Christian celebrity culture
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It’s hard to spend any time in the church these days without constantly coming up against so-called Christian celebrities. Whether it’s worship leaders, authors or big-name pastors and speakers, it seems the entire infrastructure of the church relies on these high-profile individuals who have become famous for their ministries. But is any of this actually healthy? Nicky Gumbel, the head of Alpha has announced their next leadership conference will not publicise the names of its speakers and worship leaders in advance to try and counteract ‘Christian celebrity culture’. Should we celebrate efforts to damp down on fame? Or is it unavoidable that gifted Christians who offer their ministry to the church will become well-known, and, well, why shouldn’t they? This week I’m joined by Emma Fowle and Sam Hailes from Premier Christianity magazine to try and think through the pitfalls and blessings of celebrity culture in the church.
Released on 3 Apr 2023
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