Christians worship a simply redemption arc. A wayward megastar finds faith? We’re all in—till they develop one thing that reminds us they’re human. Then, the identical those that set them on a pedestal are the first to grab the sledgehammer.
On this week’s RELEVANT Podcast, the crew unpacks this recurring cycle, dissecting the reactions to The Weeknd’s fresh statements about his faith and Mumford & Sons’ latest worshipful display screen. But beyond the headlines, they request the larger request: Why develop Christians war with giving public figures the grace they claim to imagine in?
Marty Santiago puts it it appears to be like that evidently: “I get love I basically bear to repent customarily for being this form of gatekeeper. I hear these reports, and my first response is, ‘Is that this real? Finish they in fact imply it?’ But I needed to check myself. No longer lower than they’re talking about it.”
This skepticism isn’t new. From Kanye West’s Jesus Is King generation to Justin Bieber’s successfully-documented faith dawdle, Christian culture has a pattern of celebrating newfound belief—till the particular person stumbles or doesn’t conform to certain expectations. Then, as Cameron Strang points out: “Christians correct now embody them, set them on a pedestal, abet them up to that fashioned. And they’re no longer ready for that yet. They discontinuance up falling and Christians then discard them fully.”
So what’s the switch right here? Perhaps surrender looking ahead to spiritual in a single day delivery. In plot of anxious perfection, the church needs to embody discipleship, permitting impart for increase, questions, and, yes, even missteps.
“My thought is often, I’m rooting for you, even in the occasion you’re a multitude accurate now, to no longer be a multitude in the end and praying that God grips your coronary heart,” Derek Minor acknowledged. “And when I started taking that capacity, it allowed me to bear extra grace on myself and beauty on utterly different folks.”
It’s a conversation worth having, and this episode of The RELEVANT Podcast dives deep into the nuances of faith, reputation and the grace we all need. Soar to 9:45 to listen now.
Episode 1240: John Eldredge