Back to Bulletins List

Bulletin 159 Date : 25th Mar 2009
I’m a Celebrity get me out of here

I spent last night at the Malt Cross, a pub-café in the centre of Nottingham which is managed by a Christian community and sponsored by various denominations. The occasion last night was a visit by Pete Ward who teaches at King’s College, London, where he is involved in research into popular theology and culture. He is probably best known today for his book, ‘Liquid Church’ which has steered many in the Fresh Expressions movement to think more creatively about how we ‘do church’ for those with no understanding or experience of our traditional church culture.

Liquid Church differs from ‘solid church’ in many ways, not least in that it recognizes that the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to doing church does not attract many within today’s culture and we need to offer a variety of worship styles including multi-sensory worship.

Last night, Pete Ward was talking about the spirituality and theology within the ‘Celebrity Culture’ of today. Aided by many pictures of people like Charlotte Church and Gavin Henson (perhaps aspiring to be the next ‘Posh and Becks’), Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, Jade Goody, Amy Winehouse and many more, he explained how there are theological and spiritual themes at work within this culture that we may not recognize and therefore fail to capitalize upon in conversation with people around us. One of his criticisms of Fresh Expressions of Church is that we still start with ‘church as we know it’ and seek to adapt it to the modern culture rather than starting with modern culture and finding ways to create church within it, finding common themes and dialogues which draw people towards Christ and salvation. By recognizing the theology and spirituality within ‘Celebrity Culture’, we will be better able to do this.

His talk about ‘Celebrity Culture’ showed how many celebrities take on god-like characteristics, not dissimilar to the Greek gods with all their failings and fickleness. He went on to explore how the general public love to see these people unmasked and relish the times when they fall from grace. He mentioned how, when Amy Winehouse went for rehabilitation, this could be equated to salvation (not an image I entirely agreed with).

I quizzed him about the apparent lack of moral values in this culture to which he responded that there is an aversion towards infidelity (again, not that transparent). One of the most-hated women is Heather Mills for the way she acted during her divorce with Sir Paul McCartney. Perhaps this reflects the presence of morality, although we only know what the media tell us about these situations.

One thing that intrigued me was the list of people he defined as celebrities. In addition to the list above he also mentioned Nelson Mandela but classified him as a ‘saviour celebrity’ – one to whom people turn for wisdom and enlightenment. It made me think about Barack Obama and how he recently appeared on the American Jay Leno show relaxed and totally at one with the ‘Celebrity Culture Scene’ and yet, for some, he is seen as a ‘saviour celebrity’ (time will tell).

Princess Diana was mentioned as someone who, along with her celebrity status, carried the natural touch of getting alongside people in a natural manner. Again I see this gift in Barack Obama and contrast him with his predecessor.

It was a fascinating evening as Pete Ward unpacked his thinking, which is still at an early stage. But the lasting challenge for me was to look at celebrities, and the way the media projects them, in a new light – looking for ways in which the Christian Gospel can resonate with people captivated by ‘Celebrity Culture’. If we believe that God is at work in all situations, then we need to find out where he is at work in TV, films, football and the like.