Piper on Superstar Pastors
June 15, 20093 Comments
It’s interesting that during the Basics 2009 Conference in Cleveland I mused to myself about the seeming incongruity of the attendees standing in long lines for an opportunity to meet the speakers (John Piper, Alistair Begg, John Lennox, Keith Getty, et al). I myself have stood in these lines at previous conferences either for an opportunity to meet a speaker or to have my photo snapped with them.
Is this behavior consistent with the humility that is supposed to characterize followers of Christ? Are there pride issues that need to be addressed either in the heart of the seeker or the heart of the speaker?
I resisted the temptation after the Basics Conference to blog on my observations. But now John Piper has addressed this issue in a recent blog post of his own, which I commend to you:
Hero Worship and Holy Emulation
Kevin DeYoung offers his thoughts on Piper’s post: Thoughts on Evangelical Superstardom
Both Piper and DeYoung’s posts are right on. I think Piper’s description of ‘Holy Emulation’ is a biblical one, and modeled on the principal that pastors–and indeed, all believers–are to serve as examples of those who live out the Gospel. They are not the final stop for our emulation, but rather we follow them as they point us further to Christ–they are the beams of light; He is the sun.
But coming from a journalist’s background, there’s a great little thrill in being able to say “I know someone.” I’ve had the pleasure to meet several of my favorite directors, actors and screenwriter and the tendency to name drop is very strong much of the time. And for those in the church it is the same with a pastors and authors. I have several friends in my church who have made trips to John MacArthur’s church or John Piper’s church. And most of the time they’re going because of that idea of “Holy Emulation”–there’s someone they respect, who God has used as an instrument in their lives and they want to sit under their teaching. That’s a fantastic, admirable thing and something that I think reminds us that local churches are just part of the universal body of believers. But there’s also the tendency to say “oh, I got to thake his hand,” or “he gave me his autograph” or worse, “I disagreed with his sermon but man does his church put on a good show” (I don’t think you have to worry about that with these authors, per se; that’s more of an Osteen thing).
Now excuse me while I dust my John MacArthur bobblehead.
Thanks for sharing this post from Mr Piper.
I agree that we do need to be mindful of our attitudes about pastors who have a larger stage than their own congregation.
However, there is a benefit to having this larger audience. It can serve as a shorthand to understand what biases folks bring to table. Tell me you enjoy Osteen, Meyer, Dollar etal and we know we are going to have a very different conversation than if you tell me you like Paul Edwards, Emory Moss, Begg, Sproul, Piper, etal.
Additionally, the ability to share quality preaching and teaching with folks is desperately needed. I have very often shared messages from men like Begg with folks in my own church who don’t understand how far we have traveled from the mark God set for us.
It is difficult to get folks to understand why 1 or 2 scripture references wrapped in an inspirational message ISN’T worship and it isn’t teaching the Word. Hand them a message from Begg, Piper, etc and let them hear good preaching and suddenly there is a thirst for more.
My first thought (now don’t get me wrong, I’m not stating this as a firm conviction, it’s just what popped into my head when I read the post) was “It’s amazing how a Christian can justify being like the world..”
I guess that it just sends up a red flag for me when someone’s actions/behavior must be defended/defined by a long treatises or theological explanation.