Celebrity Christianity and Our Pathetic Failure to Confront It
Scandal after scandal. Accusation after accusation. Who are we to believe, and how are we to handle it? First, we must change our perception and definition of the word "leader." It should not mean superstar, rockstar, entitlement, and privilege while charging exorbitant fees to perform. Let us never forget that ministry is not a performance with all eyes on the lead actor. We are not "performers," but worshippers — broken people who have been repaired by God. We point others to Him not us.
Brokenness over Exaltation
The biblical definition of leadership emphasizes brokenness rather than exaltation and humility over haughtiness.
Leadership is not about the person who has risen the highest but who has gone the lowest. We must repent of the "touch not God's anointed" mentality and humble ourselves to be open to constructive criticism: "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold" (Prov. 22:1).
Many Christian leaders do not have a good name because they're more concerned with reputation than repentance. But we need iron to sharpen iron in order to sharpen our character.
Lead by Going Low
Secondly, ministry cannot be about building a platform or a following — it must be about leading people in humility and brokenness (Ps. 25:9). Lead by going low.
Sadly, Michael Tait, former lead singer of The Newsboys, has recently demonstrated more humility and deep repentance than most Christian leaders who are currently being called out.
Yes, I'm aware that some accusations are used as weapons by arrogant and judgmental people. Still, it's equally alarming when so many blame shift and call the attacks "spiritual warfare" when it's just the opposite. It's often God, not the enemy, who wants to do a deep work in our character.
Confrontation Is Not Always Spiritual Warfare
When lovingly confronted about serious character flaws, we need to humble ourselves before God does (Jam. 4:6). Not everyone is after your ministry or trying to take you down. God is trying to shape you up, not necessarily ship you out.
Again, it's not spiritual warfare when God is trying to shape your character — it's internal warfare that must take place for a person to change.
Without deep humility and tremendous brokenness in the leader's heart, it becomes more about protecting our image than demonstrating the gospel lived out — self-focus and self-preservation are both dangerous and damning.
Elevation without Preparation
Granted, some accusations and storylines are more difficult to discern (as is the Spirit behind the allegations), but the blame-shifting, half-truths, and "conditional" repentance are getting ridiculous.
When our foundation of character is broken, the worst thing the ministry machine can do is elevate leaders and celebrate their status — it fuels ambition rather than brokenness. No wonder foundations are crumbling.
Let's be crystal clear here: The Worship Industry and the Ministry Machine driven by highly paid pastors and leaders who are more concerned about their image than God's image and their pocketbook more than His Book are causing a lot of damage, not only internally in their soul, but also externally with the world's perception.
Friends or Enablers?
One of the biggest reasons why these people are not repenting is that they have too many fans and not enough "true friends." Lovingly confronting our brothers and sisters in the Lord is a biblical process for growth. So why do so many people avoid loving confrontation? Here are a few reasons that stand out:
1. We often protect people because of the "if you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" mentality. In other words, we don't want to challenge others because they might challenge us.
2. Many have ulterior motives. They believe that this "superstar leader" might promote their ministry someday (or is currently doing so), so they cannot say anything or call a leader out, as it would hurt their chances of success. How sad — doesn't God do the promoting?
However, I want to clarify this again: Our heart should not be a heart of accusation and fault-finding. We must maintain a position of humility and gentleness while erring on the side of grace when possible, but grace can easily be abused when we remain silent.
3. Some leaders serve on one another's Boards of Directors, so they are not open to really digging deep and hearing the facts. Or the person in question is in a position of oversight in their friend's ministry, and instead of doing the hard thing by lovingly confronting the person, they avoid conflict.
4. Many wrongly assume that being someone's friend means protecting them at any cost. That's actually an "enabler" and not a "true" friend. When accusations come from multiple witnesses (some of whom are humble and gracious), we must sit up and take note.
5. People who don't confront say that they are "trying to exercise a gracious heart," but often, it's really not "grace" — it's a lack of boldness and hints of cowardice, which always quenches and grieves the Spirit.
Consider this: You might be the person that God wants to use to confront a certain leader.
The points just listed are precisely why many Christian leaders never change: They have too many "fans" and not enough true "friends."
They also tend to blame everything on demonic opposition instead of recognizing that this may be an excellent opportunity for personal growth and character transformation: You can't beg God to change you but still tolerate what's killing you.
The Way Up Is Down
"Looking out for number one" is very dangerous: "A proud and haughty man … acts with arrogant pride" (Prov. 21:24). Take time now and repent if warranted. If you've been skirting conviction and excusing actions, remember that God truly knows what's going on. Repentance is the only cure.
However, on the flip side, if you have a hard, judgmental heart fueled by criticism that loves spilling dirt on others, you also need deep repentance. God is not pleased with division and dissension within the Body.
In either case, humble yourself before God does!
(For the audio version of this article and for more content, visit my YouTube channel.)
*The opinions in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Crosswalk Headlines.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/princessdlaf
Published Date: June 17, 2025
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
Shane Idleman is the founder and lead pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship in Southern California and the WCF Radio Network. More can be found at ShaneIdleman.com. Free downloads of his eBooks can be found at www.WCFAV.org. Visit him on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to his new podcast, Idleman Unplugged. You can also follow Pastor Shane on the free speech platform Parler.
Originally published June 17, 2025.
