2 Corinthians 11:13-15 — For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Do you remember Renee Martz? If you do you’re probably a good bit older than me. Born in 1940, Miss Martz became a child and teenage evangelist, feted in a 1956 headline “Glamorous U.S. Evangelist Woos Britain’s Teddy Boys” in the St. Petersburg Times.
Miss Martz is quoted as saying:
They are learning that Christianity can be fun … Religion does not have to be dull. It can be thrilling and exciting.
I’m not questioning the sincerity of Renee Martz. As far as I can tell she persisted in her efforts beyond her early years. Sadly, I know how few the real fruits of her efforts, and those of other “star” evangelists have been. On the other hand, I am glad to say that I know other people in ministry in England with a much lower profile, but much more real impact.
Glamor, and its friend beauty, are rotten planks to stand on. The Amplified Bible translation of Proverbs 31 says “Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], …”. Unfortunately we live in an age when visual stimulus, and personality, communicated through popular media, are increasingly influential.
There is an ugly tendency for some preachers to become the figureheads of personality cults, depending on the glamor of their presentation — and sometimes even their lifestyles — to build a following.
It’s easy to take a high and mighty position about all this … but it’s not necessarily a conscious plan by these preachers to step away from the simple preaching of the Word. It’s more a natural reaction to social phenomena.
We live in a world in which words, both in general and in particular, are being devalued. Influences are increasingly visual.
We live in a world where the number of Twitter followers, or the number of Facebook ‘friends”, are measures of success.
We live in a world where style is increasingly more celebrated than content.
We live in a world where “reality” TV is more interesting than reality.
The “star” preachers are providing their congregations with the image of a leader that they expect to see. They have been misled in one of satan’s clever plots.
Peter foresaw this, and wrote about it in his second letter:

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; (2 Peter 2:1-4)

Did you catch that reference to fallen angels … they are the ones who fell with satan. All those who depend on glamor and personality for their success are, in the end doomed to follow:

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. (Isaiah 14:12-15)