BOOKS
CELEBRITIES FOR JESUS
Many Christian leaders use their fame and influence to great effect. Whether that popularity resides at the local church level or represents national or international influence, many leaders have effectively said to their followers, "Follow me as I follow Christ." But fame that is cultivated for its own sake, without attendant spiritual maturity and proper accountability, has a shadow side that can run counter to the heart of the gospel message. Celebrity in the church has led to abuses of power, the cultivation of persona, and a fixation on profits.
In light of the fall of famous Christian leaders in recent years, the time has come for the church to reexamine its relationship to celebrity. Award-winning writer Katelyn Beaty explores the ways fame has reshaped the American church, explains how and why celebrity is woven into the fabric of the evangelical movement, and identifies many ways fame goes awry. She shows us how Christians unwittingly foster a celebrity culture and offers a vision of ordinary, unseen faithfulness, helping all of us—whether leaders or everyday believers—to keep celebrity power in its proper place.
Praise for Celebrities For Jesus
"In this stupendously convicting and well-researched book, Katelyn Beaty probes the soul of the celebrity pastor, and even more hauntingly, she examines how we the people help create such larger-than-life figures. With the inexorable transition to more online forms of discipleship in the digital age, Celebrities for Jesus provides a timely, sober reflection on the toxic culture that often arises when piety and popularity mix.”
—Jemar Tisby, New York Times bestselling author of The Color of Compromise and How to Fight Racism
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“The ancient temptations Jesus experienced in the wilderness have morphed into toxic cultures of celebrity—and this is cause for great concern. Katelyn Beaty prophetically helps us to see the dangers compromising the Church’s witness in the world and ways we can live with greater integrity. This book is a great gift, and should be required reading for all who love the church.”
—Rich Villodas, pastor of New Life Fellowship; author of The Deeply Formed Life
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“We are in the midst of a reckoning on the role of celebrity within American evangelicalism. From her position of being inside the machine, Katelyn Beaty brings two key elements to this compelling book. First, she brings knowledge and insights that will help anyone wanting to disentangle their faith from celebrity culture. But, even more than this, she offers an honest, humble self-examination that is a model many of us in the church need to follow.”
—Karen Swallow Prior, research professor of English and Christianity & culture, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; author of On Reading Well
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“This timely book offers the reader a close, revealing, and challenging look at celebrity Christianity. It doesn’t point fingers but rather holds up an overdue mirror to American Christian pop culture. Beaty’s journalism bona fides are on full display as she highlights familiar and maybe unfamiliar stories about large segments of American Christianity filled with unchecked power, manipulative charisma, and cultures of enablement. Her vulnerable self-reflection and theological survey are an added bonus that strengthens her credibility. This work contributes to a growing body of thoughtful commentary on church dysfunction with the hope of transformation.”
—Christina Edmondson, leadership development consultant, Certified Cultural Intelligence facilitator, and cohost of the Truth’s Table podcast
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“With insight and empathy, Katelyn Beaty diagnoses the broken patterns of leadership we see in the church. This book shows us the isolation and loneliness and abuse that can come from, and contribute to, these expectations of celebrity. But this book is no mere jeremiad. It points the way forward to renewed visions of power, accountability, and humility.”
—Russell Moore, chair of public theology, Christianity Today
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“A wit once said a celebrity is a person famous for being famous, but the quip needs to be modified for American evangelical celebrities. For evangelicalism a celebrity is someone who has formed, cultivated, and platformed a persona of themselves that attracts a following. In some cases, there is substance behind the persona; in many cases, there is not. In all cases, we need a demotion of the celebrity culture and the expansion of leaders who are followers of Jesus, the Jesus whose greatness came from the surrender of himself for the sake of others. I am so glad to see Katelyn Beaty expose this very serious problem in our churches. It will be must reading for all those who want to lead.”
—Scot McKnight, professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary; coauthor, A Church Called Tov
A WOMAN’S PLACE
Women today inhabit and excel in every profession, yet many Christian women wonder whether their work really matters for the kingdom.
In A Woman’s Place, Katelyn Beaty—the youngest and first female managing editor of Christianity Today—insists it’s time to reconsider women’s work. She challenges us to explore new ways to live out the scriptural call to rule over creation—in the office, the home, in ministry, and beyond.
Starting with the Bible’s approach to work—including the creation story, the Proverbs 31 woman, and New Testament models—Beaty shows how women’s roles in Western society have changed; how the work-home divide came to exist; and how the Bible offers models of women in leadership. Readers will be inspired by stories of women effecting dynamic cultural change, leading institutions, and living out grand and beautiful vocations.
Far from insisting that women must work outside the home, Beaty urges all believers into a better framework for imagining career, ambition, and calling. Whether caring for children, running a home, business, or working full-time, all readers will be inspired to live in a way that glorifies God.
Sure to spark discussion, A Woman’s Place is a game-changing look at the importance of work for women and men alike.
Praise for A Woman's Place
"Katelyn has written a powerful and prophetic book that speaks to the angst that so many women feel. In it, she provides a strong theological foundation that encourages us all to step into all that God has called us to do. She shows us the sacred value of work and that biblically and historically, women have always been involved in God's mission."
—Christine Caine, founder of Propel Women
"I loved this book, and I wish I could put it in the hands of every woman I know."
—Sarah Bessey, author of Jesus Feminist, editor of A Rhythm of Prayer
"Women in all life stages will benefit from Beaty’s holistic and positive theology of work, whether that work is carpools or corporate board meetings—or both. Men also need to read this so they can encourage their wives, daughters, nieces, neighbors and sisters in Christ to reach their God-given potential."
—Kara Powell, executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute
"Citing theologians and Christian thinker with various opinions about women treating vocational jobs as their callings, Beaty situates her main argument around Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In and considers how Christian women should balance responsibilities toward their families, their faith, and their own career ambitions...Readers will be treated to in-depth study from a scriptural perspective as Beaty traces the history of women and work through the ages. Beaty's work is certain to generate lively discussion and some personal soul-searching."
"With adroit hands and an authentic heart, Katelyn Beaty opens our eyes to the central place work has for every image bearer of God... While the focus of her writing serves as persuasive apologetic for the goodness and rightness of a woman's place in the workplace, it is a must read book for both women and men."
—Tom Nelson, president, Made to Flourish
"We think this is one of the finest books of the year."
— Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds Bookstore