This was fantastic and encouraging.....For all the celebs out there preaching the gospel who are doing it for the right reason, all of us still though are called to "see that these things be so" and not just take their word for it. I mean that with all due respect towards the ones that are doing well too. But Apostle Paul said the Bereans checked him out, so modern day "celeb" gospel preachers and apologist are not above the apostle Paul on that too. Its good for both the hearer and preacher when its all for the truth, because both are hearers at the end of the day who need to believe and follow Jesus in truth and spirit.
@coreeshi Says:
When I was younger, where I live, the phrase "the end justifies the means" was quite popular. I don't know if it still is, and if people repeat it as much, because I don't communicate with a lot of people outside my circle, but I still think that, even if it is not repeated as much, the phrase is still embedded in our thinking. Now that I am older and a Christian I realize how wrong and how corrupting that is. And I believe that the phrase summarizes quite good what you are saying. Thank you for this video.
@surrenderdaily333 Says:
I'm looking for a particular video you did on how the manuscript texts are like messed up phone texts, but the more you have, the more accurate your translation is. Do you know the name of that one? You were showing the texts between you and your son, I believe. I need it for my brother. We're discussing text accuracy right now.
@surrenderdaily333 Says:
I think someone should go out and market the Bible. Not to sell it, but to get people to read it.
@surrenderdaily333 Says:
I don't have any authority or respect from any person - that's MY unique situation. I am isolated, home bound, have everything delivered to me that I need, and even my kids won't speak to me or come and see me. No one listens to me, LOL. It can be painful at times, but I figure God has His reasons for my life being the way it is and I accept that and praise and thank Him for what I do have; shelter, food, a/c, heat, electricity, water, computer, mp3, cats, and my disability income. It's okay because I know I am closer to God this way and I can focus all my attention on learning about Him. I can't even get a church member to come and see me. Every now and then I'll contact a church and ask for help, but I have never gotten a response back. I have very few distractions, and certainly not any sex, power, or money. Except maybe some power in prayer. As long as it's God's will, that's all that matters. I think He's teaching me a lesson (or many) because of how badly I lived my life. Philippians 4:11
@surrenderdaily333 Says:
I loved your testimony in God's Not Dead 2 and also that of Lee Strobel. I knew of you both and had listened to much of your content before that movie. I am glad you did that, it was pretty powerful, in my opinion, because I knew it was truth. What happened with Ravi Z saddened me. I loved his way of speaking the truth. We should all pray for those leaders in the Christian church that they will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
@surrenderdaily333 Says:
I've commented on several of the Christian channels I watch here on YT that if they keep showing celebs dancing scantily clad or sexually provocatively, I would unsubscribe because I don't watch that stuff on TV, I don't even own a TV because I think most of it is garbage and I don't like paying for garbage, and why would I watch clips of it on social media then? I told them I wouldn't even know of or about these people if it wasn't for them showing all the bad stuff they do, or how they claim to be Christians and then put out stuff that is so blatantly non Christian. A couple of them stopped showing that kind of stuff, and I unsubscribed to the ones who didn't. That's just my take on celebs. They don't impress me. I'm too old for that silliness.
@WayneStewart-p9l Says:
A lot of great Christian men started out with no money anything except love of God that’s it. Wesley,Moody in Victorian England working with dirt poor outcasts . In my humble opinion this Mighty men of God mentality modern mentality is the main root cause of the rot that’s seems to set in.
@willleonhardt3827 Says:
I believe. N I trust n jesus.
@georgewagner7787 Says:
I watch you on Dateline too though. Ha
The RZ situation broke my heart. He taught Sunday school for adults when i was very young and not sure when but my dad ( who was an honest upright man) was SS superintendent
@taylordubyna5386 Says:
Thank you for preaching this message. May we put God first in all things.
@rhondablack5880 Says:
My heart sank when I became aware of Ravi's situation. But we have to remember that when one becomes "famous", Satan will tempt us to step off the "side of our lane". It will seem innocent to us at the time, but ultimately destroy our influence. We must use DESCERNMENT throughout our whole lives, ESPECIALLY in these last days. Hold on to the scriptures and keep them in our hearts and minds. It will keep us, guide us, in all we do. ❤❤❤❤
@tonyr6365 Says:
Jesus was crucified and died for our sins. His blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus was buried. Jesus was raised from the dead by God. Jesus left the tomb. Jesus was seen alive by Mary Magdalene, Peter, the twelve, over 500 brethren at once, James, all the apostles and Paul.
