Christ belongs to the lowly of heart, and not to those who would exalt themselves over His flock. 1 Clement 16:1

Tradition holds that Clement, as Bishop of Rome, wrote this in his letter to the church in Corinth late in the first century. At the time the church in Corinth was fractured. The people appointed to lead the church had been deposed and another group of leaders set up in their place. There were factions. Clement was writing to deal with the factions and push for unity and harmony. He clearly disagreed with the change and didn’t think highly of the people who had taken over the leadership – believing them to be arrogant, boastful and self centred (that comes out later in his letter).

The line above captures a lot – what he thinks of those who were now leading the church in Corinth but also how he views the nature of Christian leadership. It should act as a cut and a challenge to much modern Christian leadership.

In how many of our churches (and I’m specifically thinking of evangelical churches) is the ‘Pastor’ seen as a CEO rather than as a shepherd? How often is the Pastor seen as the charismatic hero leading a charge for the congregation towards greatness, ultimately inspired by their own greatness? How many Christian leaders, and the people following them, are aspiring to nothing more or less than celebrity – speaking in front of large, adoring crowds?

Now don’t get me wrong – being well known and well liked because you offer something of value is not bad or wrong, but there is another type of Christian celebrity going on in the modern world that I think is dangerous and destructive and I think Clement’s words challenge it.

We have a problem when Christians feel that real validation of the faith comes when they’re speaking to large groups, have a hoard of adoring devotees and when we hold those who do up as some sort of ideal that the rest of us need to be like. It’s a good reminder that what we’re often seeing of such people is an external persona, not their inner being. How often are people shocked when that external persona falls because they thought the external and internal were one and the same when they so often aren’t? Being a Christian celebrity does not make one a righteous and holy person.

I’ve struggled with it myself – the desire for celebrity – but I’m at the point where I think God has more time for the faith of the person working on the factory line, those cleaning dishes and the mothers and fathers faithfully raising their children with no public glory. It may be a bold statement but I think he holds that in higher esteem than the efforts of the popular preacher on the stage hyping up an adoring public, because the latter has their reward already – their treasures are right here.

Of course, I’m not offering this thought as some sanctimonious, holier than thou, humble man. My job is about talking, speaking, influence and garnering an audience. I regularly find my ego inflating because of it. Clement’s words are a direct challenge to me, making sure I do what I do for the right reasons and challenging me to make sure that my validation and desire is always seated in nothing more than the simple truth that God loves me, desires me to love him back and that I am called to love my neighbour – nothing more and nothing less. In the story of what the Christian faith really is and where its fulfilment is truly found, chasing celebrity is shallow and futile compared to the riches found in sincerely grounding one’s life in that truth and being shaped by it.

Clement’s words (and there is plenty in the Bible to back them up) should act as a challenge to any leader pursuing celebrity and finding validation in it and it should also challenge those who unquestioningly offer the adoration of celebrity.

I once read Henri Nouwen describe Christian leadership not as the charismatic individual we all aspire to be like, but as the person who is the first to the foot of the cross and showing others how to get there. That takes honesty, humility, transparency and a lowly heart with a clear view of who we are and who God is. Often such people are found as far away from a stage, a microphone and a book signing as you can get.