Being a Famous Christian

I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos wanted it, but it was God who made it grow. It's not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What's important is that God makes the seed grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

Katie Davis was only nineteen when she turned her back on our culture's celebrity-driven world. She left her cute clothes and her even cuter convertible, and a boyfriend she hoped she might marry one day. she left behind good-hair days and the gym she loved to frequent. She even left her parents...and her dream of attending college.
Why?
God called her to the red dirt of Uganda. Don't miss this: she was nineteen when she was called. Within just a few years, she became the adoptive mother of fourteen Uganda girls. She left the "celebrity" of a good life in the United States for the grand promotion to do what God called her to do.
In a way, she is a celebrity. There's a New York Times bestselling book about her life. But not the kind that's self-made. She didn't invite fame. It came when she wasn't looking for it. It came while she was obediently living out 1 Corinthians 3:4-7.
Katie lives the truth that each of us should do the work of God calls us to. No one person is more important than the other. One pastor preaches to a few thousand each week. Another, to a home church of fifteen. Both are important. One nineteen-year-old gets a record deal with a Christian label. Another goes to live on the on the red dirt of Uganda. Both are important. One teenage girl leads a Bible study club in her public school. Another prays for her. Both important. 
Fame tries to assign greater importance to one person than another. How do we fight that? It's true, some gifts are more visible than others, but we need to learn to regard gifts of service, prayer, and mercy as monumental forces in God's economy, because they are! Regard the people you are with at a concert as more vital than the artists on stage. Let's face it...you are not likely to get more than a passing smile from the artist, but you get to do life with your friends.

Action Step

Check out Katie's story at www.amazima.org/katiesstory.html and learn about her exciting work in Uganda. Ask your youth leader to do a round table discussion of this topic at youth group soon.