Influence, platform, followers, celebrity, popularity, and more are some of the many things people strive for in many church and individual circles today.
They are all kind of buzz terms that really don't account for much, (especially if you have the wrong focus.) in the long run in regards to truly building God's kingdom and making sure He's known.
Some who may have began with good intentions trying to point people to Christ, have ended up trying to build their little kingdoms and followings so they are well known instead of turning the focus on The One they are supposedly trying to represent.
Sadly, they convince themselves that it's the same thing... But it's not! They give into popularity and celebrity status which is a far cry from where they first began.
Then you have people like a well known rapper bringing in the numbers by the thousands for his so called "Sunday Service" which essentially is worship of the certain rapper instead of worshiping Jesus and pointing people to Him!
Whether it's "celebrity preachers" or well known music artists, down to common everyday Christians like you and I, we have to guard against seeking after fame for the sake of fame. We also have guard against allowing people to in essence worship us when Jesus is the one Who we all should be worshiping.
My friend, make sure you... Build His kingdom and not your own.
Communicate His platform. (AKA The Great Commission)
Worry about His influence as He works through you and not your own.
Worry about building His followers and not your own.
He must increase and you and I must decrease.
No matter how popular you may become, no matter how many followers you have, no matter what... Don't let people worship you. Instead, point them to Jesus in all you do because it's all about Him and not about you an I!
All glory, honor, and praise belongs to Him!
Your Brother and Servant in Christ,
Randolph Koch