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Kanye West has apparently gotten serious about the Lord. I was really happy to hear about it, but apparently, I underestimated how significant this was for a lot of people. For the next several weeks, it seems like it was wall-to-wall Kanye. Kanye releases a Gospel album. Kanye leads worship services. Kanye makes a guest appearance at Joel Osteen’s stadium. Meanwhile, I have to believe that, in the same period of time, there were thousands more who dedicated their lives to Yeshua, including in places where it is dangerous to be a Christian. Not-so-famous people were also being saved, but that doesn’t make the news.

So, why is it that believers get so excited when a famous actor, musician or athlete publicly announces their faith in Yeshua? Maybe it’s for the same reason that in recent years we’ve heard less and less about “truth” and more and more about the need to be “relevant”.

Perhaps we’re telling ourselves that celebrity salvations will lend credibility to Christianity in the eyes of the world. It won’t. And, we shouldn’t be pursuing credibility in the first place! In fact, according to Scripture, if we did have respect in the world’s eyes, it would indicate that something is seriously wrong with us! But don’t take my word for it:

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God (James 4:4).

We’re coming up on Chanukkah and Advent, a joyful and also contemplative time of year. Both of these holidays celebrate the history of God giving victory to the humble, the few, and the weak over the arrogant, the many, and the powerful.

Though I would argue it’s intellectually dishonest, Yeshua’s people are often portrayed in our culture as being weak and irrelevant. Such disdain takes an emotional toll. It’s wearying to the soul to be considered an oddball or a nuisance, and to be marginalized and even outcast. But that is part and parcel of being a disciple of Messiah Yeshua. The world hated Him, and He assured us that the world will hate us also.

I hope you’ll think of this morning’s d’rasha as a word of encouragement; we may not be rich, famous, or even respected, but we are privileged beyond imagination, even if we are “small potatoes”. And we need to be reminded from time to time that pursuing credibility with the world can ensnare us and lead us in a bad direction. Let’s have a look this morning at 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 – one of my favorite passages in the B’reet Chadashah.

1 Corinthians 1:26-28

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly of this world and the despised – and the ‘nobodies’ – to nullify the ‘somebodies’ so that no one may boast before God.

The phrase by human standards (kata sarka – literally ‘according to the flesh’) in verse 26 is what should govern our understanding of this entire passage. If we are not considered ‘wise’ (sofoi) or ‘influential’ (dunatoi), or of high pedigree (eugeneiV), it isn’t God’s estimation of us, but the world’s. It isn’t that we are foolish or insignificant or lowly. It’s that we are regarded as foolish, insignificant and lowly by the world’s reckoning.

That the world holds Yeshua’s people in contempt is a foregone conclusion. What is less certain, however, is whether we will patiently endure it, and respond the right way; and it’s what I want to talk about this morning. It seems to me that for some years now, Evangelicals and Evangelical leaders, have been engaged in an unwise pursuit of credibility in the eyes of the world. You hear it described as our need to be ‘relevant’ to the culture if we hope to make inroads for the Gospel. Sometimes you hear it described as our needing to ‘earn the right to speak’. But I wonder whether what’s underlying all the sophisticated rhetoric is really nothing more complicated than the desire for people’s approval, or the fear of their disapproval. And I get that. I have the same insecurities as the next guy. But I fight against it, as I think we all should.

But I fear that, on the whole, the Body of Messiah has capitulated to the allure of celebrity, precisely as part of that pursuit of credibility from the culture. And so, we have celebrity pastors, and we make a big splash over celebrity conversions, and I would argue that, in the process, we’re allowing ourselves to drift away from the centrality of Messiah. Fawning over other human beings, however talented or famous they may be, as a strategy to win people to the Lord, is misguided at best, and at worst comes dangerously close to idolatry.

And, I would add, this isn’t helpful to the celebrities themselves who have become believers. If the process of growing into a disciple takes years, how much more is needed if that person is to take on the responsibilities of an elder or pastor? And discipleship doesn’t happen in the spotlight; it happens in private – under the mentorship of an older saint, and in the quietness of the daily disciplines of praying and studying the Scriptures. Just because someone is viewed as a cultural icon, it doesn’t follow that they be entrusted with leadership in the Church.

Let me give you five fairly recent examples of famous people who were thrust prematurely into the evangelical spotlight before their faith was well-grounded, and for whom it didn’t go very well after that. Actor Charlie Sheen, whose conversion doesn’t seem to have had any effect on his life whatsoever, actress and activist Jane Fonda, who was really put off by all the attention and pressure foisted on her as a new Christian, music icon Bob Dylan who initially was very vocal about his faith in Yeshua, but for years now has been largely silent, football legend Reggie White wandered off into bizarre “lost tribes” teaching, and Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, whose ‘faith’ lasted all of one year.

