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HOW TO HANDLE FALLEN CHURCH LEADERS
When a Christian leader
has a great fall, what should be the response of believers? In world that
readily desires to condemn God’s people (and especially her leaders), should
local churches respond differently since their lives should reflect that of The
Way?[1]
God’s call is not purely a vocation (although it could be) but (more) a holy
charge by God himself. Collectively, pastors are an extension of the Jesus’
ministry so they are to live disparate lives from even those of the people they
lead. Thus, such matters are vital to an appropriate witness for Jesus Christ
so here three considerations will be discussed.
1. Immediate actions
2.
Community
and personal response
3. The contrast to the ways of the world
Immediate
Actions
Immediate actions of
response to fallen leaders are threefold.
1. Remove the fallen leader from
leadership
2.
Protect
and support victims involved in the fall
3. Truthfully call out sin
First, Christians should
remove the fallen leader from leadership. Relieve the person of their duties
immediately, as moral or structural failure typically violates the biblical
requirement to be above reproach (1 Tim 3:2, 10, Titus 1:7). The call to
ministry is not only a special call but a holy call and one to be taken with
great care and solemnity—even worthy of double honor (1 Tim 5:17). While Paul’s
instructions for ministers of the gospel to be above reproach is not synonymous
with perfection, the inference is to take the call to preach earnestly. One who
leads groups of believers (especially in the local church) is to consider his
call more than a mere job. Even if what one does in his call is a vocation,
ministry is truly employed with no thought of return, as the Lord provides the
needs of his servants. As such, one who has fallen to the degree that an entire
group of Christians (i.e., a church) is impacted in a drastic manner, he is to
be immediately from leadership. Removing such a person will expedite the
healing process for both the fallen leader and the body of believers.
Second, believers should
protect and support victims. Prioritize the safety, healing, and emotional
support of any direct victims, families, and vulnerable individuals affected by
the action. Anecdotally, under the guise of grace, local churches seem to
dismiss those hurt most by sin and instead forgive the one who has sinned
against such people (e.g., the husband or wife whose spouse has been unfaithful
and even left him or her). This is not to say that a fallen leader should be
treated with disdain but rather with fairness and justice, for without the two,
grace cannot be realized.
An unfortunate reality
of the Western Church and her commercialization is cheap grace. Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, in his classic The Cost of Discipleship, writes, “Cheap
grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, Baptism
without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without
personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without
the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”[2]
With a subconscious position of cheap grace, churches often lose sight of the
fact that grace demands not only forgiveness but accountability. While
forgiveness is available for anyone at the foot of the cross, when church
leaders fall, Christians should tend to those most impacted while seeking
accountability (with the goal of redemption) for those who have offended—also
with an understanding that redemption does not negate consequences.
The third immediate action is to truthfully acknowledge sin. Acknowledge the reality of the wrongdoing clearly and honestly without minimizing or covering up the behavior. John says that confession is required to forgive (1 John 1:8-10). Often, churches seem to hide public sin so that the church’s reputation is not tarnished and often with an eye toward an onlooking world. To such a world, however, the church’s position is already a hated one as followers of Christ (John 15:18-25). Therefore, local churches should seek first what glorifies God rather than an action that would supposedly save their reputations.[3] Treading the waters of response cautiously, local churches must seek avenues of forgiveness, healing, and accountability without providing full forms of entertainment to those who might seek to destroy the church.
Community
and Personal Response
As a matter of personal
and community response, believers have three primary responsibilities.
1. Grieve with sorrow (because of sin
rather than reputation)
2.
Exercise
humility
3. Keep faith anchored
A church’s first
responsibility is to grieve with sorrow. Respond with sadness and lament rather
than gossip, gloating, or malicious social media commentary. A fall is not a
time for the latter but rather for prayer and repentance. There are already
enough forces attempting in futility to destroy the church so Satan does not
need anymore help from the people within her body. It has often been said that
Christians are the worst about shooting their own wounded, and such an adage is
made clear when leaders fall. A fall is not a time to rejoice but a time to
truly lament as Satan has temporarily gained a foothold on God’s chosen. Scripture
reminds God’s people that there are times for grieving (Eccl 3:4); the fall of
a church leader is surely one of those times.
Second, God’s people
should exercise humility. Recognize that all people are vulnerable to
temptation, avoiding a self-righteous attitude. No one is above a great fall.
When I was younger, I found myself often thinking that I would never fall in
the same manner some of the great Christian leaders by whom I was influenced
did only to realize that I too need grace and am not above temptation or sin.
My spirit battles my flesh every day just as the Apostle Paul’s did. Paul
writes:
For we know that the law
is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not
understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very
thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that
it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within
me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I
have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I
do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now
if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that
dwells within me (Rom 7:14-20).[4]
Pride comes before the
fall (Prov 16:18). Believers of local churches, thus, are wise to recall such
truth and act accordingly even in times of Christian leaders’ great falls.
Satan has been successfully tempting God’s people from the beginning of human
history, and he will not stop until the final victory of Jesus Christ. As such,
God’s people should live and walk in humility at all times.
