*Many kids grow up idolizing rock stars, don’t they? Well, these days ‘rock star’ is a term that is quite literally the opposite of a heavy metal singer. Movie stars are rock stars; athletes are rock stars; and even software designers are rock stars. The very aesthetic these children idolized is not being democratized.
Nowadays, you don’t even have to have a life of rock and roll do be known as a rock star. This is because even the most ‘un-hip’ sorts of occupations are now achieving the appeal of a rock star – including pastors!
It was once said that the Gospel had descended upon the Greeks. The Greeks had turned the Gospel into their philosophy. The Gospel had then descended down to the Europeans – who turned it into their culture. Then the Holy Book came to America – who made it into their business. And God knows business is booming!
Everyone can see millions of churchgoers lining up in front of a building every week, and they have one purpose – to hear their pastor. Now if we were to set an uncritical standard, then this is what you would call success. And as steadily as this phenomenon increases, it is our belief that the American Church can be quite damaging for spiritual vitality.
Don’t get us wrong though, we’re not implying pastors who lead confidently or speak dynamically are the root of the problem. Nor are we against large congregations or churches. It is, however, the culture of a ‘Super Pastor’ that is causing all the fuss.
The size of the congregation at a church is not even part of our argument. What we are implying, in accordance with our experiences, is that any pastor can fall into the trap of the ‘rock star’ issue. It is an issue of sin and not an issue of size.
Still don’t understand what all the fuss is about? Think about how some pastors act like lords over the ministries as if they were detached dictators. Other than this, imagine how communities start focusing on the pastor’s speaking gift and how these pastors are creating an audience and not a community that is biblically functional.
The worst of all – as is in the case of every rock star – is the approval addiction. These pastors start measuring their levels of success in terms of whether they get their way or not. While doing so, they forget that their original goal was to be concerned only about God’s approval.
We couldn’t care less about the rock star status of pastor – provided that fact that the glory of God is their recurring and one true song.
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