Famous Ones: Is Influence Overrated?
Eugene Peterson– translator of The Message and author of all my favorite books– described a period of boredom while serving as the pastor of Christ our King Presbyterian Church near Baltimore, Maryland. In an interview several years ago, Eugene admitted that a sort of negative ambition lay at the root of his restlessness. “I just thought, ‘Well, I’m 40 years old– I’d better make a move so somebody notices me’…In the best sense, ambition can be simply wanting to do your best. But, sometimes ambition can be simply the need to be noticed.”
As it turns out, our need to be noticed may not be helping the Kingdom anyway. A Barna study from 2006 showed that roughly 66% of Americans had never heard of the preacher T.D. Jakes. 60% had never heard of Focus on the Family’s Dr. James Dobson. And what about Rick Warren, whose books have sold well over 25 million copies? 75% said they didn’t know who he was.
For all the time we have spent accumulating influence, for all the efforts to build platforms under our best speakers and leaders, what do we have to show for it? Large crowds, high sales numbers, and that elusively unquantifiable thing called “buzz”?
In our attempt to reach the world, have we created Christian celebrities instead? What if we have simply justified fame by calling it by a different name?
To be fair, crowds followed Jesus all the time. What is interesting– and instructive– is how Jesus responded to crowds. He fed them, taught them, and did everything He could to leave them or drive them away. In John 6, Jesus does all of the above. After performing one of His greatest miracles, the feeding of the 5000, the crowd got so excited they insisted on making Him king “by force”. Think of it: the people were going to make Him king by force. Isn’t that what He came for? Couldn’t God “use this for His glory”? In true counter-cultural form, Jesus retreated to a mountain by himself. Then, after the crowd tracked him down, He preceeded to preach his most offensive sermon, leaving Him with only the most devout– or desperate– of his disiples.
Perhaps influence in itself is not evil. But neither is it automatically a tool in God’s hands. In fact, “reaching the world” may have little to do with super-individuals and influential leaders. It might just have more to do with quiet faithfulness and simple obedience.
Or, in the words of one of Eugene’s book titles, maybe the Kingdom is advanced by A Long Obedience in Same Direction.
Glenn Packiam is one of the pastors at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he serves as the Director of New Life School of Worship and Associate College Pastor for theMILL.
What all this means is that Glenn attends a lot of meetings, talks to a lot of people, plays a lot of music, and drinks a lot of coffee.
And all of that eventually led to a book. Glenn is the author of "Butterfly in Brazil: How Your Life Can Make a World of Difference", published by Tyndale House. His second book, "Secondhand Jesus: Trading Rumors of God for a Firsthand Faith" is due out in June, 2009 with David C. Cook Publishing.
Glenn and his absolutely amazing wife, Holly, and their two adorable daughters, Sophia and Norah, enjoy life in the shadow of the mighty Rocky Mountains.
You can read more from Glenn at www.glennpackiam.com/blog 
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Great post Glenn! I am so glad you are writing here!
Hi Glenn,
Yes, I find what you wrote to be very true. Missionaries are sometimes only known by a small tribe in the middle of nowhere, and yet, they can through their quiet faithfulness inpact generations.
Well said! The need of man to be recognized has been around forever, but I wonder if in the age of the internet and the “micro-celebrity” it hasn’t reached its critical mass?
It used to be a given that only certain people become famous or influential — people with incredible talent, skills or connections. Not so anymore.
Now, anyone with a camera and internet connection can bring about some type of following. The question for many of us becomes, “If I can’t make it now…now that there’s no barrier to entry, does it mean I really don’t have anything in me worthy of recognition?”
In the end, the discussion must come around to how one measures influence. As you pointed out, Jesus wasn’t the best PR guy for his personal brand. He didn’t measure his influence in book sales, blog subscribers, or Facebook friends. He was interested in followership, yes, but authentic followership, and not at the cost of the message.
Jesus cared deeply about the message, that it would spread after his time on earth passed. Maybe if we focused more on creating a lasting message rather than a personal brand we wouldn’t get caught as easily in the race for celebrity.
