It’s the message not the messsenger. We must not focus on the garbage and miss the “pearl of great price.” Sex scandals in the church are not new. Media reports and public awareness of them goes back at least as far as the 1920’s. The most unusual of which was the month-long disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson, whose explanation remains suspect even today. Other Pentecostals who, according to media reports, have been engaged in inappropriate behavior include Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart. But it isn’t just Pentecostals. Baptist pastors Jerry Falwell, Jr., Donald Foose, Coy Privette, Garry Evans and Joe Barron are among those who have been disgraced over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Reports of lawsuit payouts for abusive Roman Catholic priests seem to be in the news with great regularity these days. But they are not alone. The Southern Baptist Convention, SBC, came under fire for covering up inappropriate activities by clergy. According to a New Yorker article published May 26, 2022, “Last year, pastors belonging to the Southern Baptist Convention, which has nearly fourteen million members and is the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, decided that the problem of sexual abuse within its ranks had to be addressed.”

The list of pastors reportedly engaged in sexual misconduct includes both the well-known and the unknown. Nothing would be gained by repeating the sordid allegations against those listed or the many others. That information is readily available online. But I hope I have made the point that pastors are sinners just like the rest of us. They sometimes yield to temptation. Frankly, because of their position, they may be a bigger target for Satan than we are. When they are disgraced, the Church is often painted with the same scandalous brush, especially in the minds of unbelievers. And that hampers our ability to make disciples.

It is easy to question our faith when someone we have admired fails. The news concerning Ravi Zacharias hurt me deeply. I can only imagine what I would be feeling if I had come to faith as a result of his ministry. Yet, I can promise you this, if you are genuinely following Jesus, your experience is real even if his life was a facade. Until Zacharias, the two falls from grace that most shook my faith were Jimmy Swaggart and Bill Hybels. I listened to Jimmy Swaggart daily on my commute to college as an undergraduate and attended several of Bill Hybels’s Willow Creek Leadership Summits. Still, I wept when I heard the disturbing news of Ravi Zacharias’s moral falure, just as I did last May when his death was reported. I recall reading many of the media tributes lauding him as a leading Christian apologist and agreeing that his passing was a mighty blow against Christianity.

On September 30, 2020, Christianity Today published a follow-up on a story it did on May 19, 2020 that had started off as a tribute listing his many accomplishments, but cast a tiny shadow over his ministry. The article described what many believed to be Zacharias’s mischaracterization of honorary doctorate awards as academic achievement. In addition and hidden near the end of the article, the author, Daniel Silliman wrote, “Zacharias was also involved in a legal dispute over “sexually explicit” communication with a woman he met through his speaking ministry. Her lawyer said Zacharias had groomed and exploited her. Zacharias sued, and the lawsuit was settled out of court with a non-disclosure agreement.”

We have since learned the famed apologist was deeply engaged in sexual misconduct. He used his power and position to prey on women. His fall from grace was even more painful for me than that of Swaggart and Hybels. I admit the truth about his conduct broke my heart. But I was determined that his failure would not destroy my faith. Christianity is about the message not the messenger. And the message is, God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. (John 3:16 | CEV) The behavior of those listed, plus the hundreds of other Christian leaders concealing sin in their lives should not rock our spiritual boat. And it won’t as long as our eyes are firmly set on Jesus and our faith is in his finished work on the cross. I confess I held Swaggart, Hybels and Zacharias in higher regard than I should have. They came close, if not in fact becoming, my religious idols. I have learned my lesson and repented.

We can’t condone such behavior, nor should we allow their failure to cause us to give up on Jesus. When another human, no matter how famous or highly placed he or she may be, commits sin, that should remain between them, God and those to whom they are accountable. And we should not simply write them off as sinners. God would no more give up on them than he would you or me. Just as it is for us, confession and repentance is necessary for them to restore their relationship with God. If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose] (1 John 1:9 | AMP)

When we consider how we have been tested and failed, it is not hard to imagine the greater temptations faced by those who speak to hundreds, if not thousands, about Jesus and other matters of faith. So, who are we to sit in judgment of them? Instead, we can do something positive. We can pray that if they have not yet gone to God in heartfelt confession that they soon will. We can also pray for our own pastors. Not only are they held to a higher standard by the world, God also expects more of them. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. (James 3:1 | ESV)

Join me in committing to add our prayers to those of our our pastors that God will give them the strength to stand against any temptation they may encounter.