The 1970s experienced the rise of the megachurch in the USA and, with it, the rise of the megapastor. Katelyn Beaty, in Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits are Hurting the Church, opens some doors and windows into the inner realities of megachurch pastors who become celebrities.
One dozen observations from her chapter three, which works out the story of Willow Creek Community Church and its erstwhile pastor, Bill Hybels.
First, “the megachurch has also altered our understanding of the pastor in powerful and concerning ways” in that it has permitted “his individual power to eclipse the power of the institution.”
Second, in such churches many in the church, especially the uppermost leaders and boards, become convinced by their adulation of the pastor that the church can’t exist without him.
Third, Willow Creek “explicitly sold its celebrity pastor approach to other churches.” The church formed other churches into the Willow Creek Association, it was known for its large conferences, and then the Global Leadership Summit (renamed now).
Fourth, megachurch pastors tend toward “the noxious mix of charisma, anger, lack of accountability, secrecy, and VIP treatment on display in most other stories of moral failures of Christian leaders.”
Fifth, Willow generated a trend of building church buildings that didn’t like a church. “Nothing about the architecture or style communicates ‘church,’ and that’s the point.” They were seeker-shaped and it shaped everything, including architecture and theology and job descriptions.
Sixth, even though Hybels had “little formal theological education,” his communication was “polished, clear, and often funny.” No megachurch pastor gets hired who can’t hold an audience in a mesmerizing manner. Which is part of the gig.
Seventh, “loyalty to Christ and loyalty to the founding pastor’s vision can get muddled.” Again, this is an indicator of celebrity and even god-like status many congregants have.
Eighth, Hybels’ turned (according to an editor friend of mine) away from having captivating topics and sermons and book ideas into one more concerned with his GLS leadership themes. As Beaty puts it, “running a business for other businesses that wanted to replicate your success proved especially intoxicating.”
Ninth, “a warning sign for any lead pastor and their church is to be increasingly important and increasingly unknown.” Beaty holds to the theory that celebrity is “social power without proximity,” and that is definitely in the inner circle of what a celebrity is. A question I would ask is “How can one know this about the celebrity pastor unless one is in his innermost circle?”
Tenth, the need for privacy on the part of the pastor turns into a demand for secrecy or a development of secrecy times. Secrecy works out a private self in distinction from the public self. That is, the pastor has a public persona and a private reality.
Eleventh, in a megapastor model “the eldership structure is not always a match for the strength of the leader’s charisma.” Bingo! Yes, that megapastor probably was instrumental in significant life changes for most people in that megachurch; yes, they identified with him; adored him; applauded for him.
Twelfth, megachurch megapastors, celebrity pastors, “wouldn’t exist without us. They depend on our attention and adoration…. We feed their egos, they feed ours.” We experience what Nancy Beach told Beaty: “refracted light” (or glory).
With a zinger reminder at the end: “if a person’s faith in Christ is so centered on one powerful individual, when they fall, we fall.”
I worked in an SBC megachurch with the marketing team. My experience is that churches get to be that size because they have the best show every Sunday. The most charismatic speakers, the best music, the most engaging videos and graphics, marketing. All of these are carefully strategized to make the best show possible every Sunday. The problem is that none of these incredibly expensive tools are necessary or required for a faithful church, and if these tools were not employed, the crowd would not show up every Sunday. It creates a congregation of consumers. Imagine Christ saying, "to the church in Dallas: love the new fog machine and light show but I hold this against you... you graphics package is horrible and you your worship team didn't look engaged in the music."
#13 may be- Such churches communicate that the sermon is far above anything else in regards to being the key event for the church.