory.<\/p>\n

Greenrooms need to become prayer rooms<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been backstage in greenrooms, and although not true of all, the spiritual condition of many is sad to witness. We are watchmen, weepers, and teachers, not rock stars who need greenrooms full of delights and water chilled to 40\u00b0. We are not special, but God is.<\/p>\n

Instead of coming to an event and sliding in under the radar, doing our thing, and exiting unnoticed, we need to be among the people whenever possible. It\u2019s exhausting but that\u2019s what we are called to do \u2014 to turn greenrooms into prayer rooms.<\/p>\n

His presence must be our pursuit <\/strong><\/p>\n

We must repent of our celebrity status if we are going to see God move in these dire times. His presence must be our pursuit.<\/p>\n

Too many focus on posturing, name-dropping, and rubbing elbows with superstars. Facebook timelines are full of selfies while prayer closets remain empty \u2014 instead of rubbing elbows, we need to be bending our knees.<\/p>\n

Many gauge success by the popularity of their social media feeds rather than the fullness of the Spirit and faithfulness to the call. They are active on many platforms, but Heaven barely knows their name. And like Samson, \u201cthey know not that the Spirit has departed.\u201d<\/p>\n

No wonder so many struggle with depression and leave the ministry. You must serve in God\u2019s strength rather than your own. His sovereignty will be your sanity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t lean \u2026 stand! <\/strong><\/p>\n

In their pursuit of notoriety, many don\u2019t notice their drift away from God. When we compromise our character we will eventually compromise the Gospel.<\/p>\n

Samuel Rodriquez once shared a story where a pastor asked him: \u201cWe lean left. What way do you lean?\u201d<\/p>\n

Pastor Rodriquez shot back, \u201cWe don\u2019t lean \u2014 we stand!\u201d Amen! I wish that all pastors had the fire of the Spirit within them and stood for the truth. We must seek God\u2019s presence, not our preeminence, and spiritual power not popularity.<\/p>\n

Blinded by pride, we can easily become unteachable and no longer able to hear the voice of God. If we are to kill the cancer of celebrityism \u201cpride must die in you, or nothing of Heaven can live in you\u201d (Andrew Murray).<\/p>\n

A man on his knees<\/strong><\/p>\n

The heartbeat of prayer must regulate every facet of our life. \u201cWhat a man is on his knees before God, that he is, and nothing more\u201d (Robert Murray M’Cheyne).<\/p>\n

We must once again elevate brokenness over \u201cfollowers\u201d and humility over \u201clikes.\u201d Leonard Ravenhill once lamented, \u201cEveryone wants my mantle, but no one wants the sackcloth and ashes.\u201d \u200b<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not too late: We must repent of our selfish pursuit of celebrityism and return to our first love. He will re-fill and re-fuel you with times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. That is our only hope!<\/p>\n

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Shane Idleman is the founder and lead pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship in Lancaster, California, just North of Los Angeles. Shane’s sermons, articles, books, and radio program can all be found at shaneidleman.com<\/a> or wcfav.org<\/a>. He is the author of Feasting & Fasting<\/em><\/a>, If My People<\/em><\/a>, Desperate for More of God<\/em><\/a>, and Help! I’m Addicted<\/em><\/a>. Follow him on Facebook at: facebook.com\/confusedchurch<\/a>.\u00a0You can also follow Pastor Shane on the new free speech platform\u00a0Parler\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/parler.com\/profile\/ShaneIdleman\/posts<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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By Shane Idleman, CP Guest Contributor | Wednesday, September 06, 2023 Unsplash\/Greg Weaver Without question, one of the hardest jobs is being a Christian leader, especially a pastor. Close friends leave you, others betray you, social media slams you, the world hates you, and demonic forces rally against you and your marriage. This is why […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[]},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1348"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}