Third, local churches should keep the faith anchored. Remember that human leaders are flawed, but God and the core message of the gospel remain steadfast. The church is not going anywhere; she will stand long after leaders fall and her members are ridiculed, tortured, and killed. Faith in Christ is what grounds the church and inspires her to accomplish miraculous and wondrous things for the glory of her Lord. Even when faith is shaken (i.e., during the fall of a church leader), however, her faith should stand securely on the rock that never fails: Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of his bride.
Contrast
the World
In all responses to
fallen Christian leaders, three nonnegotiable elements should remain.
1. Pray for fallen church leaders
2.
Forgive
fallen church leaders
3. Support the healing and redemption of
fallen church leaders
First, believers must pray
for fallen church leaders. Paul instructs God’s people to pray for everyone (2
Tim 2:1-4), which includes not only political leaders but (especially) church
leaders. Perhaps, a reason Christian leaders fall is the lack of prayer for
them. The prayers of the righteous avail much (Jas 5:16). When someone says
that all they can do is pray, the statement does not recognize the power of
prayer. Similarly, when people criticize those who offer prayers on behalf of
people in desperate situations (e.g., the loss of life in mass murders or
natural disasters), such criticism fails to realize that prayer is exceedingly
the most important action in which anyone may participate. It is essential to
pray for church leaders while they minister but in force after a fall has
occurred.
Second, churches must forgive
fallen church leaders. Calling out sin and employing accountability do not
nullify the responsibility to forgive. God called his ministers to the local
church before any of them even considered the sin that humbled them. Even while
holding church leaders accountable, God’s people are to forgive them.
Certainly, care for those impacted and hurt most, but do not negate the
responsibility to forgive.
Last, God’s people must support the healing and redemption of fallen church leaders. What greater story than that of grace? There is none. In a world that seeks to ridicule and disgrace the church, the rumors of grace and forgiveness in God’s economy are true. As Christ-followers, the church should be an agent of matchless grace in a world that desires to destroy those who make mistakes. While forgiveness does not necessarily equate to full vocational restoration (although it could and God’s people should recognize such truth), it stalwartly means that God’s people welcome the vilest offender into their presence as one of God’s loved and chosen people by their attitudes, love, forgiveness, and aid in helping the one who has fallen. No one is above such a fall, but no one is also beyond God’s grace and, yes, God’s restoration.[5]
Realize
That a Fall Is Not the End of the Story
The overarching
realization that God’s people will persevere is the fact that a fall is not the
end of the story. God does not need anyone; he worked in the lives of his
people long before any pastor or church leader and he will work in his people’s
lives long after they are gone. When Christians comprehend that the church’s
work is by, to, and for the glory of God alone, their worship is not dependent
upon one person or even several people (e.g., celebrity Christians)—for proper
worship to occur, local churches must possess this fervent and solemn
realization. Such an understanding instead fosters the proper response toward
those who have fallen and those impacted by their sins. The church will
persevere eternally despite the drastic mistakes of foolish people throughout
human history. No one is above a fall; moreover, no one is ever too far gone
for the grace of God; and Christians should respond to the fall of church
leaders accordingly.
We
have obtained grace to give ourselves to you, Lord, through your mercy, and to
one another.
To
have communion with one another, as saints in one gospel fellowship, we agree
and promise before God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ to walk together in
this one gospel communion and fellowship as a church of Jesus Christ.
In
love to the Lord and to one another, we endeavor to give sincere and hearty
obedience to the laws, ordinances, and appointments of our Lord and lawgiver in
his church.
We
also agree and promise, the Lord assisting, to follow after the things which
make for peace, and things with which we may build each other up.
So
living and walking in love and peace, the God of love and peace may be with us.
Amen.[6]
[1]
Here it should be understood as not minor or miniscule mistakes but rather
sin-specific actions that cause severe mistrust and pain and primarily by those
in local church leadership (i.e., pastoral ministry).
[2]
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, trans. R. H. Fuller (New
York, NY: Touchstone, 1995), 44-45.
[3] It
is not wrong to keep what is within the family only within the family (i.e.,
although local church affairs might require public responses, only information
that is necessary publicly should be output, as many in the world seek
opportunities to taint and ruin the church’s witness). Great care must be taken
in discerning what should be offered to the public during times of fallen
Christian leaders.
[4] All biblical references are
taken from the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible unless otherwise
noted.
[5]
While local churches are tasked with carefully considering their leaders, if
one has been fully restored and healed and trust has been rebuilt, it is not
wrong to place such a person in a position of spiritual authority. The
characteristic of being above reproach (1 Tim 3:2) and well-respected (1 Tim
3:7) implies a congruence of action (i.e., one’s character within the walls of
the church matches that of what is outside). If such qualities are true of
someone after a fall, he is eligible to again shepherd God’s people.
[6] John Bunyan, “We Have Obtained Grace to Give Ourselves to You,” in Piercing
Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans, ed. Robert Elmer (Bellingham, WA: Lexham
Press, 2019), 157.
