Celebrities for Jesus

Guest Bios

Show Transcript

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O03fx4PX3Jk

Celebrity culture has invaded the church. Pastors, who should be shepherds serving the flock, have become idols attracting adoring fans and commanding six- and even seven-figure salaries.

What has happened to the church? How did we get here? And what can be done to counter this truly anti-gospel culture?

In this podcast, I explore this pervasive problem with Katelyn Beaty, author of Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits Are Hurting the Church.

As Katelyn explains, platforms and influence can be used for good. Billy Graham, for example, used his star-power to reach millions for Christ. And thankfully, Billy, unlike so many other Christian celebrities, never succumbed to public scandal or sin.

But he’s almost become the exception. It seems monthly—or even weekly—we hear about another celebrity pastor, or Christian leader, who’s fallen into sin, or revealed as a bully or fraud. And with each revelation, there are scores of people who are disillusioned and alienated from Christian community.

In this podcast, Katelyn describes the historical development of celebrity culture in the church. They also look at the three major temptations celebrity culture has spawned. And lastly, they explore what believers can do to counter celebrity culture in the church.

This Weeks Guests

Katelyn Beaty

Katelyn Beaty is author of Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits Are Hurting the Church (2022) as well as editorial director of Brazos Press, a division of Baker Publishing Group. She served as former managing editor of Christianity Today magazine and has written for several Christian and mainstream outlets. An Ohio native, she lives in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more at KatelynBeaty.com. Show Transcript

SPEAKERS

JULIE ROYS, KATELYN BEATY

JULIE ROYS  00:03

Celebrity culture has invaded the church. Pastors who should be shepherds serving the flock have become kings demanding us to serve them and commanding six and even seven figure salaries. What has happened to the church? And how did we get here? And what can be done to counter church celebrity culture?

Welcome to The Roys Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I’m Julie Roys. And joining me today is Katelyn Beatty, author of Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms and Prophets Are Hurting the Church. As Katelyn explains, platforms and influence can be used for good. Many point to Billy Graham, for example, who used his star power to reach millions for Christ. And thankfully, Billy, unlike so many other Christian celebrities, never succumbed to public scandal or sin. But it seems monthly or even weekly, we hear about another celebrity pastor or Christian leader who’s fallen into sin and revealed as a bully or fraud. And with each revelation, there are scores of people who are disillusioned. There’s often a pile of bodies, so to speak, behind the bus. But perhaps even worse is what’s done to God’s name and his reputation. Instead of glorifying Him as we should be. The Church and its representatives are dragging his name through the mud. What’s happening is grievous, and it’s anti gospel. As author and theologian Scot McKnight said at our last Restore conference, the church has one celebrity and his name is Jesus.

Well, I’m so looking forward to exploring this topic with Katelyn, and I think you’ll find she has an eye-opening perspective, given her years in Christian media and publishing. But first, I’d like to thank the sponsors of this podcast, Accord Analytics and Marquardt of Barrington. In your ministry or business your reputation is your most valuable asset. But what do you do when you suspect misconduct? Hopefully, you do the opposite of many of the organizations I report on. Instead of covering up wrongdoing, you investigate it, and Accord Analytics can help. In just 72 hours, their team of experts can s