Evangelical Celebs: Too Big to Fail?
December 2, 2011
There is an interesting article over at Gospel Coalition on celebrity pastors. I think the writer fails to make the important distinction between being a well-known public figure and being a celebrity but the points are well-made.
Nevertheless, one matter that needs further discussion but which never seems to feature is the economic side of all of this. If, as an organisation, you (for example) book a conference venue years in advance and are thus dependent upon selling sufficient tickets to cover all costs, what happens when the names that sell the big tickets misbehave? In the secular celebrity world, that is not a problem. A tantrum from a Mariah Carey can be parlayed into publicity and ticket sales. It would be very sad if the same were to become the case in the world of the celebrity Christian conference, where controversy and outrage became selling points; more immediately, do the powers that be possess the courage to alienate a big-selling name if and when they cross the line, given the future financial commitments of such an organisation?
The evangelical world has its Mariah Careys out there headlining the big organisations. It would be a shame if the evangelical world is such that when Mariah declares that she `won't do stairs', she is allowed to get away with it because she is just -- ahem -- too big to fail.
Nevertheless, one matter that needs further discussion but which never seems to feature is the economic side of all of this. If, as an organisation, you (for example) book a conference venue years in advance and are thus dependent upon selling sufficient tickets to cover all costs, what happens when the names that sell the big tickets misbehave? In the secular celebrity world, that is not a problem. A tantrum from a Mariah Carey can be parlayed into publicity and ticket sales. It would be very sad if the same were to become the case in the world of the celebrity Christian conference, where controversy and outrage became selling points; more immediately, do the powers that be possess the courage to alienate a big-selling name if and when they cross the line, given the future financial commitments of such an organisation?
The evangelical world has its Mariah Careys out there headlining the big organisations. It would be a shame if the evangelical world is such that when Mariah declares that she `won't do stairs', she is allowed to get away with it because she is just -- ahem -- too big to fail.
