Charismatic Reform Journal












Leaders in the Church It is a true saying that if someone wants to be an elder, he desires an honorable responsibility. For an elder must be a man whose life cannot be spoken against. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exhibit self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home and must be able to teach. He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, peace loving, and not one who loves money. He must manage his own family well, with children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church? An elder must not be a new Christian, because he might be proud of being chosen so soon, an the Devil will use that pride to make him fall. Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not fall into the Devil's trap and be disgraced. -1 Timothy 3:1-7 How terrible that you should boast about your spirituality, and yet you let this sort of thing go on. Don't you realize that if even one person is allowed to go on sinning, soon all will be affected? Remove this wicked person from among you so that you can stay pure. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. So let us celebrate the festival, not by eating the old bread of wickedness and evil, but by eating the new bread of purity and truth. -1 Cor. 5:6-8 When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn't talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy or are swindlers or idol worshipers. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. What I meant was that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a Christian yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Don't even eat with such people. It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your job to judge those inside the church who are sinning in these ways. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures, say, "You must remove the evil person from among you." - 1 Cor. 5:9-13 If a believer sins against you, go privately and point out the fault. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two r three witnesses. If that person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. If the church decides you are right, but the other person won't accept it, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. -Matt. 18:15-17 Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. -Galatians 6:1 I am overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt your entire church more than he hurt me. He was punished enough when most of you were united in your judgment against him. Now it is time to forgive him and comfort him. Otherwise he may become so discouraged that he won't be able to recover. Now show him that you still love him. -2 Cor. 2:5-8 My dear brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back again, you can be sure that the one who brings that person back will save that sinner from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. -James 5:19-20 So whenever you speak, or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law of love, the law that set you free. For there will be no mercy for you if you have not been merciful to others. But if you have been merciful, then God's mercy toward you will win out over his judgment against you. -James 2:12-13

How is a Christian to react to a fallen minister? I want to preface this article by saying that I fall into the category of having once been a fallen minister, thus my approach to this topic will be different than most that you will come across. This topic is long overdue, and my hope is to see an end result of a scriptural approach to dealing with these types of situations. The church is faced with this issue everyday, and there is no clear teaching on how to deal with it. The lack of such teaching leads to even more sin in the children of God. 'Cover-ups', bitter offenses, and moral complacency have been the result. There are times when the repentant minister is still shunned by 'loving Christians', and other times when the unrepented sin is completely ignored. Both of these responses are incorrect according to Scripture. Most of what will be said in this article can be applied to everyday Christian living, but we are going to focus on the topic at hand...the fallen minister.

There should be a clear distinction between what is and what is not morally acceptable behavior for Christians. Even more so for the teachers since they are judged with greater strictness (James 3:1). If Christians are to be expected to raise any sort of moral standard for the 'heathen', then that standard should begin with the leaders and should come from the Bible.
Sin in the Pulpit?
We need to first establish that ministers are men capable of sin. They are not superhuman with the ability to walk this earth without facing temptations. There are some Christians who believe that ministers are somehow exempt from temptation and sin. This thinking is a result of ministers falsely preaching that they carry a 'special anointing' and that they are 'THE man of God', elevating themselves to a type of spiritual celebrity status (according to Scripture, all Christians have the same Holy Spirit abiding within them - there is not one man who is more 'special' than another). This statement carries with it the notion that these ministers are not capable of sin. This is not true at all!  Ministers do face temptations. In the process of facing these temptations, sadly, some do fall.
Such wrong teaching serves to create and promote an atmosphere of little or no accountability for these servants of the Most High God. Thus, the conclusion of the laity is inevitably, 'who are we to question what this person says or does in the name of God, after all they are 'THE man of God'. These men are no more than that....men. Men who, as ministers of the Word of God, should be held to the standard raised in that same Word of God.
What Sin?

As Christians, we are encouraged by Scripture to look for the good in others. But I believe that many take this to mean that we should sit idle while ministers sin or treat others unjustly for fear of being 'judgmental'. We are taught in Scripture to judge sin in Christians and yes, even ministers.....

1 Timothy 5:19-20 Do not listen to complaints against an elder unless there are two or three witnesses to accuse him. Anyone who sins should be rebuked in front of the whole church so that the others will have a proper fear of God.
Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them.
It should be noted that these statements were directed at the church...not the unchurched. In fact, the first one is specifically for leaders in the church. It would seem that, with two or three complaints about the actions of a leader in the church....the complaint should be addressed not ignored. By ignoring sin, whether it be from a minister or laity, we do the person in question a great disservice. By addressing the chains that binds them...we bring them to the beginning of the process of restoring their broken relationship with God. If we choose to ignore the sin and pretend that it doesn't really exist....we are allowing this minister to hurt themselves and those under their influence to an even larger degree.
Love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). What a beautiful verse!!   Let's start by affirming that once we confess our sins to God and ask for forgiveness, his blood then covers our sins because he loves us so much. His love has truly covered a multitude of sins!! However, we should note the process that needs to take place. If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong (1 John 1:9). We cannot be forgiven without first confessing our sins and repenting for what we have done. Confession - admitting that we have sinned. Repentance - changing our heart (with actions that show it) and asking for forgiveness. Once these two steps are done...our sins are covered by the blood of the Lamb because of his love for us.

