What about Celebrity Christians?

With the recent apostasy of Kanye West, the issue of celebrity Christians has once again surfaced. In addition to Kanye West’s high-profile religious rise and fall, we might think of Russell Brand’s recent profession of faith. 

Brand has been vocal on social media, extolling Jesus and the gospel, although at times, he has said and done things that leave believers scratching their heads, not quite sure how they fit with his claim to be saved. We have seen an exponential increase in amateur and professional athletes publicly thanking Christ after competitions. How should Christians respond when a celebrity publicly embraces Christ?

Two responses often prevail when celebrities claim to have been converted to Christianity. On one end, we have people who excitedly embrace them, platform them, and treat them as de facto religious leaders. 

They see these celebrities as great spokespeople for Christ and the Christian faith. Having such cultural influencers on the side of truth will result in a massive societal impact, with perhaps millions of unbelievers suddenly coming to faith in Christ.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have people who cynically reject celebrity professions of faith as marketing ploys, false conversions, or both. Some people take a guilty-until-proven-innocent approach to these stories. 

They refuse to believe that a celebrity could have become a genuine follower of Christ. They will declare that these celebrities should not be celebrated as true Christians, at least not until they prove otherwise.

Both of these responses are understandable. As Christians, we want the name of Christ to be proclaimed throughout the earth, and when someone with a massive megaphone claims the name of Christ, we see an opportunity for greater proclamation of the gospel. On the other hand, we’ve seen far too often famous people claim to become Christians only to quickly fall away, embrace heterodox theology, or persist in ungodly lifestyles. We are rightfully cautious when a high-profile individual suddenly claims to be a Christian. 

While these responses are understandable, I want to suggest a different and, I believe, more biblical approach to celebrity conversion stories.

First, we must proceed cautiously when a celebrity professes their faith in Christ. 

While this principle applies to anyone who claims to have recently been converted, it is especially true when dealing with a high-profile new believer. This principle comes from Jesus’ parable of the four soils in Matthew 13. In it, Jesus tells a story about a farmer who went out to sow his seed. 

Some seeds fell on a path, and birds immediately came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground. Because the soil was shallow, the seeds sprang up almost immediately, but the lack of roots caused them to wither when the sun scorched them. A third set of seeds fell on soil covered with thorns, and eventually, the thorns choked the life out of the plants growing on that soil. A fourth soil was good soil, and the seeds produced a variety of quantities of fruitfulness.

When the disciples asked Jesus to explain this parable, he explained that the rocky soil pictures the professing believer who falls away during persecution because he has no depth to his faith. His faith is shallow and hollow, so it does not save.

That is proven by his unwillingness to suffer. The third soil with thorns pictures a professing believer whose faith gets choked to death by riches and the world's cares. The third person also proves to have a false belief because it ultimately does not overcome the world. Time proves that such faith is not saving but a sham. Only the fourth person has a fruitful, and therefore saving, faith.

This parable helps us understand why some people profess faith in Christ but seemingly fall away from their faith. It’s not that they were believers who lost their salvation. They were false converts who were attracted to Jesus for various reasons but did not have genuine faith in Him. The two catalysts that revealed them as false converts were suffering and success.

When we consider these two tests God uses to determine who is genuinely saved and who is false, we must recognise that celebrities are uniquely positioned to fail these tests spectacularly. The rich and famous are not used to suffering because their financial position typically allows them to avoid many ways. Those lacking resources suffer. 

Furthermore, Jesus clarified that riches are a pernicious way of choking out faith. He even told the disciples, “It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:23 CSB). 

The comforts and luxuries of the world are a real and present danger to salvation, and no one in society has more of these dangers than celebrities. The Apostle Paul, following Jesus’ teaching, reminded the Corinthian Christians that not many of them were among the cultural elites or the rich and famous (1 Cor 1:26).

Because of this biblical teaching, we would proceed cautiously whenever a celebrity makes a profession of faith in Christ. We must recognize that a profession of faith does not necessarily equate to genuine salvation. We know this is true from the many false converts who are not rich and famous. We should not be naive enough to believe that celebrities who profess faith in Christ have heard, understood, and believed the true gospel when such faith is rare in the world at large.

Once we understand the potential reality of false conversion, we should treat celebrities who make professions of faith no different than anyone who professes to know Christ. James 2:1-7 clearly articulates the sinfulness of showing partiality. God can save the rich and famous; sometimes, He does save them. When God works in that way, we should not treat them any differently than when a poor person is saved by grace. That requires at least three things of us.

First, we must not platform a new believer or celebrity. New converts need time to grow in their faith, develop a deep love for Christ and His Word, and understand the riches of the Bible. No one who is a new believer is ready for leadership in the local church or in other ministries outside the church. 

A converted celebrity should not be invited to speak at conferences or events, preach sermons in churches, or lead Bible studies or small groups until they are spiritually mature enough to handle that responsibility. 

Because celebrities are often charismatic figures (personality, not theology), it can be easy to think they are further along their spiritual journey than they are. So, we must proceed with an appropriate level of caution, ensuring that they are spiritually prepared before they are handed a microphone to speak for Christ.

Second, we should insist that celebrity Christians integrate into a local church body as would any other Christian. Unless providentially hindered, they should attend Sunday morning worship and prioritise it, even at the expense of other projects outside the church. 

For example, NFL players might have to find other ways to fellowship during football season since most games are played on Sundays. They should connect with other believers in their local body and use their spiritual gifts to serve the church. 

They should also anonymously give financially as an act of worship to Christ. I realize these are difficult to ask because a church might be tempted to treat a celebrity differently. However, the church must resist every urge to treat someone famous with partiality. They must be treated like every other Christian, as another body member called to do their part in serving Christ and His bride.

Third, celebrity Christians should seek biblical discipleship to grow in their faith. This should be done in the context of the local church. Just like every other Christian, they need to grow to spiritual maturity, and the best way to do that is to be disciplined by a godly, mature believer. 

Such discipleship happens while listening to expositional preaching, discussing the Bible with other Christians, praying in large and small groups, and talking with other believers individually about life’s joys and struggles.

When we seek to discern whether a celebrity is a believer, these are some helpful things to keep in mind. Yes, God can and does save some among the rich and famous. However, we must know that such conversions are the exception, not the rule. That should give us a healthy dose of caution. 

But since God does save some celebrities, we should provide them with the necessary path to spiritual growth and maturity by avoiding using them to promote our ministries and churches, integrating them into the body like any other Christian, and encouraging them to pursue discipleship as a lifestyle. 

When we see a well-known person profess faith in Christ, join a local church, and demonstrate a commitment to discipleship within that church, we can be encouraged that the Spirit of God has indeed wrought new life in the sinner’s heart.