We celebrate the uncovering of people’s failures when we’ve become bored with our own.
We become shocked by the failures of others when blind to our own.
As Christians, we believe that mankind is born with a sin nature and yet we are many times stunned when that sinfulness is shown. This is evidenced most clearly in the falling of a pastor or Christian leader. This is not to negate the wrong they have done but to reveal my own surprise at those who walk away from their faith because of such actions.
Faithfulness as a Christian is not perfection. It never has been and never will be for any of us this side of heaven. As long as we remain in this sinful world, faithfulness is the continual confessing and repenting of our imperfections to God and then living in the belief that He has forgiven and restored us every single time (1 John 1:9). It is certainly true that “preachers should practice what they preach” but may none of us forget that includes sermons on forgiveness and repentance that we allstand in need of.
Every human vessel God has ever used to share His truth has been broken. With nearly every scriptural writer and prophet, the shards of such brokenness are exposed for all of us to read. We read of David and his adulterous affair leading to murder, Jonah’s disobedience as the cause for a fish’s reflux, and the catalog of names goes on and on. A good reminder that although moral failure is not inevitable, it is always possible.
As a pastor myself I realize this sounds a bit self-serving, but I hope my heart is heard. I too have been hurt when people I look up to as spiritual leaders fall into immorality, corruption, or an outright deconstruction of their faith altogether. Can I still use their books, their studies, and their advice? Can I even mention their name anymore in counsel or a sermon? Or, worst of all, if someone like them can fall, is there any hope for me and my faith?
Can I still share the thoughtful apologetics of Ravi Zacharias with people dealing with doubts after the haunting revelation of his sexual abuse?
Can I still grab the book, “Dug Down Deep” by Joshua Harris for his down-to-earth doctrinal illustrations knowing that he has walked away from his faith completely?
Carl Lentz and his adulterous affair.
Bill Hybels and his fall from one of the largest churches of my childhood era.
Rob Bell and his journey from trendy books and videos promoting Christianity to becoming a spiritual leader of anti-biblical heresy.
The foreign missionary, that one of my previous churches supported, who ended up murdering his wife just a few, short months after speaking to my student ministry.
And the pastor in your community who wasn’t famous but left a loving group of believers hurt and disillusioned.
The list just continues to grow like a cancer with the only difference being that those who follow the diseased seem to be more affected in the end than the one diagnosed.
According to scripture, every pastor, including these listed, will give an account for how they shepherd their “flock” (Heb. 13:17). They…we…will not get away with any wrongs we inflict upon those God entrusts into our spiritual care. This is both a humbling and sobering thought. A thought that should encourage us daily to grow in our spiritual maturity for when one of us falls it is our lack of such maturity that is exposed.
As pastor and writer Kevin DeYoung states: “We should not think that mature Christianity requires us to constantly downgrade ourselves and talk as if we are constant spiritual failures.” If a pastor's goal, like all Christians, is to become like Christ then a daily abiding in His holiness should begin to cultivate our own (John 15:5; 1 Pet. 1:15-16). But too many, including us pastors, are seeking to live the moral life of Jesus without an abiding, growing relationship with Him. And if the need for this writing is any indication this will always end in hypocrisy and, if left unrepented, some form of public failure.
With that in mind may all of us who claim the name of Christ make a declaration. We may not be able to prevent another fallen pastor story, but when we read that next headline, we will remind ourselves that Jesus, our Savior, is not the subject of it. He is still unblemished. And if that is Who our faith is in, then our faith remains unblemished as well.
You see my desire in all of this is not to lessen the pain by removing the responsibility of the fallen vessel but by encouraging each of us to place a greater faith in their God than the vessels themselves.
Another fallen pastor story certainly has its unfortunate consequences, but may our faith not be one of them.
It doesn’t have to be.
For Jesus and He alone is still the “author and finisher” of it (Heb. 12:2).
[2] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/07/29/joshua-harris-i-kissed-dating-goodbye-i-am-not-christian/1857934001/
[4] https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/03/01/independent-report-finds-allegations-against-willow-creek-founder-bill-hybels-are-credible/
[7] DeYoung, Kevin. “We should not think that…” 24 August 2021, 11:05 AM. Facebook.
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