Real Love....

But how does this apply to the types of situations that we are talking about? I have heard this verse thrown around as a cover all for various types of offenses against others and against God. When a person offends someone else, we tell the person offended to forgive because 'love covers a multitude of sins'...however, many times no restoration in that relationship is attempted. In fact, most times we as Christians do not want to address problems in relationships for fear of upsetting the other person.....but, in reality, if these problems were addressed and dealt with it could serve to strengthen the relationship. The 'cover up' goes even farther with fallen ministers, we seem to feel obligated to ignore their wrongdoings because we do not want to bring shame upon them, God or even ourselves (when in fact this shame is present from the moment the sin occurred and not from being exposed).

We are expected to forgive others and, yes, God does forgive us.....BUT, confession and repentance are necessary attributes to this process. God does forgive and pardon, but he does not forgive or pardon sins without confession and repentance. Likewise, God requires us to forgive and pardon others, but he does not expect us to forgive or pardon our Christian brothers and sisters without confession and repentance (please note that I am not talking about a simple misunderstanding.....I am talking about sin). By not 'covering up' for someone's sin, we help them to come to terms with what they have done, accept responsibility, and hopefully repent. Pretending that sin is not present (when it is) does not make the sin go away --playing the 'cover up' game only shows how much we truly do not know God. By dealing with the sin, we start the restoration process....for all involved. BUT, to negate this portion of the process leaves a void that can be detrimental to all those watching and waiting for the process of restoration.

His Mercies are New Each Morning!

After confession and repentance comes the beautiful word - RESTORATION!! It is important to exercise this process with love, mercy and humility...so that we don't find ourselves falling into the same trap. There should be no evidence of a self-righteous attitude...remembering that we are predisposed to many of the same weaknesses. During restoration, it is vital to remember the love that Christ has for the person in question. Restoration should be done with the utmost tenderness and with a genuine desire to see that person restored.
The restoration process should go only as far as the sphere of influence of the minister in question (anything more than this would be nothing more than mere gossip). Although this may be difficult for the fallen minister, I believe that if they are truly repentant and accept responsibility for their sinful action and if they truly care about those to whom they minister....they will understand the need for this process to take place. This provides an avenue to see the fallen minister come to terms with the sin apparent in his/her life, ask for forgiveness from God and any others involved, and be restore both to God and to the others watching this whole process. This also allows those offended to come to a point of forgiveness toward this person as well - which is also needed. For example, if the person in question is a pastor, then the restoration process should go no farther than his church or sphere of influence. The same would apply to those in TV, radio and the like. This process not only brings restoration to the fallen minister, and mending to the hearts of those who may have been offended but it also brings a 'proper fear of God' to the church.

What Happens Next?

The question, of course, still remains as to what should become of the church or ministry under the service of the fallen minister. Should the minister be put back into that service of ministry? This course of action should be decided by the presiding board members of that particular ministry, but here are some thoughts to ponder. Let me start by saying that each minister restored to their ministry should have a 'confidant', a person to which they can openly and honestly share the struggles they have and be accountable to concerning the 'weakness' they have in the area in which they fell. By doing so, they acknowledge that they have a weakness (which they need to do if they are to avoid future falls in the same area), and make themselves accountable. This will serve as a protective measure for the fallen minister - by being aware of the devices of the enemy.

If the minister is quick to repent and obviously sorrowful for his/her wrong actions, there should be some 'time off' to recollect themselves and to get their lives back together, and to reestablish a good name. The minister should then be reconsidered for service in the ministry. For the minister whose struggle with sin may last a longer period of time, this does not disqualify them forever from ministry, but there should be serious deliberation taken before reconsidering the reestablishment of this persons ministry because of the strong hold that sin had in their lives. Of course, the 'time off' needed for recollecting themselves will take longer, and it should be determined that this person has control over their flesh before reconsidering these for the ministry again. For those ministers who chooses to ignore the promptings and conviction of the Holy Spirit and do not repent, it is the responsibility of the Christians to pray for the souls of such individuals. Should the day come when repentance is obvious and this person desires to serve in ministry again, there should be extreme caution used in reconsidering this person. However, God works in ways that we do not always understand, and should He desire to use this minister again...then praise God for his abundant mercy.

Redemption

Forgiveness is such a wonderful feeling. Bringing freedom from the chains of sin that bind us and cleansing our consciences from guilt. We have freely received our Lords forgiveness, and are then free to forgive others who have offended us as well. Though we wish it were not the case, ministers do mess up - and some will fall into sin (of which I am one). But as Christians, it is our responsibility to help restore them. Let us not neglect our responsibility.

"Nothing strengthens the judgment and quickens the conscience like individual responsibility." - Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Founder and Editor of Charismatic Reform Journal