How to Respond to Scandals in the Church. Jeremiah 48:10.

I was the best man in Joe’s sham wedding. The wedding was Joe’s way of hiding his interest in children. I eventually found out about his past convictions in Tennessee, and when he later wound up in prison, I was pleased, having gained knowledge of a great deal of fraudulent acts and crime for which he would never be charged.

There’s more. The once-and-future convict had secured for himself a job that immediately conferred on him a great deal of respect, rendering him a leader in the community.

And that’s not all.

Smooth-talking Joe had gotten the job without providing any credentials or even passing a background check. He was simply incredibly good with people and everyone trusted him. What was the job with which he had been entrusted?

He held a pastoral position at a church.

I am too trusting. I know that. But the years I spent as one of Joe’s best friends forced me to realize that about myself and to recognize all the red flags I had ignored.

I no longer ignore red flags. If something smells fishy, I think about it constantly and discuss it with my wife who has the gift of discernment. And the biggest red flag of all is someone becoming upset when I ask them for credentials or evidence–for something to read–in support of whatever it is they are selling me.

Manipulators will make you feel guilty when you ask shrewd questions. But Jesus said, “Be SHREWD AS SERPENTS!” Matthew 10:16.

I will never feel guilty about asking for evidence, not if you are selling me a food supplement, or anti-vax message, a pro-vax message, an opinion about COVID-19, or politics, Ukraine, or the Middle East. Give me something I can read and examine, preferably something peer reviewed. YouTube videos and podcasts are not serious public discourse. Bring me an article from the Journal of the American Medical Association.

More importantly, another result of my relationship with Joe is that I have spent decades thinking about scandals in the church–and reading about every church scandal in the United States since. I have reached a few conclusions.

Do fallen preachers hurt the cause of Christ? Absolutely.

Will skeptics cite corrupt, scandalous preachers and other errant Christians as a reason not to come to Christ? Absolutely.

The terrible harm such leaders do to the cause of Christ raises tough questions:

Should we hide the sins of preachers who consort with prostitutes (Jimmy Swaggart), preachers who fleece their flocks (Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker), or preachers and youth workers who have inappropriate relationships with under-age children and youth (Robert Morris, Bill Gothard)? No.

What about the sins of an international evangelist and gifted apologist who went from Yale to Oxford to Harvard to MIT changing the lives of the world’s best and brightest (Ravi Zacharias)? No.

Well, can we at least cover-up the institutional cover-ups?

If the Catholics or the Baptists tried to keep a lid on things, they had good intentions, right? My speculation is that their intentions were a mixed bag at best. But the answer is no. We should not cover-up the cover ups.

The sin must come to light or the sin will never stop. AGAIN—

WE MUST SHINE A LIGHT ON THESE SINS OR THESE SINS WILL NEVER STOP.

“And this is the judgment, that Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. But the one who practices truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed” John 3:19-21.

There are many things that require privacy. There are delicate situations that merit discretion from pastors and church leaders. There are families, dramas, people—the church exists by and for people and we are fallen and fallible in a million ways. Even good decisions and meetings of wise, well-intentioned leaders often merit confidentiality.

But some issues require full-disclosure and total accountability. Members, donors, and the general public ought to be able to read by-laws and meeting minutes and understand a great many things about the business of the church–and any para-church organization to which they might donate money.

How much church business is being done behind closed doors? Are financial decisions kept from the light of public scrutiny? Is your favorite non-profit unwilling to open up its books to an outside accounting firm? Does the charity, church, or 501-(c)(3) keep its bylaws hidden? Does it use a board of voting members who are all yes-men? Are hard questions and open discussion discouraged? Is the public welcome in at least some of the meetings?

We must drag ourselves into the light. And we certainly must not hide the sins of our paid staff. Does a pastor who cheats on his wife give the church a black eye? Absolutely. But we must stand up and take our lumps. Fire the pastor and drag the scandal into the light before a journalist does it for you.

“Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully” Jeremiah 48:10.

We, the body of Christ, we the members of His churches, must never allow deceit. We may be ashamed, appalled by the actions of a man we trusted so deeply, so implicitly. But if we cover up his sins, we have added to the deceit. We must instead bring the facts into the open and prepare ourselves and our church for the harsh light of public scrutiny. Buckle up and weather the storm. It will not last forever.

Ask yourself this question: Would the Apostle Paul cover up the sin of a local pastor? Would he “put him away quietly,” (Matthew 1:19) as Joseph considered doing when Mary was found to be pregnant? No.

“I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is a sexually immoral person, or a greedy person, or an idolater, or is verbally abusive, or habitually drunk, or a swindler—not to even eat with such a one … REMOVE THE EVIL PERSON FROM AMONG YOURSELVES” 1 Corinthians 5:11-13.

“Cursed by he that does the work of the Lord deceitfully.” I will not add to the deceit by covering up another man’s sins. “The one who practices truth comes to the Light” John 3:21. Bring the pastor or minister’s sins into the light. That is the only way to bring healing to the victims.

1. Be shrewd and recognize that even men of God can go astray and quickly become master manipulators, Matthew 10:16.
2. Recognize that those who do evil always prefer secrecy (such as NDAs), over openness. Evil doers love the darkness and hate the light, John 3:19.
3. Remove the evil person from among you, 1 Corinthians 5:13.
4. Publicize the scandal as appropriate; avoid a cover-up at a minimum, lest “what is done in secret be shouted from the housetops” (Luke 12:3) and the church suffer further harm to its reputation due to being caught in what is, or appears to be, an attempted cover up.

Jesus, forgive us for sins that damage our witness. Forgive us for pride, for fear, for cover-ups, for clandestine, cloak-and-dagger operations. Forgive us when we hide the truth from church members. Forgive us when we try to hide our finances. Forgive us for ambition, pride, lust, and greed. Forgive us when we lose our way. God, give church members and volunteer leaders the courage to shine your light on scandals in the church. Show us how to remove the evil person from among us—even when the evil masquerades as your servant.

AΩ

P.S. One point I would like to add here is this: THE CREDIBILITY GAP. That is a term popularized during the Vietnam War. A credibility gap exists when there is a gap between the reports from our leaders (in this case, politicians) and what everyone is experiencing. During the Vietnam War, the credibility gap widened as politicians continued to insist America was winning the war and would soon bring the boys home in triumph, yet every night the TV news broadcast images of bloody battles and Americans coming home either wounded or dead.

The credibility gap took hold in the 1960s and 70s, and following Watergate, the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, a rash of police brutality cases, Enron, COVID-19, and the proliferation of conspiracy theories taking hold on both the left and the right, Americans are more cynical than they have ever been. Institutions can no longer assume they will be revered and their leaders trusted. That trust must be earned. And the only way to earn trust is with transparency.

Perhaps there was a time when a scandalous matter could be handled quietly. That time has passed. Besides being untrusting, through the democratizing power of the internet, everyone now has a voice, and every pocket a video camera. It is impossible to keep secrets long. Drag your scandal into the light. Face the ugly consequences and move on.