Celebrities live and die by their press clippings. Ministers of the gospel live and die by the power of Christ and his gospel (Rom. 1:16-17). So preach the life-giving gospel faithfully, die, and be forgotten—and the Lord will continue to raise up other faithful men to continue his ministry until Jesus comes again.

There have been a number of recent news articles and commentaries on the celebrity status of some high profile ministers; this status has taken a well-deserved hit – and the hits will probably continue. Perhaps these celebrity pastors (and all pastors, for that matter) will be wise to heed this exhortation from Count Nicolas Von Zinzendorf (edited slightly), “Preach the gospel faithfully, die, and be forgotten.”

Throughout history the Lord has indeed raised up men who reached a type of celebrity status, but let it be the Lord who does the raising up (as John the Baptist learned, “He must increase, but I must decrease,” John 3:30). Paul never took his press clippings seriously. He was ready to die, depart, and be with Jesus (Phil 1:21-26), but he sensed the Lord had more for him to do. But we can see how he was ready to leave behind his ‘celebrity’ status and make his exodus to Jesus. In pointing to the great celebrity King, David, Paul said, “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay” (Acts 13:36).

Paul was following Jesus’ attitude about people when they were seeking to make him the next personality and cultural phenom: “Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about man, for he knew what was in each person” (John 2:23-25).

Jesus knew the hearts and attitudes of the people were fickled and were prompted more by emotions and the immediate; he didn’t capitulate to these shallow, momentary adulations. The people were impressed with the “WOW” factor (the signs he was performing). Jesus was not the latest snake oil salesman; he was not beginning a new political or cultural wave; consequently, he was not caught up in the moment. His mission was much grander, long term, life changing, and eternal. So he didn’t sell out his mission for a mess of pottage.

Al Mohler, in his book The Conviction to Lead, presents a sobering reminder of how fleeting fame, fortune and life really are. He writes of

…an old preacher [who] told a group of younger preachers to remember that they would die. “They are going to put you in a box,” he said, “and put the box in the ground, and throw dirt on your face, and then go back to the church and eat potato salad.”

Celebrities live and die by their press clippings. Ministers of the gospel live and die by the power of Christ and his gospel (Rom. 1:16-17). So preach the life-giving gospel faithfully, die, and be forgotten—and the Lord will continue to raise up other faithful men to engage in and do his ministry until Jesus comes again.

Dr. Dominic A. Aquila is a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America; he serves as President of New Geneva Theological Seminary in Colorado Springs, Colo., and is Editor of The Aquila Report.