HOW SHOULD THE CHURCH TREAT ITS FALLEN LEADERS?
Few problems trouble the Christian churchmore than what to do with its fallen leaders.
Every church knows that a Christian shouldbe willing to forgive a sinner and receive himor her back into the loving fellowship of thebody of Christ. But when should a faithful andconscientious brother or sister "blow thewhistle" on a leader who has fallen into sin?How can we be sure repentance is genuine? Ifwe are convinced a fallen leader is trulyrepentant, are we not inconsistent if we do notrestore him to leadership?
Here are the Biblical presuppositions thatunderlie any right answers to the question:how should the church treat those who havefallen?
The God we worship is both infinitely holyand infinitely loving. Christians tend to leantoward one pole or the other. But the God ofthe Bible encompasses both,
and so must we.
Christians are sinners - redeemed , but stillsinners - tempted, capable of sin, and actuallysinning. Daily, but especially when I judge afallen leader, I must remind myself: "There,but by the grace of God, go I!"
God is disposed to restore the fallen. Hisgoal is to restore every believer to perfectChrist-likeness.
Yet genuine forgiveness does notnecessarily imply restoration to leadership. Itonly implies we should seek to restore onewho has fallen to usefulness and ministry inChrist's kingdom.
The Church of Jesus Christ is aninterdependent body. Not to endorse a personfor a leadership role in the church does notmean that we do not love that person. It onlymeans that we are not convinced that it isGod's best for him and for the Church.
What to do?
The procedure for restoration must not beforced into a rigid pattern. Nevertheless, in thelight of biblical teaching, the followingguidelines are especially appropriate:
Remorse: A deep genuine sense of regretfor sin and not just for the unpleasantconsequences that have accompanied the sin.Often it is very difficult to tell the difference,but the distinction is immensely important.
True Confession: Acknowledgement ofsin and guilt to all who have been especially hurtby the sin or who might suffer harm if they didnot know. Here is a general rule: Open andpublicly known sins require open confession;private sins, private confession. However, inthe case of private sins, we must ask if somepeople would not be hurt more by openconfession than by private resolution.
Accountability: Recognition by thewrongdoer that sin is never a completelyisolated act and that we are always accountableto fellow believers. For evangelists,missionaries, and leaders, this means they arealways accountable to a board of responsibleChristian peers not only in spiritual matters, butalso in moral and financial practices.
Fruits that befit repentance: Evidencethat clearly shows the person is moving in aright direction. The nature and circumstancesof the wrong, as well as the kind of role towhich a wrongdoer is to be restored, willdictate what kind of evidence and how long itmust be displayed before the person can besafely entrusted with new responsibility.
Restitution: Setting right what has beendone wrong. Where possible, restitution mustbe made, and the wrongdoer must recognizethe importance of taking responsibility for hiswrong. He must show his willingness – eveneagerness – to right his wrong. When restitutionis impossible or unwise, the wrongdoer muststill show his willingness to bear the fullresponsibility.
Retreat: Withdrawing for a time frompublic responsibility and visibility. This is wisein the case of flagrant wrongdoing, both to givethe leader a time for healing and to protectothers. The apostle Peter waited for twomonths after his fall before he began toexercise leadership in the church. Andfollowing his conversion, the apostle Paulspent three years in Arabia before he took uphis mission to the Gentiles. Leadership in thechurch, like forgiveness, cannot be bestowedon oneself. If anyone insists too readily that heor she ‘ought to be forgiven or ‘ought’ to berestored immediately to leadership, that is aclear sign that godly sorrow for sin is lacking.
A Genuine Call: God is free to lay hisservant “on the shelf” permanently or to callhim back. But the call must be accompanied bya clear message to those who are to acceptleadership.These guidelines, drawn generally fromHoly Scripture, are not a rigid and invariableformula. Our task as a church is to recognizethe loving plan of God for every believer, toforgive, and to seek to restore.
Kenneth Kantzer
This article by Kenneth Kantzer appeared in its entirety in CHRISTIANITY TODAY November 20/87. The complete article answers some questions not addressed in this condensed version. To receive a complete copy, please call the Vision Ministries Canada office.