One of the tensions that’s continuing to build and that ministries and churches are having to “deal” with are the staff members who are, for many various reasons, internet celebrities.
These are staff members who’s popularity online may exceed their understood roll in their typical 9-5. There is so much gray area in terms of qualifying this, but take it for what you will.
What’s happening, generally speaking, is that these individual staff members are discovering that their relative circle of influence may in fact be greater than their paid position in the ministry, and tensions arise, assumptions are made, questions are asked (or not) and issues of authority, scope, responsibility, etc come up.
This is an interesting problem (or is it a problem?) to have, for all members of the staff and leadership.
Questions like:
- Where is their time being spent?
- Where are their hearts ultimately?
- Are they committed fully to the ministry here?
- Are they “cheating” in terms of their commitments?
- Is there ambiguous relationships or things happening online?
- Are their boundaries of “responsibility” being overstepped?
- Are they profiting from their celebrity status?
There are but a few of the questions that I have discussed with more than a few ministry leaders and staff.
What is your experience? What is the right response?
ryan guard says
Someone's gotta say it…
The idea of a "Christian celebrity" is an absolute joke. If anyone out there strives to be one then they need to be kicked in the shins and sent back to the 101 class at their church. Even worse is the idea of an "online Christian celebrity". I'm glad that MOST of the people who come to mind when I think of these groups didn't push their way into that role; they were dragged. Most of the guys and gals that are championed online are usually soft-spoken and "normal" face-to-face.
It's great that some people have a huge online platform, so long as they are elevating Someone's name more than their own!
#chenis
human3rror says
right on. pretty bogus, huh?
Adam_S says
I have seen the problem not come from the person themselves, but from people around them trying to protect their reputations. People are attracted to a vision and want to work for that person and when they see someone attacking their person it feels personal. And that is when the idea of Christian celebrity really becomes a problem.
3amjosh says
I'm glad to be at a place of work where we can take advantage of social media and in some cases what folks may consider "online celebrity". We had some resistance at first when it first came into play and some of us were involved, but now the staff as a whole is taking advantage of different platforms such as twitter, ustream, and blogging.
I don't see there being anything other than praise for folks who are doing well in the online world from our staff. We are meant to encourage each other and lift others up.
Thanks for posing some interesting questions dealing with this.
I think as long as it's dealt with in a responsible way during work than there is no reason to work. At work if I use twitter, or blog it's mainly for purpose of my ministry. I have a question for a song, an idea for worship, a tough situation I want some advice on.
I think the key to dealing with these problems is education and even prayer. People are afraid of anything new. I had a friend I talked to who is "off the grid" because he is so afraid of identity theft! I think anytime you let fear take over the benefits, you are losing.
dewde says
Good article, John.
peace|dewde
human3rror says
word.
Jason Whitehorn says
Now THIS….is an interesting post.
benjizimmerman says
Great post John. I have been wrestling with this a lot more lately, I feel as though my sphere of influence and ability to serve other ministries is sometimes greater online that it is in person. This post is really challenging to me personally. Thanks for hitting on this.
human3rror says
Benji, thanks for stopping by. it's a increasing issue… and there's a lot of factors, but, I think it's important to address.
Ancoti says
I guess I am a bit old fashioned. A paid staff member owes their duty to their employer to do the job they were hired to do. Period. If internet activity is not part of the job, they can indulge in their celebrity on their own time. If internet activity for the ministry is taking more time than anticipated, work it out with those who have authority over your employment.
If they feel called to internet ministry and are not being paid to do so, they should leave their job and see how God provides for their needs. See if they are truly called to it. Not biblical to take someone's money and do your own thing because you feel it more popular and meaningful than what your employer wants you to do.
Adam_S says
But what happens when their internet activity actually improves their job. Think of Carlos Whittiker. I am sure that hosting ragamuffinsoul.com is not part of his job description, but the fact that he is doing that brings people to church and provides more places for the church to interact.
Graham Brenna says
Agreed! My goal with my blog http://gbrenna.com is not to become a Christian internet celebrity. What I really want to come of it is for people of my own congregation to take notice of it and join in the conversation. I hope it fuels someone to actually step foot in our doors on a Sunday morning.
Because I'm so open about myself on my blog I'm letting people into my life. The idea is that when people feel they have a connection with someone at the church… maybe they'll attend.
I really don't know though… still feeling this one out.
JakeSchwein says
i think that sooner than later the church will see that people's leadership influence is greater than just inside the four walls of that specific local church. i think you will see staff ENCOURAGED to use "every means possible" to leverage their gifts and talents to build the "C"hurch and not just the "c"hurch. Someday people in ministry will stop being threatened by things that they cant control and release people to go for it in whatever way that looks like…of course all for the glory of God!
Gene says
They are called Welebrities. LOL!
Gene says
Or "Weblebrity" – you know you’re a weblebrity when: “Total strangers you meet at conferences know more about you than your significant other.”
Wonder how many times this has happened at Catalyst
Chuck Self says
I don't think these questions are unique to ministry. Any employer would ask the same ones if they feel the person hired to do a job is not fulfilling it.
The problem, or perceived problem, could boil down to expectations, communication and ego. If an employee doesn’t completely understood their role in the organization, that’s the employer’s fault (or in this case the church). If the person has some ego issues, work ethic in doing what they have been hired to do or is leveraging the church as platform for personal gain (not the Kingdoms gain), then that’s an issue the church should address.
As to “internet celebrity”, many people can hide behind their computer and become someone they couldn’t be in a traditional environment. Is this wrong? I don’t necessarily think so. The tension arises when your online world hits your real life world and they don’t sync up.
The goal of the church is to not make “Christian rock stars”, but disciples. This takes many forms and technology is just another tool in doing this, but I would caution anyone (including myself) concerned more about influence and position than keeping our eyes on the one who has given us the position we have.
Ancoti says
It may improve their job, but does their employer agree? You would have to get buy in from who is paying your salary to devote time to that. If it is apparent that the case can be made that the activity is improving things, that should be able to be accomplished.
Adam_S says
I agree you have to get employer buy in at some point. But I also think that some employers don't understand what value add the internet can bring. It can be difficult to measure the value. But for instance, using Carlos as an example again. One measure is how many people comment to him that they came to the church the first time on his blog or twitter. Compare that with the number of people that come to the church the first time.
This is a similar discussion to newspaper writers, writing books. Those books may not be on the clock, but the notoritity of the books will likely bring in people to read the columns.
Jim says
No celeb sightings here in the sticks.
Paul Steinbrueck says
Way behind on my blog reading… Most of the popular Christian blogs are written either by well known senior pastors who are the lead dog at their church or authors who are completely independent. I can only think of a handful of people in the situation you describe, and John you are probably one of them. So, you are probably the only one here who can answer… and I would be curious to know…
What is your experience? What is the right response?
human3rror says
Paul,
I'm not as much of a celebrity as you may think and thankfully there is really no way that I could ever become more “popular” than my senior pastor and staff.
I think one of the best things that i've been able to do is come “clean” in terms of what i'm doing and be honest about my time, etc. Talking with my management about my passions, my motivations, and keeping the lines “open” has really helped.
communication is the lifeblood of everything we do.
Paul Steinbrueck says
You may not be more popular than your senior pastor, but I think everything else applies… Between your 2 blogs you are an amazingly prolific blogger. You've got a lot of passion for blogging, you put a pretty good amount of time into it, and you're earning money from it through sponsorships. If you were working for me I'd be asking you all those questions.
I totally agree that ongoing communication is key. Glad to hear you've been having those conversations.