Sobering scandals
The times demand humility
Robert Morris established Gateway Church, one of the largest churches in the United States. He recently resigned after a relationship over four years in the late 1980s when he was in his early 20s. The female was 12 years old when events started. Alex Brandon/AP via npr.org
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ in America, it would be hard not to notice the big problem over more than three decades.
Sex scandals. Infidelity to one’s marriage is bad enough for anyone. It intensifies for a pastor or minister because it shouldn’t happen. And the notion of child sex abuse is simply revolting on so many levels. The lure and turn toward homosexuality for a pastor is shocking.
The names are James Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Ted Haggard, Bill Gothard, Carl Lentz, Ravi Zacharias, and most recently, Robert Morris. For organizations, it is the Southern Baptist Convention, which has more than 700 people with sexual abuse from pastors but no organizational accountability. One could add the Roman Catholic Church as Catholics and the largest Protestant denomination in America have had well-publicized clergy sex scandals.
Is God allowing 1 Peter 4:17-18 to unfold before our eyes? It reads:
“For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?”
How do you think the world views these repeated sex scandals in the church?
The damage to the reputations to these pastors and ministers is real as followers of Christ are first shocked, perhaps sickened, and heartbroken. The impact to the credibility of the body of Christ produces cumulative damage.
At a time when those growing up in the church and express faith in Jesus Christ either leave the church or announce they are deconstructing their faith, these notorious stories cement a mindset to stay away from God’s house.
The chaos, confusion, and betrayal can be raw in these circumstances. It is not hyperbole to suggest any family dealing with these kinds of scandals faces trauma.
However, that sadness isn’t just the individuals and family members impacted by these scandals, that heartbreak also reaches to the body of Jesus Christ. He communicates truth to Peter in the gospels. Matthew 16:18 (NASB) states, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
God takes the building of his church seriously. It’s not a game; it's not a joke. God will fulfill His work and accomplish his purposes to build His church. Jesus Christ is worthy of this task, and every aspect of this will accomplish His glory.
Americans, and the world, are witnessing God purifying his bride, the church. That’s a sign of God’s sovereignty, wisdom, might, power, glory, and authority, among other attributes.
The scandal involving Ravi Zacharias unfolded after he died of cancer in May 2020. This photo is from an April 2015 event at Christ Community Chapel in Hudson, Ohio. TMDrew for Wikipedia.
While the world mocks the church over these accounts that capture headlines, Christians could elicit many responses. Some may join in on the ridicule, angered by what these scandals do to the church. However, the dominant mindset should be humility and maintaining a posture of constantly looking to the author and finisher of everyone’s faith.
Solomon wrote in Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.”
Human beings are far more dependent on God than we could ever possibly give Him credit for and communicate to Him. We are dependent on God for everything from the functioning of our bodies each day to having the ability to make wise decisions.
Lamentations 3:22-23 states:
22 The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
But for the grace of God, anyone could be in similar circumstances as any of these pastors or ministers. Don’t think for a second, “But not me.”
The days require humility and a low view of yourself because the human heart can be led astray without much difficulty. Humility demands a mindset of reflection, self-examination, and a high view of God.
It also demands this from Psalm 139:23-24:
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.
Days after Billy Graham’s death in February 2018, NBC ran an analysis of the differences between the old school Graham and younger evangelical leaders who had been tarred in various ways. Randall Balmer wrote:
But scandal? No. In 1948, at the very beginning of his evangelistic career, Graham and his associates (those he called his ‘team’) met at a motel in Modesto, California. Graham, aware of the pitfalls that had toppled other evangelists, asked the individuals present to consider ways to avoid any whiff of impropriety. They came up with a four-part plan which Cliff Barrows, Graham’s choirmaster, called the Modesto Manifesto (although he hastened to add that the designation was in no way official).
First they all agreed, Graham included, to take a set salary rather than a cut of the offerings at revival gatherings. Second, they resolved not to criticize other clergy or religious leaders, a practice fairly common among itinerant preachers in the past. Third, Graham and his team would not provide estimates about crowd sizes, which other preachers routinely exaggerated. Finally, they took measures to guard against sexual impropriety, or even the appearance of such. As Graham himself said, they sought ‘to avoid any situation that would have even the appearance of compromise or suspicion. From that day on, I did not travel, meet or eat alone with a woman other than my wife.’
Perhaps an adult conversation on Graham’s safeguards is in order for American church leaders of all stripes. Given these kinds of scandals that don’t go away, it’s long overdue.