A good case is made that the stardom of the head pastor began during the First and Second Awakenings, at the beginning of the history of Evangelicalism (See Nancy Pearcy’s “Total Truth” book three “How We Lost our Minds”). Many seek to post their own 95 Theses, or preach their own stadium, but such celebrity seeking, as has been aptly pointed out, is contrary to Christ’s call to wash feet.
hi! thanks for the book recommendations…they sound fascinating. there is probably something innately human about the fascination with one, extraordinary leader/warrior/etc….i think of the philistines and goliath, the israelites and saul…the list is long. but for our modern context, the great awakenings are an interesting historical backdrop for the rise of christian celebrities. thanks, again.
hi cameron! so good to “see you” here! great thoughts….it is indeed the “age of the micro-celebrity”! i love that phrase. good insights on Jesus’ priorities as well. miss you, bro!
hi debbie…yes, like you, i can think of several missionaries whom the world will never hear of, and yet their work is one of deep transformation and growth. thanks for contributing to the discussion.
hi esther! thanks for the encouragement. i’m sure you’re rocking your wed night class at NLC. peace.
What a great observation. I’ve been worrying about this for a long time … because there’s a part of us that wants to justify certain questionable realities by claiming them as a “means to end.” Yes even in ministry. Shock. We can accumulate influence. We can demonstrate great work. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you are witnessing for Christ. What that takes is proclaiming the gospel.
Hi Nick….thanks for the comments. I have become more and more uncomfortable with the theory that the “ends justify the means” or that so long as the “message” is intact, the “methods” don’t matter. Eugene’s writing has challenged me to believe that we must say Jesus’ words and do Jesus’ work in Jesus’ way. Amen.
In many years of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the radio…There was a Time
when I wanted to be Noticed..but after awhile God had revealed himself to me as who
he was..The Author and Finisher of my faith,My strength and My Life
In my own desire to be noticed I became Bitter at everything.. and it was only
when I allowed Jesus to change my heart that I realized who I was and what a
servants heart was all about..
Now my Approach to life and service is that of Paul..
Acts 20
24However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
As far as those who follow others instead of Jesus..they WILL hear the Lion Roar
and will come trembling back to him
Thought provoking as always Glenn!
Thanks for reminding us of this very real temptation within each of us. Gone are the days where people are only celebrated after their death, and where their contribution outlive them. I wonder if it’ll help if we kept our eyes on the legacy we leave, rather than how much influence we have in our lifetime. As Christians, we are always in danger when we abandon the narrow and straight path of the Lord for the way of the world.
Blessings for 2009!
Thanks for this important reminder that we are all subject to such temptation, even for the most quiet and introverted. Gone are the days when people are only celebrated after they are dead, even then for their contribution to humankind. Today we want to celebrate the newest, latest, youngest, most beautiful, … NOW! Perhaps we can guard against this by measuring all that we do in terms of the legacy we leave behind, rather than the influence we gain in our lifetime. Christians are subject to the same dangers when we abandon the narrow and straight path of the Lord, for the ways of the world.
Blessings upon you and your family for 2009!
Hey Glenn, great post! I think you’ve articulated one of those gnawing seductions of leadership/pastoral life. I thank God for guys like you and Peterson who have the courage to admit to these subtle temptation, because most days i don’t. But man, are they ever there. Peace amigo
Great Post! Our lives should be totally consumed with a passion for telling others about Jesus. And, if people notice us along the way who cares?
Hey Glenn,
Your thoughts about quiet faith and simple obedience provided some cement for a blog entry I have been working on.
Your posts here and on your blog are a big blessing here in Russia. I look forward to your new book when I return in June.
Grace and Peace.
Glenn, great post and looking forward to more.
You definitely touched on something I’ve been pondering on for a while now. I guess all of us want some form of greatness or achieve something that would be remembered. But in the end it’s all about God … being faithful, obey and submit under His will … I guess if we just do what He asks of us, in the way He reveals to us then the lasting and true message WILL ripple down to the generation after us.
I was just thinking, if “the ends justify the means” or “as long as the message stays intact, the methods doesn’t matter” can we still regard it as the truth?
Yes, influence is overrated. This is a subject I’ve been pondering for a while and it is amazing how strong the seduction to success and fame is. I don’t think we realize how much we really are seduced, though. Most of us relish in the idea of doing something big for God. We want to be the next David, Paul, Billy Graham, Rob Bell or Glenn Packiam
Its not that its bad to want to do something big for God, its that we are seduced into power, fame and audience. Sure, we dress it up differently, but when it comes down to it we face the same temptations Jesus did in the desert: power (stones into bread), fame (a dude getting caught by angels after being thrown from a temple is sure to get you noticed!) and audience (the whole world in the palm of your hand).