And now, more recently, we have the case of Joshua Harris, author of numerous best-selling books, including I Kissed Dating Goodbye who, despite having neither biblical nor theological training, was made a pastor. Very quickly the church grew, probably owing in large part to name recognition.

In July of this year, Harris publicly announced his divorce from his wife, and then a day or so later publicly renounced his faith in Yeshua, and a few days after that, publicly took part in a local gay pride parade. Because of his celebrity status, thousands had been attending the church he led. Now many of them were left scratching their heads, and scrambling to find a new spiritual home.

But rather than point an accusatory finger at celebrities who abandon the Faith, I think we need to admit that these sad situations are our own fault. We hastily elevate celebrities who are new Christians into spiritual leadership, violating what Rabbi Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3:6. And when we do that, we also put them, as it were, under a microscope, and unrealistic expectations are put upon them.

It also contributes to dissention in the Body. I often see people becoming overly defensive in support of their favorite celebrity, or pastor, or celebrity-pastor, and others becoming hypercritical of them. The arguing sometimes becomes heated.

Do you remember that Paul, earlier in the very same chapter, took the Corinthians to task for playing favorites and causing division among them; one saying, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” and another, “I of Cephas,” and another, “I of Christ”. Sadly, it seems like we have learned nothing from his rebuke of the Corinthians. We’re doing the very same thing today, only the names have changed: “I am of MacArthur,” and “I of Piper,” and “I of Stanley,” and “I of Furtick,” and “I of Hagee,” and “I of Osteen”.

And then there’s all the arguing about whether a particular celebrity is really saved or not. In the process, Yeshua is forgotten. We’ve lost sight of who is important. His is the Personality which ought to be driving the Church.

Randy Alcorn wrote an article in August entitled, Famous Christians are Losing Their Faith… And So Should You if Your Faith is in Them. In the article he wrote this, “Surprise, sadness, disappointment, and grief are natural and appropriate responses when someone we admire falls morally or otherwise abandons their faith in Jesus. However, if our faith is shaken when this happens, it reveals something wrong about our faith in the first place. Both Scripture and Church History clearly state that many will turn away from Christ, even many who, because of their gifts and oratorical or musical skills find themselves on platforms where people associate their name with that of Jesus.

But as I said, I think the allure of celebrity conversions is subtly rooted in our desire for respect and acknowledgment from the world. The biblical expression for it is Yirat Adam – the fear of man. And Proverbs tells us that the fear of man acts like a snare. You become entrapped when you live in fear of people’s disapproval.

The pursuit of credibility is the path to self-imposed slavery

• It’s unlikely you will attain it, anyway
• You’ll almost certainly compromise what is right
• You’re never free to just be yourself, or to speak candidly

And besides…

• It’s God, not people, who will judge you on that Day

Not only is the pursuit of credibility (the fear of man) destructive, but the irony is, it’s completely unnecessary. The reason we don’t need to have credibility with the culture is because, across history, God has delighted to use the obscure, the weak, the (ostensibly) insignificant, the oddballs, the few and the despised, to accomplish His great purposes.

So now, let’s return to our passage.

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly of this world and the despised – and the ‘nobodies’ – to nullify the ‘somebodies’ so that no one may boast before God.

You know the awkward little kid who’s the last one to get picked, or who is the odd one out when the neighborhood kids are choosing teams for a football or a baseball game? Well guess what – that’s the one God wants for His team!

And we would do well to remember that the Incarnation, which up to that point was the most significant event in the history of the world, wasn’t witnessed by anybody with worldly credibility. When the angel announced the birth of the Messiah, it wasn’t to the aristocracy, or to any of the great Jewish scholars, or to the politically well-connected (even Herod was kept waiting!). It was announced to shepherds – those considered the ‘losers’ of that time and culture.

Nor did Messiah Yeshua choose His disciples from among the prominent members of Israeli society. None of them were outstanding yeshiva students; none of them Torah scholars; none of them from politically powerful families. Most of them were simple fishermen. In fact, most of them were Galileans – considered the unsophisticated, the rednecks of the day. And through Him these quite ordinary men turned the world upside down.

So you might even say we should revel in our seeming insignificance in society, and rejoice in our anonymity in the world.

But in closing, let me caution us to avoid errors to both extremes. We must avoid pursuing credibility – groveling for society’s approval. But we must also not let ourselves become resentful toward those who are rich and powerful and popular, and cease caring about their need for salvation.

And we really need to be praying for people like Kanye West, and others who have been prematurely thrust into leadership. They will need an extra measure of God’s grace and wisdom and humility, and to have honest, wise and mature believers speaking into their lives.

For you and me, let’s be content to ‘fly under the radar’. There’s no need for us to try to be something we’re not. We don’t need to be ‘credible’ in the eyes of the world. We don’t need to impress anybody. We just need to be faithful. The words we should live for are, “Well done, good and faithful servant…” and those words come from just one Person.