UNITED STATES
Revangelical
The Scandal of Evangelical Celebrity: How the Celebrity-Culture of Evangelicalism Fosters Neglect & Abuse
May 26, 2015 by Brandan Robertson
The media is reeling after the news broke last week that Joshua Duggar, the eldest son of the famed Duggar Family Joshfrom TLC’s hit show “19 Kids And Counting” was guilty of molesting family members and other children when he was 14 years old. Duggar, who was the spokesperson for FRC Action, the non-profit legislation arm of the conservative evangelical public policy organization Family Research Council was forced to resign from his prominent public position in light of this scandal being uncovered. TLC also canceled his families hit television show after it was revealed that Joshua’s father, a pastor, business owner, and family man, Jim-Bob, had known about the molestation for over a year before he took any significant action to address the situation.
The Duggar controversy is just one of dozens of painful scandals that have emerged from within conservative Christianity in recent years. From the Sovereign Grace Ministries child abuse scandal to the spiritual and psychological abuse from within Mars Hill Church in Seattle, it seems that abuse and cover-ups have become as common to Evangelical Christianity as the sex-abuse scandals once dominated popular perception of the Roman Catholic Church.
In the midst of the tidal wave of scandal, we must ask whether these abusive situations are a matter of coincidence or symptomatic of a much larger issue with the religious system in which they are occurring? What is it about conservative Christianity that seems to continue to breed environments of such toxicity? I want to suggest that the fundamental problem at the heart of all of these scandals is that many evangelical churches and leaders have exchanged the call to servanthood and sacrifice for celebrity and self-interest. Let me explain.
For nearly four decades, evangelicalism has been the predominate religious voice in the United States. Out of this fledging faith movement has come a conglomerate of businesses, publishing houses, media companies, political organizations, and churches that have turned evangelicalism from being a mere religious movement to a cultural force itself. Instead of warring against culture like the fundamentalists that evangelicalism sought to differentiate itself from, evangelicals sought to imitate the “ways of the world” in an attempt to create our own “redeemed” culture. This looked like adopting the methods and practices of many spheres of American culture- from the entertainment industry to Fortune 500 Companies- and using it as a means to grow in influence while spreading the Gospel.
Adopting this mindset has fundamentally shifted the way that many religious leaders view and practice their ministry. Instead of being a shepherd, dedicated to serving and caring for their flock, many evangelical pastors view themselves as celebrity teachers and CEO’s, whose primary concern is to grow their brand and expanding the size of their fan base (or “church”). If you were to examine the life of the average evangelical megachurch pastor, you’d find that there is little that differentiates their lives from the lives of a famous television personality or the visionary CEO of Apple. While there are some “celebrity” pastors that seem to have found a balance between being celebrity CEO and being connected intimately to their congregations, many others have created organizations that do little more than promote and protect their sense of self-importance. And when you lead an organization of thousands of people and millions of dollars dedicated solely to you and a message, it’s easy to become blinded by ego and forget what it means to be called to public ministry.
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