Barron’s Bodybuilders
On May 11, 2022, I wrote in Crisis Magazine about the controversies at Word on Fire, the Catholic media ministry founded by Bishop Robert Barron. I am grateful to Eric Sammons for readily accepting my pitch to offer my commentary on this issue, and publishing my article amid several iterations of new developments while I was drafting this piece.
One area that I did not discuss in my Crisis article is the convergence of bodybuilding and Word on Fire. Let me begin by revisiting Joey Gloor.
Who is Joey Gloor?
Joseph Gloor, Word on Fire’s Senior Director of Production and highest paid employee, was named by four women as having committed unwanted sexual advances. These instances with these specific women were declared to be outside of the workplace, and none of these persons were Word on Fire employees.
Prior to working for Word on Fire, Gloor was a bodybuilder, model and MTV personality. His father introduced him to Word on Fire’s content, and Gloor experienced a conversion. Shortly after Barron became a bishop, Gloor sought him out and began working for Word on Fire.
We all can marvel in gratitude when anyone experiences such a profound conversion that it leads them to leave behind their former profession to serve Christ. But it still doesn’t add up how Gloor so quickly ascended the ranks at Word on Fire.
Aside from Word on Fire’s aim to promote Catholic evangelization, there is an undertone of a bodybuilding culture associated with the brand. Barron is no stranger to the gym, and Word on Fire’s CEO Fr. Steve Grunow is known for his muscles. While I too enjoy going to the gym, the convergence of bodybuilding and Word on Fire does appear strange.
Bodybuilding in Christian Media
We still do not know why Gloor was Word on Fire’s highest paid employee, but bodybuilding in Christian media is not a new phenomenon. Even HBO’s Righteous Gemstones, a fictional show about a wealthy family of televangelists (FYI: not a family-friendly show), depicts a parody of the evangelical group the Power Team. This group was famous in the 80s and 90s for offering strength training demonstrations coupled with giving talks to the youth on the dangers of secular influences such as drugs and premarital sex.
The Righteous Gemstones’ version of this group was called the God Squad, led by the family’s youngest member played by Adam Devine. This group of muscle-bound men had strict exercise routines along with outdoor work. But the team seemed more interested in their muscles than the work of God, leading to a power struggle in the show’s second season.
Like the God Squad, such an overemphasis on the physical can promote the ego and divert one away from the Spirit. With Word on Fire, by paying Gloor the highest among its employees, the organization appeared to suggest that his bodybuilding celebrity persona was what commanded a higher compensation, potentially regarding this as a key element of the organization’s image.
Similar to the God Squad, there might be a connection with how worldly honor for physical appearance possibly led Word on Fire’s leaders astray from the mission the Spirit entrusted them with, focusing not on the Word but on their public image.
Possible Connections between Bodybuilding Culture and the Controversies at Word on Fire
Bodybuilding culture tends to promote physical appearance and machoism. When these two factors come into play, it can lead a subscriber to this culture to objectify and sexualize people. The dignity of the person is disregarded over a sexual conquest.
While bodybuilding in itself is not intrinsically problematic, the referenced undercurrent certainly is. Additionally, these traits are incongruent with the Christian call to imitate and follow Christ.
Thus, if a Christian organization seeks to exude a bodybuilding image to its brand, it must be diligent to root out any vices that would lead the group away from Jesus.
This is where Word on Fire fell short.
According to Chris Damian, who put a spotlight on the Word on Fire controversies, a woman shared with him that there was often talk at Word on Fire’s male-dominated workplace of “marrying women who were virgins with hymens in tact.”
Damian additionally reports,
Another woman shared a similar story, of having interactions with Word on Fire staff where Gloor would make sexually inappropriate comments in the presence of both Grunow and Barron, and where neither would correct Gloor. Workplace hostility towards women does not seem to be an issue isolated to Gloor, Grenow [sic], and Baron [sic], however.
Thus, the bodybuilding culture at Word on Fire promotes a toxic workplace environment, particularly for the women who work for and interact with the organization. The culture is so toxic that not even Word on Fire’s leadership actively put a stop to this behavior while it was occurring.
Further, the bodybuilding culture counteracted the promotion of virtues and growth in holiness, both of which are central to Word on Fire’s mission.
Put Down the Weights, Pick Up Sackcloth and Ashes
Bodybuilding culture can also militate against the example of Christ, who is meek and humble of heart (cf. Mt 11:29). The emphasis on the physical is diametrically opposed to humility, contrition, and conversion.
Anything that leads us away from Christ needs to be removed. For Word on Fire, bodybuilding culture is extinguishing its fire and removing credibility from its word.
Rather than pick up weights to put on muscle, the leadership at Word on Fire ought to put on sackcloth and ashes, repenting of its complicity with a toxicity that infringed on human dignity, made persons feel uncomfortable and unsafe, and promoted hypocrisy in this Catholic organization.
It’s time for Word on Fire to focus less on bodybuilding and more on building up the Body of Christ by fully admitting where it went wrong, making amends, and taking on a whole new direction that leads people to the Word and the Fire of the Spirit, and not just promote a self-serving brand.
