What makes the church a sanctuary, a safe place, a place of refuge? It is only the presence of God alone or do Christian leaders have a responsibility to create and maintain the environment?
I believe it is both.
Leaders are called to live a life that is “above reproach.”
They cannot say, “I am just like you.” They are meant to live on another level, as an example for others to follow. This is a high calling and a great responsibility. This is why the Scripture says that not many should claim to be teachers, for they will receive the stricter judgement.
The Apostle Paul said that those who desire to be overseers desire “a good thing.” Is it because he was emphasizing all of the benefits that they would received in this life for being a leader of leaders? No, it was because they were likely to be the first ones to be attacked.
Is it then inevitable then that all leaders are eventually destined to be attacked and fall from grace?
I don’t believe so.
When God’s grace is not appropriated to overcome ungodliness in a leader’s life, the whole community of faith that is entrusted to the leader’s care is put into spiritual jeopardy.
From my point of view, the moral crisis in the American church today is a leadership crisis. It is not based on a lack of practical leadership skills (ie, everything rises on falls on…leadership principles) but rather on the morality of its leaders.
Ungodliness in leadership can only continue with a support system. That support system is held together by people like you and me. When true accountability is absent or superficial, leadership is in danger of failing morally.
But my question is “why do WE allow this to happen over and over again?”
Here are a few reasons that come to mind.
We don’t understand the Biblical requirements for leaders
Leaders are not called to be celebrities or kings. They are called to be servants and moral examples to those they serve. When everything about church is centered around the leader and his “gifts” rather than on God’s people then we are in a dangerous place with a leader whose fall is inevitable. A leader’s gifts mean nothing if he doesn’t have integrity. Stop supporting narcissistic leaders who are only building their own kingdoms.
We don’t insist on the Biblical requirements for elders
Elders are the Biblical answer to accountability for the leaders of a church. Those who are paid as staff at a church cannot function as true accountability for a leader. They have a conflict of interest. Elders can’t be a council comprised of people who live in other states. They are not close enough to really understand what’s going on in the life of the leader and the church. Elders must first have a duty to God and the people before any allegiance to a man or his family. Stop attending churches where there is no real accountability in place.
We turn a blind eye to red flags and a Deaf ear to uncomfortable stories
Red flags can include things like “rules for thee, but not for me”, non disclosure agreements for staff, Pastors using and misusing their “privileges”, and a lack of transparency when it comes to finances. Many times, we see people we have respected and loved leaving the church, but we never question why. Could it be that we don’t want to know? For many in the church today, ignorance is bliss. Open your eyes and call it like you see it. The first step to solving a problem is admitting that there is one.
We don’t want to rock the boat and cause division
To see a major problem is to become accountable before God to address it. The same people who serve and give faithfully for years, get shy when it comes to confrontation. But many times our reluctance to get involved in what we see is clearly a problem is really just a cover for our cowardice.
If you love the church, your church, then love it enough to speak the truth in love and let the chips fall where they may.
Love for the American church requires that we be committed to being a part of the solution, not the problem. It requires those “investing” their time, talent, and treasure into a community of faith actually know those that lead them. It requires that we no longer stick our heads in the sand when we see story after story of leaders failing morally, but we bravely look at each exposure and ask the critical question, “why?”
If you love the American church then you want it to be healthy. You want it to be a true sanctuary. And you want its leaders to be held to the standards clearly laid out in the Scriptures so that those who are being led are able to experience the best that God has for his people.