@tonyr6365 Says:
Jesus is the Son of God who came in the flesh through the virgin Mary who conceived by God. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
@tonyr6365 Says:
Jesus Christ is Lord. Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
@scottkraniak4874 Says:
Thank yOuuuu. I needed to hear this so badly. As a pastor this is major and this video has been an answer to prayer in my struggles
@cubbie8330 Says:
"He must increase, and I must decrease." John the Baptist
@MichaelEllis1 Says:
Excellent rant. Struck me as sincere and action oriented.. well done
@eugenetswong Says:
FEEDBACK
I just realized that if people are looking for your official YouTube channel, then leaving your faces on the banner might actually help. In that situation, it is a user friendliness issue.
@eugenetswong Says:
Jim, this is true for all ministries and kinds of service. We should all focus.
@rebecca120xmany Says:
Remember also that ANY man or woman who is serving God effectively has a big bull’s-eye painted on his or her back that the enemy aims for. He always tries to bring down God’s servants in order to discredit His word. We pray for the Lord’s grace and forgiveness and correction for those who succumb to satan’s fiery darts, while not excusing their actions. And it’s very important not to allow their succumbing to temptations to cause us to discard the word and works of God that have come through their ministries.
@jarednel Says:
Amazing and brutally honest video. I love it! 💯💛👏
While I completely understand the concerns with celerity culture and personality cults within Christianity, I'm not convinced that removing your face from thumbnails and content branding is necessarily the right answer. I think this for 3 reasons:
1. Even if you remove your face from video thumbnails, as soon as someone clicks on a video, they will see you speaking and delivering meaningful content that helps them. And so this will result in them recognising you and still potentially idolising you. Unless you turn ALL your videos into pure animated graphics, your face and personality are still there. Would you also then need to anonymise your books? Etc. Eventually, people will work out who you are. 🤷♂️
2. It's just human nature that we desire to connect to other humans. That's why thumbnails with faces attract more attention. We want to feel like we can relate and connect with someone on the other side of the screen. This is not necessarily a bad thing but rather an important aspect of human connection. I agree that the overly dramatic, ridiculous, and clickbait thumbnails are stupid and drive me crazy. I hate them. But I think the answer is not necessarily removing your face altogether but rather using an authentic, appropriate image because, again, people connect with other people. 🤝
3. In Scripture, many of the people God used in significant ways became 'celebrities' and known throughout the region. Some people idolised them to the point that people like Paul had to address it in his letters. I feel like this tendency with people is unavoidable. Pauls response wasn't to make himself anonymous and hide his face, but simply to correct the people's thinking and challenge them to do better. This might be the more balanced approach? 🧐
Either way, I completely understand the concerns and dangers raised here. They are significant and especially relevant in today's celerity culture. But I just think that any meaningful ministry that impacts the world requires the people who are learning to interact with those who are teaching, and there's simply no way to avoid being elevated by others in such contexts. The nuanced answer to this might be to learn how to manage the attention, to redirect people's focus and affection back to Jesus, to stay submitted to the Holy Spirit, and be accountable to others. ✝️🙏🕊
I'd be interested to hear others' thoughts on this... ? 😉👍
@midimusicforever Says:
Dropping one for the algo.
@changv10 Says:
Praise the Lord for your humility. Thank you for sharing your gifts for the purpose of giving glory to God alone.
@davidsawyer1599 Says:
Second thought afterwards.
There is a channel on YT about car repair. The creator does not show his face. He goes to great extremes to not show his face. It all about the repairs.
Now he may do that so he can go through and not be recognized. Be normal. It doesn't take an hour to get a gallon of milk. No autographs. No pictures to be taken. No conversations with strangers.
@davidsawyer1599 Says:
I some much enjoy this channel.
I stopped at a minute and change. When the news of Ravi broke.....it broke the hearts of so many. He was a good teacher. It's a shame that his presence has been removed.
David from the bible was not without major flaws. Yet he is held in high esteem. Rightfully so. His faith was unwavering.
