Alpha’s Leadership Conference is right to tackle Christian celebrity culture. But it’s a complicated problem

The former leader of London’s Holy Trinity Brompton Church, Nicky Gumbel has revealed the names of worship leaders and speakers headlining this year’s Leadership Conference won’t be pre-announced in an attempt to combat “celebrity culture”. Eddie Arthur appreciates the effort, but has some questions

Years ago, I was director of a large mission agency, which gave me a slight prominence in the Christian world.

I wasn’t a celebrity or a household name, but I did get invited to speak at churches and conferences and I’d get the occasional call from the BBC asking for me to comment on some subject or other.

When I stepped down from being director, the invitations and phone calls almost completely dried up. To be honest, it came as a bit of a shock, being even slightly in the public eye was addictive and I really missed it. It took a few years till I learned to relish my relative obscurity.

I was reminded of my own experience, when I learned that the Alpha Leadership Conference…