When Christian Leaders Fall

Pastor G was having tremendous impact in Richmond.

Despite the fact that his mother was murdered when he was 8, his dad left, and he spent time living on the streets, he had a powerful story of transformation and a unique perspective to love the hurting.

A powerful communicator and gifted leader, Pastor G founded Richmond Community Outreach—the ROC—in 2001. By 2009, it was considered one of the most influential churches on the East Coast. Over 5,000 attended, according to media.

And the church was making a profound difference in the city: Drug rehabilitation. Gang violence intervention. Prison ministry. Children’s outreach.

But this week, he’s in the media not for all the good he did, but for sexual allegations that caused him and three other pastors to step down from the leadership, leaving a church in shock and confusion.

I wrestled with how to respond when I read this story. Should I simply pray and ignore it, attempting to avoid-it-away? But I just can’t. My heart breaks for him, his family, for the church—and most of all, for the victims, if he is guilty.

Whether or not Pastor G committed the crimes, the case is another high-profile story we’ve all heard before – successful Christian leader falls.

I’ve spent the last year working on The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good – and it is clear Pastor G’s story isn’t new. According to Fuller professor Dr. J. Robert Clinton, 2 out of 3 biblical leaders abused their power. They didn’t finish well. It’s probably the same percentage today.

When will we realize this story could just as easily been about us? When will we admit our brokenness as leaders and become focused on charting a different course?

Every single one of us is capable of internal implosion unless we daily take steps in another direction.

If we want to finish well—and avoid being next to hit the headlines harming our families, the credibility of other leaders, and the reputation of Christ—we might be wise to recognize common warning signs that impact all who do good:

1. Be aware of success. Success is a more dangerous place to be spiritually than failure. Nothing is wrong with a bigger ministry or congregation. But a fascination with such markers is toxic. Author Richard Foster said, “Make no mistake, the religion of the ‘big deal’ stands in opposition to the way of Christ.”
2. The gateway sin. It’s easy to take credit for all the good that is happening.  But that’s destructive. Secular business author Jim Collins says that the first stage to a company’s decline isn’t an external factor. It’s an internal attitude—hubris. (Yes, pride really does come before the fall.)
3. Small steps (and moral entitlement). Blow ups don’t “just happen.” Attitudes and small actions develop over time.  Often blowups begin with justifying small, moral lapses. We say, I deserve just this little thing because of all of my sacrifices.
4. Christian karma. A dangerous philosophy in the church, it goes like this, God owes me for the good I do.  Christian Karma will lead us to resentment toward God if God does not keep “his end of the bargain” and make us feel like we’re justified in minor moral failures.
5. Lack of accountability. A study was done of 246 fallen ministry leaders who confessed to committing sexual immorality within a two-year period. What did they have in common? According to Dr. Howard Hendricks of Dallas Theological Seminary, none had an accountability partner.

I hope we are praying for Pastor G and all impacted, but also are reminded that unless we understand our own frailty and constantly return to the Foundation of our service, we could be next.