The most famous person I’ve ever met is Wynton Marsalis, the jazz trumpeter. I was 17 years old and attending a summer music camp in North Carolina. Wynton was holding a trumpet masterclass and my boyfriend at the time had been invited to play for him. I remember being introduced to him backstage and just freezing, not knowing what to say. I awkwardly said, “I love your music,” and then left feeling like a starstruck idiot.

The evangelical world has its own famous people. Authors and speakers. Preachers and teachers. We have incredible access to these people through the internet, books, conferences, and podcasts. I have learned much from people like John Piper and Nancy Guthrie. Others have written of the problems of celebrity culture in the church, and in the past month the Lord has convicted me personally of one of these problems – using our brothers and sisters as commodities. What do I mean by that? A commodity is something of use to you. It brings value. When it ceases to bring value, you sell it or trade it. Maybe you even throw it in the trash. The main point is how you can benefit from it.

In the past month I have met two people who might be considered “famous” in the evangelical world, although they would both refuse the label. One has been around for a while and the other is just starting to receive attention from publishers and Christian media. Who they are is not important. What is important is what the Lord showed me a couple nights ago as I was praying. I had become so familiar with one of them through podcasts and books that to sit under their teaching for a whole week seemed like a dream come true. All week I have eagerly lapped up every word, but last night I realized I had not even prayed for this person. I was guilty of using this person for what I could get out of them, not coming alongside them in prayer, holding them up, asking the Lord to strengthen them and keep them faithful to him.

The internet and social media can easily turn real brothers and sisters in the Lord into marketable commodities that we use for our own selfish purposes then discard when they lose their value or, God forbid, fall. We should not treat one another like this! They are part of the same body that Christ has formed by his Spirit and we are vitally connected to them. (Eph. 4:4-6) Let’s remember Aaron and Hur (Ex. 17:12-14) who held up the arms of Moses and be like them, supporting and coming alongside, praying and encouraging even from afar.