"Christian Celebrityitis"

Samshua makes some excellent comments and cites a hilarious (hilariously true) post on the way we Westerners treat Christian leaders, even (or especially?) those with suspect theology or ethics but scintillating charisma.

I see in my own heart the tendency to so easily Corinthianize: "I follow Paul," "I follow Apollos," - "I follow Piper," "I follow Keller (Driscoll, Mahaney, MacArthur . . .)." Let us remember Paul's words a few chapters later: "So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether [Piper] or [Keller] or [fill-in-the-blank] or the world or life of death or the present or the future--all things are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's" (1 Cor 3).

Remember too Edwards' words:

"To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, [BELOVED PASTORS,] wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the fountain. These are but drops; but God is the ocean." --"The Christian Pilgrim"

I praise God for the men who have had such profound influence in my life--Lyle Dorsett, Sam Storms, John Piper, Tim Keller, my dad and grandfather, Zack Eswine--and as I admire and thank God for them, I remember they are but drops; God is the ocean.