When Christ is not preached
In Preaching for Revitalization, Michael F. Ross describes one of the symptoms of a congregation that has lost its love for Christ:
First, human personalities begin to take preeminence in the life of the church, over the person and work of Christ…
When Christ is not preached (1 Cor. 2:2) then a vacuum is created; people need some leader, some champion, some "holy man" to cling to other than Christ. Therefore it is essential that preaching be both Christ-centered and devoted to regularly focusing on the beauty and bounty of Jesus Christ.