I bet you do not know these names, but here goes: Robert Morris, Mike Buster, Tony Evans, and Tony Cammarota. Any guesses?
These men until recently were the pastors of four mega-churches representing a total of 167,000 Protestant church members. The reason for their collective departures? Moral and ethical failings.
I take no joy in bringing this story to your attention because it once again demonstrates the trouble that ministries writ large are experiencing. And while these are big congregations, and mega-churches are rare compared to the average church of 100-200, the problems are nevertheless ubiquitous in any size congregation.
As a spiritual person who well-knows of the adversarial relationship between good and evil portrayed in the bible, I could easily point to passages that indicate that such occurrences are prevalent throughout scripture. The “enemy” of all that is good seeks destruction. Who better to harm than the teacher/leader of a flock of followers? And so, I stipulate this.
I guess my question is, to what extent, knowing that humanity is fallible and generally under attack, should those who stumble, fall, and break the trust and responsibility of their positions, be forgiven or even restored? Is there a pathway that gets them back on track, so to speak, or should their penalty be irrevocable?
While scripture reports numerous characters who changed for the better and did great things, there are some who probably did not deserve a second chance by human standards.
King David’s adultery and engineered death of his mistress’ husband seems abhorrent enough to warrant disqualification and yet, he was considered a man after God’s own heart.
And then, there was the Apostle Peter who denied knowing Jesus just prior to Christ’s death. Betrayal is certainly a bad sin, is it not? But Peter received a restoration albeit in abject sadness and became the preeminent leader in the early church.
Part of the answer for any consideration of pardon, if you will, is whether the person is willing to accept responsibility and commit to never again revisit such violation. In churchy terms, we call this repentance.
Another component is the nature of the breach. As Stan Lee’s character, Spider-Man, learned, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Unless there is clear evidence that the offense is not habitual, in other words a one-off moral failing, the church holds the trust of the people to protect the greater good. Or as Spock would say, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one”. Even then, it is dicey to entertain a man with a vulnerable Achilles heel.
Okay enough with movie quotes as the matter is serious.
I wish I had a good answer—a scriptural answer for those that fall and seek full restoration. Ultimately, a man is known by his actions whether in public or private and conduct and consequences matter.
For those who seek the office of pastor, scripture warns that, “…those elders who are sinning, you are to reprove before everyone so that the others may take warning”.
My advice? Pray for your pastor’s moral and ethical conduct. It may be the only defense against what the light will surely reveal otherwise.
Kent Simmons is the pastor of Canyon Community Church in Kingman, AZ.
