And this...is American Christian Idol.

I've prayed for Tim Tebow on many occasions.

My prayers were not for Tim to find success in the NFL. Instead, my attention was turned towards his personal life. Tim has never hesitated to be vocal about his Christian faith, and to make clear the choices that faith has led him to. The most notable has been his commitment to reserve sex for marriage.

And so I prayed. I prayed for Tim to continue in humility and to keep his commitment, for both himself and his testimony. One mistake could quickly bring both the scorn of disappointed Christians and the calls of hypocrisy from unbelievers.

I prayed because Tim had become an idol.
Not to himself, but to Christians.

He was a regular sermon illustration, speaker, author, and overall ambassador for all Christians. That's a lot to ask of a young man in his 20's, who by all accounts, has maintained his testimony.

Christians are much too quick to make idols out of those who live out their faith in the public eye. While the "celebrity" testimony can be very impactful, we must pray for those believers to stand against temptation and to be people of integrity.

And this bring us to the story of Naghmeh and Saeed Abedini.

Today's Washington Post story on the subject begins:
"Naghmeh Abedini rapidly rose to religious freedom superstardom in Christian circles in recent years."

The post is right, and the fault doesn't lie with Naghmeh or Saeed. It lies with American Christianity. We allowed ourselves, me included, to elevate this couple while knowing almost nothing about them. Now after years of awards and speaking engagements, what should have been a happy ending has become a PR nightmare for those who fought the hardest for Saeed.

We should now be as diligent to pray for the Abedinis as we ever were during Saeed's imprisonment. We should pray that they will both seek to grow closer to the Lord and to one another, without using the court of public opinion to sway people to one side or the other.

Saeed and Naghmeh don't owe us a thing. We took flawed, sinful people and turned them into idols. That's our sin, not theirs.