Rockstar Status? Part 1

Set the stage, dim the lights, and then spotlight, cue fog, cue miracles . . . and the crowd goes wild! But why?

I think the temptation has become much too great to achieve "Rockstar Status" in the church, and somehow, our structures allow for this and even encourage this behavior that is reflective of some of Jesus' original followers: Peter, James and John. In Mark 9, these guys (brothers James and John, and also Peter) had gotten the inside scoop- they saw Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah (two heroes of the faith from the Old Testament), and heard God speak about how pleased He was with Jesus and how He asked for their devotion and attention. The first thing these two dudes want to do after that is to build some kind of shelter and monument of commemoration (hello, doesn’t anyone remember what happened when Aaron led the people to do that same thing “Let’s just build this golden calf, a beautiful idol to show what God has done,” when Moses was up on the mountain receiving the 10 Commandments?!), they don’t really understand the gravity of the moment and they just want to make it into something “cool” and something they can easily explain and show off to others.

The very next time their names are mentioned in the Scriptures (in Mark 10) here’s what they’re essentially asking: “Hey, Jesus, can we please be the ones to sit next to You in the VIP Room when we get to Heaven?” They wanted to be on the right and left hand of His throne in glory. Pretty presumptuous if you ask me!  Jesus’ response to them strikes me every time I read it: “You don’t know what you’re asking Me. Do you really want to share the baptism (being fully immersed) in my suffering, which is the key requirement in sharing in my glory? The things you’re asking aren’t even for me to determine, follow my ways . . . know God, ask Him.” *Matthew gives a similar account, where their mom asks the same question they asked, and He gives the same powerful response: “Woman, you don’t know what you’re asking Me for.”

Was the Kingdom of God ever meant to be built for man to receive the glory?