People with Paper Pastors

In an age of i-pods, mega-churches, and celebrity pastors, ordinary ministers in ordinary churches (like me and my church) get short shrift. Today I came across a thought-provoking essay about the human tendency to gravitate towards celebrity pastors and teachers at the expense of involvement in the local church.

Here is an excerpt:

"Nobody can compete with a fantasy. And this post is not about pornography, men, women, nor marriage.

It is about people with paper pastors.

Now, some professed Christians sin outright, by never physically attending an actual, in-person church. We've talked about that, and they aren't our focus.

But others do attend a church — physically. They come in, they sit down. They sing, they may give financially. They may look at you, Pastor, as you preach. But you know their heart belongs to another. Their real pastor isn't you. It's Dave Hunt. Or it's John Piper. Or it's John MacArthur, or Ligon Duncan, or Mark Dever, or David Cloud, or Joel Osteen. Or it's Charles Spurgeon, or D. M. Lloyd-Jones, or J. C. Ryle. Or Calvin, or Luther, or Bahnsen, or de Mar, or R. B. Thieme, or J. Vernon McGee."

Read the rest @ Pyromaniacs: Porn and paper pastors