MOST PEOPLE REJECT TRUTH

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In a recently posted video, U.S. Olympic gold medallist Sydney McLaughlin opened up about the “toxic” nature of fame and the pain she’s felt as those around her have rejected her because of her faith in Jesus. McLaughlin, 22, filmed the video after the Olympic Trials, which were held in Eugene, Oregon, in late June, but didn’t share it until this week.

AP Photo/Kyusung Gong
Sydney McLaughlin says Fame Is ‘Such a Test of Faith’ as critics reject ‘Jesus Living in Me’

She said it “hurts” not knowing “when it’s going to be enough for a lot of people,” adding she’s “worked really hard, and been very cautious of how I carry myself, of the things that I post because I want to glorify God and I want to be a good example to people, but our world only accepts ignorance.”

McLaughlin, who has been very outspoken about her faith in Christ, said she feels she’s being rejected because she gives God the glory for her success.

“People reject truth,” the New Jersey native explained. “I know they’re not rejecting me. They’re rejecting Jesus living in me. That’s fine, but I’m just being honest, like, sometimes my flesh has a problem with that.”

In the caption for the video, McLaughlin said she feels the 10-minute clip carries “a deeper message than just my emotions that I think others may need to hear.”

“Even in success,” she wrote, “there can be pain. Even in triumph, there can be tribulations. But how you respond, and the lens in which you view those situations, provides an opportunity for growth and change.”

“I am beyond grateful for everything that has taken place this year,” the Olympian continued. “But the thing I am most grateful for is a renewed mind that has allowed for me to look at a video like this and see the changes Christ is doing in my life.”

ARE OUR CHURCHES MAKING DISCIPLES?

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Great fame, a massive following and financial fortune did not matter to Jesus. And it should not matter to us.

His only obsession was to please the Father. We should be likewise obsessed.

Matthew reported that Jesus preached the gospel and healed the sick all over Galilee. (4:23) Because of his preaching and healing “His fame spread” which resulted in even more preaching and healing. (4:24) The predictable result of all this preaching and healing was that “great crowds followed him.” (4:25)

So, Jesus now has fame and crowds. The only thing missing (for modern success) is the fortune. But great fame, a massive following and financial fortune did not matter to Jesus. And it should not matter to us. But it often does. Even in ministry.

What did Jesus do with His newfound fame and huge following? How did He “leverage his platforms” in order to increase his following? How did He alter His content to increase His followers? How did He monetise His influence? That’s what we would do, right?

Notice carefully what Jesus did. “Seeing the crowds, he went up on a mountain. And when he sat down, His disciples came to Him” (Matt. 5:1).

Two important words: “crowds” and “disciples.”

1. “Seeing the crowds, he went up on a mountain.” Today when we see crowds in our Sunday service, in our campus ministry or on social media, we think we have succeeded. We must be doing something right and God is must be blessing our efforts. In order to be good stewards of our success, we do everything imaginable to maintain and grow our audience. Our first move is to leverage our platform for growth and influence. Jesus did the opposite. His first move was to walk away from the crowd.

2. He traded a massive crowd of adorning followers for a small group of committed disciples. A careful reading of the Gospels will reveal that the more crowds followed Jesus, the more he retreated to be alone with the Father and with his disciples.

Every leader of a growing ministry will be faced with an important decision: attract crowds or make disciples. Will we leave the crowds in order to make disciples, or will we allow the demands of the crowd to pull us away from small group discipleship?

Too many pastors and ministry leaders choose the crowds. Pastor Francis Chan, author of best seller, Crazy Love chose correctly, as shown in my recent post Church as God Intended.

This article originally appeared at stevemurrell.com. Steve serves as the president of Every Nation Churches and Ministries, a ministry that does church planting and campus ministry in over 70 nations.