Well said. I think that when we turn the pastor or worship leader into a superstar, we actually hinder the spread of the gospel instead of promote it.
The endless hype and self promotion actually tend to drive sheep away from the fold when they realize that their ‘idol’ is just a man (or woman) who is basically a dry well. Instead of being given the bread of life and living water people are being given the spiritual equivalent of stale crackers and flat soda.
to jim- thanks for the thoughts…i say a hearty, “amen.”
to sue- thanks for stopping by!
to cheryl- i couldn’t agree more. a book that has challenged my thinking on the “way” we must do the Lord’s work is “the Jesus way” by eugene peterson.
to trevor- a commitment to honestly wrestle with out hearts in front of a few friends is our only hope. thanks for the thoughts.
to jeremy- hello old friend! good to see you here…amen to focus!
to allen- thanks for the comment…curious as to your work in russia. keep up the good work.
to annalize- thanks for reading over here…i agree: faithful obedience is how heaven measures success. good question you raise. truth must be more than a correct proposition…it must have something to do with correct living or expression.
to jesse- great thoughts! power is very seductive. great insights on the temptation of christ…reminds of the observations made by doestoyovski (sp?), yancey, and peterson of the same biblical passage….good reminders for us all.
to david– “stale crackers and flat soda”! yeah….great picture. we have nothing to offer in comparision to the Living Christ.
I agree completely. Another negative effect of the Christian celebrity phenomenon I’ve noticed is the way it seems to hinder the raising up of new leaders under the current “celebrity” leaders because everyone’s so focused on the big guy, they feel like they’re getting cheated a bit if they’re not being ministered to by him/her specifically. I think one of the most important factors in the growth of the Church is the raising up of leaders, and therefore one of the most important jobs of current leaders is to actively raise them up and try to shift the spotlight to the next generation of leaders.
The whole thing about influence vs. popularity is often misunderstood. In our church bible reading, we are into John 5,6,7 now. Thanks for writing this post =)
There is a saying, that faith is the expression of obedience, and so many people forget that, trying to exert their will over God’s.
Thanks Glenn for the article!
The church does fall into the ditch sometimes in trying to do what the world does and make things about a person or a celebrity…but for all that Rick Warren, TD, or others do, I would take the little old lady who sits in her seat at church and prays daily if not hourly for the people and leaders in her body and speaks life into young people. We have a woman in my home church that does this seemingly behnid the scenes work…I would contend she is doing more to further the kingdom than any “global leader of Christianity”. Good post Glenn, you da man!
to sean,
what’s up cuz!
great to “see” you here. thanks for the thoughts…love the quote. it is indeed an expression of obedience. may we all become better at obeying God.
much love to you and the fam, sean.
Is influence overrated: Ask the Apostles if the influence of Jesus is overrated in their life. I think they would say NO. I would like to be influenced by Jesus personally.
Tim
Glenn, love the article, made me pause for a moment to examine my own heart and motivations. For that reason alone, I give you kudos. Thank you.
That being said, I don’t think that influence and popularity are the same thing at all. I know you didn’t say that directly but your article seems to suggest it, first by the title itself and finally by the following quote, “In fact, ‘reaching the world’ may have little to do with super-individuals and influential leaders. It might just have more to do with quiet faithfulness and simple obedience.”
Quiet faithfulness and simple obedience ARE influential! And so are the super-individuals and influential leaders who impact the quiet, faithful and obedient ones.
This has been my thought process, so indulge with me:
A. Think of 3 famous celebrities you admire.
B. Now think of the 3 most influential people in YOUR life that have helped shape and mold you into who you are.
My answers? A did not equal B. didn’t even come close - don’t even know each other! The celebrities are not the same people that really influenced my life…really…
you see them differently than others who do. They are a celebrity to the public but a (friend) to you.
In fact, if you’re close enough to a “celebrity” to be genuinely influenced by them, you probably don’t really categorize them as that in your own life anyway.
Therefore, celebrity status does not really equal genuine influence. Just as fame does not equal success. Best I can tell, our prideful human nature likes to confuse these factors.
In fact, I hate that word: “celebrity.” What happened to “role model” or “example”?!? We sure can’t equate either of those with “celebrity these days!”
The only Person who walks around healing people, with signs and wonders following him, causing whole families of the nations to turn and worship God, forgiving sins, and then of course, so modest and humble, refuses to let onlookers tell about it truly deserves the title. (as accounted in the book of Acts) I wanna be like THAT guy!
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