Martin Luther of the 95 these is regarded as a great Christian. His later writings and behavior, however, were far from Christian. Yet that is glossed over.
Okay, back to the presentation!
@BlankCanvas88 Says:
It's strange that you're talking about "Christian celebrity" bc it's an issue I've dealt with more recently. I have a friend who seems to have fallen prey to it b/c he is charming & sort of a mini-celebrity locally & it feels like it's slowly corrupting him. And I feel like other people are blinded to the problem b/c there's this idea that if you're a celebrity, then you've "made it" as a Christian. But really, that is judging by the world's standard of success, not God's. (Also, Sunday before last I visited my friend's church, which is a satellite of Jentezen Franklin's, and he spoke on this same thing as well!) Basically, you've confirmed my worries for my friend have at least some foundation, and I need to pray for him more earnestly.
@bobbyfoster3769 Says:
“First you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the women.” Scarface.
@5winder Says:
Born-again Christians have nothing to apologize for.
@sdlorah6450 Says:
I think that the biggest mistake that I see defenders of the faith make is in trying to answer questions (usually from mockers or scoffers) that we cannot answer from scripture (either specifically or generally).
@qujo777 Says:
Right on!!! ;)
@anthonyjanicas Says:
Haven't clicked on your videos in a while, but saw a different thumbnail and it caught my attention 😂 bless you brother
@JaneSmith-x4x Says:
Thank you
@stratzenigma3169 Says:
Mr. Wallace, your message is dully noted. But the truth is, YOU and the way YOU approached Christianity is the reason why my faith is a lot stronger. All glory to Christ yes and your humility is evident, but unless you can find anything there critical Christian detective, you are the face of Cold Case Christianity. 😊
@edgarsiaton8222 Says:
Yes! From Philippines
@CynVee Says:
Mr. Wallace, anyone who listens to just a few minutes of your broadcasts or reads a single chapter of one of your books will discern two things: that you love Jesus and that you are a humble man. This discussion is so necessary in today's Christian culture. So many megastars, megachurches. Thank you for your teaching, your love of Christ and your humility. God bless you, your wife and Jimmy. 🙏🙏🙏✝️✝️✝️
@Gutslinger Says:
The Unashamed podcast is great. I've listened to several dozens of episodes, but I haven't tuned into an episode in several months now.
Currently, I've been binging DWood and Sam Shamoun's content, as well as trying to read and study my Bible, and watch other things. Just haven't allocated enough time. Perhaps a time will come where I binge it again.
Expedition Bible is a recent favorite discovery of mine. I love biblical archeology.. But his videos don't get uploaded on a quick regular schedule. Associates of Biblical Research is another under-appreciated one, as far as content.
@ChildofTheMostHigh70 Says:
Thats amazing that this man spoke those thumbnails, when i see those christian content creators in their every thumbnail i click the dont recommend channel anymore, i appreciate his honesty and that he is going to repent of this and let this video speak for itself, thank you and God bless you brother. I never came across any videos of your but im looking foward to watch them and share them with my brothers in ministry 🙏
@brettwheeler7753 Says:
Why do they call it apologist? I DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR THE TRUTH!
@nictomlin9152 Says:
J Peterson...all about him. Doesn't seem to be fully on-board with Christ as Lord. Seems not to care about anything beyond this life, no eschatology
@donaldjoy4023 Says:
Joel Osteen would never make such a video!
@whatdidtheprophetjesusteac1444 Says:
Thank you!
@PeacePipeDream Says:
This teaching condemns me while revealing that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me.
@Grantcfo Says:
As someone who has considered starting a YouTube channel for the gospel, this was great wisdom for me to hear. I have always held back because I know my motives and not pure and that I desire the influence more than spreading the message. Pray that this desire would be flipped, as I would love to one day use the gifts God has given me to promote his good news of salvation for all who believe.
@graybeard73 Says:
Classic example of why I am thankful to have been lead to your channel. Truth and Christ first.
@yesenia3816 Says:
"We need to be invisible. The message is more important."
@yesenia3816 Says:
This is a great reminder even in our everyday lives.
@pappires Says:
Very important message, Jim. Thank you very much for such a reminder.
@terryhollifield9343 Says:
A powerful and timely word, brother.
@cia7746 Says:
Like Phil Robertson says, "When you go somewhere, take your wife and your bible with you."
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