Why a Pastor’s Failure Doesn’t Undo the Truth He Spoke

I’d been wondering  how things are going with the churches that were once called Mars Hill Church in Seattle.

Lo and behold, Relevant covered the topic this month: relevantmagazine.com.

I’m heartened by the news of what is happening with these churches since the time of Mark Driscoll’s resignation.

I’m also reminded of a principle:

When a spiritual leader speaks truth into our lives, and later his/her flawed and sinful human nature is revealed, the truth he/she taught does not change one iota. ‪

I’ve been around the church block enough times to witness moral failures, control, abuse and just plain weirdness from those who have been given the task of spiritual oversight.

Yet the truth that former pastors have shared out of the word of God still positively impacts me years after they’ve left the ministry.

One pastor of ours exercised a great deal of control over the people. This was subtle, because he had a great sense of humor and was a wonderful encourager.

Somehow, underneath the fun of it all, people became so attached to this leader that they had difficulty making basic life decisions unless he gave them the go-ahead.

He even had a habit of disclosing personal information from the pulpit about church members who “rebelled” against his instructions.

Yet many years later, I still recall sermons this pastor preached that opened up the word of God to me in a profound way. When I run across the Scriptures he exegeted, I am still all the richer for having sat under his teaching.

Another pastor, also a gifted Bible teacher, placed many legalistic restrictions on our congregation.

One Sunday, a woman shared a funny story during a testimony time, and everyone chuckled. The pastor rebuked our whole group for the “sin of levity.”

As you can imagine, the atmosphere was hardly one of joy and liberty.

Still,  this pastor’s studies of the Scripture were in-depth, and his sermons contained profound insights which I wrote down in journals and kept over the years due to their impact.

What these leaders accomplished for the gospel doesn’t go away, just because they’re imperfect. And the truth that your imperfect pastor preaches will not change, either.

Failure on the part of the messenger does not negate the validity of the message. Truth is still truth. 

I’m a bit troubled by the numerous responses to blog posts I’ve seen over the last couple of years concerning abusive church leaders.

I agree that abuse needs to be dealt with. I agree that we should not elevate men or women to exempt status with regard to their characters, just because they have some charisma or talent or the ability to pack out a building.

Spiritual abuse needs to stop, absolutely.

At the same time, let’s not be so touchy that we throw out the truth which God poured into our lives through flawed vessels.

Every one who has ever preached the word of God has character issues. The good news is, even when the one delivering the message goes astray, God’s word itself does not return empty.

So, yes, spit out the bones of your leader’s sins and shortcomings.

Just don’t toss the meat that God provided to nourish you.

To comment, click on title.