What are the potential issues with celebrity pastors?

But are not we all affected with these two evils? I have pointed out that the Word says, “The whole was leavened.” The evil shows itself in various ways. Where there may be no outward appearance of a clerical system, an ordained, human appointed, and recognized priesthood, has it not often been seen that a few clever, headstrong leaders sometimes arrogate to themselves a position and an authority in divine things which outshine the Roman Bishop himself? They may be designated “the spiritual” or “leading men”; the term spiritual is preferred by themselves, but their object is to bring the people of God into complete subjection to their system. I suppose this is what is referred to in Revelation 2 as Nicolaitanism. It is said the word means “Conquerors of the people.” The saints of God are by them brought into subjection. Those who prefer to serve God apart from their dictation are placed under a ban, and spoken of as lawless, and all in every place are warned against having anything to do with them. They take the place of “Lords over God’s heritage” (1 Peter 5:3). Inspected closely they are always found to be men of neither spirituality nor of moral calibre, such as would fit them for a prominent place among the people of God; but are simply men of determination who will have a place of pre-eminence no matter by what means it is to be attained. “Servant of all” (Mark 9:35) is not a place which is coveted by them, and yet this is just the divine way of reaching the top of the ladder.

Such teachers sometimes present themselves as having special divine authority to teach, so that their ministry is authoritative in the eyes of their followers; the deluded disciples not understanding that the only authoritative ministry for the church is that given in the Scriptures, by divine inspiration, through the Holy Spirit.

What an awful responsibility have those who occupy a place of prominence and influence among the saints of God! How unutterably solemn it is to think of the influence, for good or bad, of men of gift who can largely control the acts of their brethren. It is a place no man would covet, for peace and ease. It means work, prayer, responsibility, firmness, love; or else the dreadful alternative of leading the people of God astray.

What an awful responsibility have those who occupy a place of prominence and influence among the saints of God! How unutterably solemn it is to think of the influence, for good or bad, of men of gift who can largely control the acts of their brethren. It is a place no man would covet, for peace and ease. It means work, prayer, responsibility, firmness, love; or else the dreadful alternative of leading the people of God astray.

When Christ by the Spirit stirs the souls of His people, He does so through His appointed leaders. Joshua communicated the result of the divine exhortation to the officers, and thus the authority of the divine command passed down to each of the rank and file of Jehovah's army. Thus God, by His Spirit, worked through leaders when He established Christianity on earth, when in His grace He revived the great truth of justification by faith at the Reformation, and when He quickened in His saints' hearts a burning love for souls, in the days of Whitfield and Wesley. First, the overseers of His people are possessed with the truth of the word, and then, through them, the people. Christ, by the Holy Spirit, makes living and energetic, in the souls of men of His choice, the truths of the Scriptures He is pleased to revive in the Church at large. In the scene immediately before us, the word of God ran through the chosen channels till the whole camp was alive with the energy the word had first produced in Joshua's soul.

The Christian soldier, in whose soul the truth produces a distinct energy in life and ways, becomes in a greater or less degree an "officer" in the Lord's army. According to the unhindered action of the Spirit within him, he is a captain of a hundred or of a thousand, the power of Christ within him influencing other Christians in the ways of the Lord. It should be remembered that it is only as the believer is continually influenced by the word of God that he can rightly influence others in the things of the Lord's mind. True godly influence results from the Christian being in communion with Christ. Many an one who was once an "officer" in the "host," by letting his soul fall out of the place of dependence on Christ, has become but a false leader of God's people; and the wider the influence for good once was, the wider the influence for evil becomes. This will be presently unfolded in the instances of Achan, and of the princes who were deceived by the Gibeonites.

We see exemplified here the same thing as obtains everywhere in the Scriptures; viz., that responsibility is increased by position and privilege. Thus if the priest or a ruler sinned, he had to bring a larger sacrifice than one of the common people. (Leviticus 4) So in this chapter the priests, being the appointed instructors of the people, are dealt with more severely — with unsparing judgment. Instead of guiding the people aright, as we have seen, they caused many to stumble. Whenever leaders go astray, the consequences are more grave, for they are more influential, both for good and for evil. Many illustrations of this may be found in the history of the Church of God. A private Christian falling into error or immorality exerts an influence only upon his own circle; but if a teacher, prominent in the Church, departs from the way of truth, he oftentimes draws away thousands after him in his own evil path. On the other hand, just as we read here, "I have made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways," etc., so will it be when such are guilty of glaring inconsistencies. If the walk of those who assume "sacred" offices, or of those who are really gifts to the Church, be not according to godliness, they will soon be despised and regarded as contemptible. Even a man of the world has no respect for those whose lives belie their profession.

These Corinthian saints pandered to this spirit of emulation by attaching themselves to certain gifted teachers, and by closely following and accepting all they said, not necessarily because it was the truth according to the word of God, but because it was advanced by a favourite teacher. One said, “I am of Paul”; another said, “I am of Apollos”. Each seeking to defend his favourite teacher naturally led to strife, and strife to divisions. Thus men were followed, individuals were exalted, and divisions resulted. Two evils followed: one was sectarianism, which set aside the truth of the assembly, the other clericalism, which set aside Christ as the Head of the assembly.

The evil here is the converse of that of which the Apostle speaks in Acts 20:30. There he warned the Ephesian elders that trouble would arise from leaders; here he states that it arises from disciples. There he speaks of what would occur after his decease, here of what was taking place in his lifetime. One evil leads to the other. The evil that commences with Christians forming parties round leaders ends with the leaders teaching perverse things. This solemn principle, which showed itself at Corinth, has been at work throughout the history of the church with like disastrous results. People have ranged themselves round favourite teachers, and the leaders, allowing themselves to be placed in this false position, have eventually taught perverse things and brought division amongst the people of God by drawing away disciples after themselves.

History has shown that again and again people have ranged themselves round favourite teachers, and the teachers, thus placed in a false position, have eventually taught false doctrine, and broken up the people of God. When appreciation of the ministry degenerates into adulation of the minister, the result is as disastrous for the leader as for the led.

Teachers are special helps given to the entire Church by the ascended Lord, and he who undervalues the help given, dishonors the Lord from whom the teachers have their mission and qualification. But men often turn special help into special hindrances and this often has been done with teachers. The moment the teacher is allowed to give authority to the truth — making it true because he says so — instead of the truth he teaches giving him authority; the moment the teacher is allowed to come between men and the Word, instead of bringing them to the Word; the moment the teacher is made the substitute for personal labor in the divine Word instead of a help and encouragement towards personal labor, then there is perversion of the gift and disaster follows! The whole evil of the Church teaching — man's rule usurping God's rule — has come in this way. Clergy and laity are thus formed.