Some have two social media feeds – say, Twitter. One is the public presentation of the persona — the person that person wants to be. The other is anonymous or pseudonymous and on that feed the person is who they really are. The two are not the same. The difference reveals the tension between what someone wants to be with their real name (orthonymous, btw) and the person who really exists.
I saw all of this firsthand with Andy Wood at Echo.church. It is sad. I was that frank person who was trying to help him see, while he missed the adoration of in-person services made impossible in COVID shutdowns in San Jose. He was terrified of not having that adoration, and was willing to do whatever it took to get it back and more. Narcissism is harmful, but it is also sad. Those who enable it by giving them 20,000 people in SoCal to adore him too aren’t loving him. They are adoring the idea of him. The real Andy is fearful and broken, and he will do whatever it takes to keep his persona going- crush the whistleblowers, spread propaganda and spiritually abuse. Katelyn’s book is spot on, and this take on that chapter is as well. There’s much need for awareness about narcissism and the toxic cultures that it breeds when they are given the keys to a megachurch.
What a read. I'm left hanging for the fix. If leaders read this and feel Beaty is reading them, what are next steps toward holistic integrity? The one line is haunting – if "character splitting" is "in some ways inevitable" for entrepreneurial, nondenominational church planter types, does that mean there is a healthy level of character splitting that can be maintained? If so, how? Chuck DeGroat's "When Narcissism Comes to Church" comes to mind here too.
This is rich with insight and meaning. A warning to all. On a deep level it is about attachment. God gives us a place of belonging which could be powerful in healing wounds of attachment, and staying on a platform without authentic relationship keeps one held in this loneliness instead of rich, loving fellowship in Jesus. "Alone on an ‘island of recognition’ is sad. Such a imitation of the real thing God had in mind.
Is his portrayal of Beaty correct here? (I have not read the book)
Like Meador, do you think celebrity needs to be excised from the church? And does that mean that the best route for large churches is to be broken up into smaller church plants?
It's weird, and it doesn't qualify as a review. A good review summarizes the author's argument and then responds to the central themes. This review wanted a different book.
As I read this I was thinking of Andy Griffith's character Lonesome Rhodes in the film "A Face in the Crowd." A simple person promoted on a small stage who becomes a national celebrity. But, his fame and fortune turn him into a true narcissist. A sad story played out in many religious spaces these days.
I saw all of this firsthand with Andy Wood at Echo.church. It is sad. I was that frank person who was trying to help him see, while he missed the adoration of in-person services made impossible in COVID shutdowns in San Jose. He was terrified of not having that adoration, and was willing to do whatever it took to get it back and more. Narcissism is harmful, but it is also sad. Those who enable it by giving them 20,000 people in SoCal to adore him too aren’t loving him. They are adoring the idea of him. The real Andy is fearful and broken, and he will do whatever it takes to keep his persona going- crush the whistleblowers, spread propaganda and spiritually abuse. Katelyn’s book is spot on, and this take on that chapter is as well. There’s much need for awareness about narcissism and the toxic cultures that it breeds when they are given the keys to a megachurch.
Amen!
What a read. I'm left hanging for the fix. If leaders read this and feel Beaty is reading them, what are next steps toward holistic integrity? The one line is haunting – if "character splitting" is "in some ways inevitable" for entrepreneurial, nondenominational church planter types, does that mean there is a healthy level of character splitting that can be maintained? If so, how? Chuck DeGroat's "When Narcissism Comes to Church" comes to mind here too.
This is rich with insight and meaning. A warning to all. On a deep level it is about attachment. God gives us a place of belonging which could be powerful in healing wounds of attachment, and staying on a platform without authentic relationship keeps one held in this loneliness instead of rich, loving fellowship in Jesus. "Alone on an ‘island of recognition’ is sad. Such a imitation of the real thing God had in mind.
Scot (or others here) - I am curious what you think about Jake Meador's review of Beaty's book in CT https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/september-web-only/katelyn-beaty-celebrities-for-jesus-platforms-personas.html
Is his portrayal of Beaty correct here? (I have not read the book)
Like Meador, do you think celebrity needs to be excised from the church? And does that mean that the best route for large churches is to be broken up into smaller church plants?
It's weird, and it doesn't qualify as a review. A good review summarizes the author's argument and then responds to the central themes. This review wanted a different book.
As I read this I was thinking of Andy Griffith's character Lonesome Rhodes in the film "A Face in the Crowd." A simple person promoted on a small stage who becomes a national celebrity. But, his fame and fortune turn him into a true narcissist. A sad story played out in many religious spaces these days.