Worshiping Celebrity

This is the time of year when celebrity worship reaches its peak. If you haven’t the stomach for TV anymore, you’ve missed these worship services: Golden Globes, SAGs, and Grammys, with the highly exalted Oscars and Super Bowl Sunday worship services yet to come.

 

This adulation of celebrity stems from man’s longing for excellence. Created to worship, Adam was an enthusiastic spectator of God’s glory. But sin changed the object of veneration—from Creator to creature: “We will make a name for ourselves” (Ro. 1:25; Gen. 11:14). Mankind is a worshipper by nature. Enamored with youthfulness, strength, beauty, and intelligence, his thirst for excellence is unquenchable.

The sons of Adam search in vain for ‘something’ worthy to worship on this earth. Sadly, many believers are also easily deceived and captivated by these futile fetes. Please understand that I am not saying it is wrong to watch the Super Bowl or the Oscars. But in light of worldly adoration, it behooves us to watch our hearts so we won't unwittingly fall into the worship of celebrity. It's not worth it! 

'Doing' Church Adam Sandler-Style

Because I read a lot about the American Church, I know I'm not the only one concerned about the direction our "seeker-friendly" worship services are going.  It seems we are trying so hard not to seem "peculiar" that we have forgotten we are indeed called to be a "peculiar people" (1 Pet 2:9).

In our local assembly last Sunday, two associate pastors decided to commemorate Father’s Day by having a contest of all men (not just fathers) to see who was the manliest. They had all the men stand up, and then asked a series of very silly questions. If you couldn’t answer the question affirmatively, you would have to sit down. The last man standing was the manliest. What were these silly questions? “Have you ever killed your own dinner?” “Have you ever removed your body hair with duct tape?” and “Can you burp the alphabet?” were just a few.  The latter seemed to me to be more appropriate for an Adam Sandler movie than a worship service. Just when I thought the silliness would never end, they did another round to find the most sensitive man, and those questions just as silly. ‘What a shame,’ I thought. Instead of honoring godly fathers, they joked away the time with crude stereotypes of masculinity. Anyone who likes Adam Sandler films, known for their juvenile humor, would have loved it.

Is there any objective criteria for what is appropriate for a worship service? Consider this: “There must be no filthiness or silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but… fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise” (Eph 5:4; Philip 4:8).

What does Jesus want for Christmas?

Since writing about the war on Christmas last week, I've been thinking that there is also a war that goes on in the hearts of believers at this time of year: the battle between flesh and spirit (Gal. 5:17) which is antagonized by consumemrism, in the battle  of “worshopping” vs. worshipping.

The birth day of Jesus began with worship, a host of angels singing to the shepherds in the fields, “Glory to God in the highest.”  And after the shepherds had seen Jesus, the Bible says they “went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20). And then later, wise men arrived from their thousand-mile journey, saying, “We have come to worship Him" (Matt. 2:2).

How ironic it is that since Christmas day falls on a Sunday this year, many churches are deciding whether to shorten, if not cancel, their “worship” services. As important as that may be, I think there is a larger issue we ought not to lose sight of. Whether at church or home, will we have a spirit of worship? Whether or not you choose to attend church on Christmas morning, may I suggest that before opening your presents, you pause and thank God for sending the greatest gift of all, “a savior who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Of all the gifts the wise men brought to Jesus, the most precious one was the gift of worship. “Come, let us worship and bow down… and thank God for his indescribable gift!” (Ps. 95:6; 2 Cor. 9:15)