Once again, Jeremiah addresses false prophets and fallen preachers[1]. (I never realized how often preacher-scandals were addressed in the Old Testament!)
Doesn’t this sound like a page out of today’s headlines?
“Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” Jeremiah 23:1.
The prophet continues:
“Therefore, thus says the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people: ‘Ye have scattered my flock and driven them away, and have not visited them. Behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings’” Jeremiah 23:2.
The problem is not merely bad preaching—it’s bad living.
“Both prophet and priest are profane, yea, in my house have I found their wickedness” Jeremiah 23:11. “I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies” Jeremiah 23:14.
“You have perverted the words of the living God” Jeremiah 23:36.
“Behold, I will … cast you out of my presence and I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten” Jeremiah 23:39-40.
But there is hope. Hope remains for God’s people:
“‘I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,’ saith the Lord” Jeremiah 30:13-14. “Their congregation shall be established before me,” Jeremiah 30:20.
God warns the errant preacher:
He knows.
He will not overlook it.
Judgment is coming.
But God will bless and restore his people. The church is the Bride of Christ—he will protect it from enemies within and without.
A summary of thoughts on how to address scandals within the church:
- Our focus must always be on the victims of church scandals, not the once-beloved perpetrator. The church must focus on providing grace and restoration to the victims of abuse, whether sexual, spiritual, or financial. God will take care of the abusers.
- Those in ministry should pray Psalm 69:6 every day: “Do not let those who put their hope in You be disgraced because of me, Lord God of hosts. Do not let those who seek You be humiliated because of me.” The medical field is guided by the Hippocratic Oath which begins,”FIRST, DO NO HARM.” Those in ministry would benefit from the same admonition: First, do no harm to the cause of Christ.
- Ministers and those who support them must remember: this is GOD’S MINISTRY. It is not about the man. If it is nothing more than a personality cult, it deserves to be destroyed. If God is interested in this ministry, he will ensure that it survives.
- Those in ministry must guard their hearts, Proverbs 4:23. Nothing is more important than your personal relationship with Jesus. Meet with him daily. Take a sabbatical every year. Keep an open relationship with engaged mentors and accountability partners.
- Churches and para-church organizations should use every tool available to screen both volunteer workers and paid staff. Employ the services of a private investigator with no ties to the church or applicants in question. Spend the money for complete criminal background checks. Make phone calls. Following-up on references and resumes is essential. Take accusations of plagiarism and other ‘lesser’ things seriously because they provide clues about character and the integrity a person will bring to larger matters. Hire someone who is “faithful in the small things,” Luke 16:10.
- We must be shrewd, not burying our heads in the sand when a beloved church leader is accused of serious missteps, Matthew 10:16.
- Yes, fallen preachers hurt the cause of Christ, Romans 2:24.
- Once verified, we must publicize their sins in spite of the damage they might do to our Christian witness, because an actual or perceived cover-up will hurt the cause of Christ even more. In an age of video cameras in every pocket, secrecy can never be assumed. Everything will be discovered. Get in front of it and expose it yourself. (Reject those who argue the verse “touch not mine anointed,” Psalm 105:15, shields those in ministry. It does not. By contrast, Paul would have said, “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh” 1 Corinthians 5:5.)
- Contact local law enforcement if you smell a whiff of criminality, particularly anything involving minors, trafficking, or financial fraud and misdeeds. (One of the pluses of involving law enforcement is that the church can generally rely on them to handle the matter thoroughly, and few will accuse the church of covering anything up. In addition, the newly generated criminal record will be easily located by future employers.)
- We must also shine a light on the “deeds done in the darkness” because that is the only way to deter evil. If we do not publicize it, it will never stop, John 3:19-21.
- A third reason evil deeds must be exposed is because donors—church members—have a right to know what is happening behind closed doors. Church members have a right to full disclosure, particularly regarding financial, ethical, or sexual allegations, and those in-the-know have a duty to provide that information, Jeremiah 48:10.
- Do not be afraid to expose a pastor’s sins—God can handle it. The gates of hell shall not prevail against his church, Matthew 16:18.
- Depending on the nature of the harm, we must terminate the offending church volunteer or pastor. We must also ‘terminate’ the cycle of providing good references, because that allows bad people to continue their abuse elsewhere, 1 Corinthians 5:11-13. It is my opinion that pastors guilty of serious sexual or financial sins have disqualified themselves from the ministry for life. Christians yearn to forgive and restore a fallen brother. But too many innocent people, many of them children, have been victimized by fallen preachers who claim to have changed. Again—we must restore the VICTIMS. God can take care of the perpetrators.
- For further guidance, contact a law firm. For seasoned counsel from a Christian attorney whose practice is dedicated to such things, consider the grandson of Billy Graham, Boz Tchividjian: https://bozlawpa.com/.
AΩ.
[1] As I contemplated writing about Jeremiah 23 and yet another message about scandals in the church, it bothered me that the content was so uninspiring. This is not the stuff of a daily devotional. In fact, it could not be further from the sort of happy thoughts with which most of us like to begin or end our day. Could anything be further from the feel-good words of a poem like David’s 23rd Psalm? Scandals in the church? What a downer! Who wants to talk about that?
God wants to talk about it. Jesus talks about it. The apostle Paul talks about it. The Bible talks about fallen preachers a lot, as a matter of fact. God did not give us his word so we could read a bit of poetry and feel inspired about our day. The Bible is practical advice. It is honest answers to hard questions. It is serious, sober, realistic discussions of many difficult topics. The 23rd Psalm is amazing. But God is much more than our shepherd. And God’s word is much more than the song of a cowboy singing his herd to sleep. God’s word is the best advice available for morals, ethics, economics, finance, relationships, parenting, marriage, governance, running a church, running a nation, fighting a war, or negotiating peace. –And handling scandals in the church. Because God chose to include this in his word, we should study it.
Household Words: 