Shaken
National headlines in July 2023 brought heart-wrenching news to the small congregation I grew up in. Horrifying, long-hidden evils came to light about a man who had led our congregation in worship for much of my childhood. Nearly half a century too late, this former pastor confessed to kidnapping and murdering a young girl after attempting to sexually assault her while she was walking to a summer bible camp in 1975.
This man was an ordained reformed minister for over 40 years. He was the man who baptized many of our children; who wed our young couples; who served the sacrament of communion to hundreds; who led many members of our small congregation to faith; who recited the words of Exodus 20 innumerable times, saying “you shall not murder…”.
Suddenly the ground does not feel so steady. What do you do when such a truth unfolds about a leader you have admired for so long—when the powerful and life-transforming words he spoke collide with the life this leader lived in private? So many questions come to the surface: Was my baptism true? Was the sacrament real? Was the Gospel he spoke sincere? Were our own children harmed?
A Long History of Sinful Leaders
One glance at Scripture reminds us that God’s people have long been led by sinful leaders. Noah was a drunkard; Abraham a liar who selfishly exploited his wife’s beauty for his own safety; Joseph was arrogant and conceited; Samson spitefully rebelled against God’s laws; David was an adulterer and murder; Peter was rash and prideful. Even the Israelites as a whole are described again and again in the scriptures as prostituting themselves out to other nations.
With the exception of one perfect man, God has always used flawed people to bring about his creation. There is not one, not even you or I, who are flawless and righteous by our own efforts. All have fallen short of God’s glory. We follow in a long line of sinners.
This is not to justify any of their actions, and certainly not those of this former pastor. Yet it is a reminder to us of two things:
- Not to put our trust in worldly leaders, but in the LORD (Psalm 146:23; Psalm 118:9)
- That God continues to bring about his creation despite the brokenness of our leaders, and the Gospel is no less true because of the brokenness of these leaders who spoke it.
While these horrible, wicked actions are absolutely against everything our loving God desires for His people, whatever these leaders preached and taught that was in line with Scripture was still true because they are God’s truths.
God of Judgement
Yet while God works through broken sinners, He is indeed a God of Judgment. It is true that the idea of a Righteous God can be terrifying—for “if you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3). Yet in times like these we are particularly reminded that our hearts need a God who calls out, judges, and punishes sin—a God who does not forget the afflicted.
Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, God demands justice. And He does this today as well. In the case of this minister, God demands justice for the little girl who was so cruelly taken from her family. And in response, we also are called to be sad and angry over these injustices, just as Paul burned with indignation for those in the church who caused others to stumble (2 Corinthians 11).
The Power of the Gospel
In light of all this the Gospel does not falter. We have each been created to glorify God, and yet we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. We are all deserving of his judgement, and yet out of His great mercy, God has sent his perfect Son to carry the weight of that sin on the cross. He has borne this penalty on our behalf and in return we have been given the free gift of God’s grace and the promise of eternal life with Him as we are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory through His Spirit.
God’s Gospel truth is greater than any mortal man
—greater than any fallen or wayward leader.
Jesus is the only one who has fully embodied the Truth of the Gospel, and His Gospel alone, through the power of the Spirit, surpasses the lips of any who speak it. It is in Him alone that we can stand firm when we are shaken, for “He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken” (Psalm 62:6) and “When I thought, ‘my foot slips,’ your steadfast love, O LORD held me up” (Psalm 94:18). Though leaders within the church may be broken, the Gospel itself is steady and sure.
How Then Shall We Respond?
Considering this news then, how should we respond? Or more specifically, how do we juxtapose the Gospel Truth spread by this minister with the evil guise that clouded his ministry and the terrible crimes he hid for nearly 50 years while he continued to pastor?
- Let us weep; There is a bereavement that comes with the realization that a man we trusted and loved as our minister has so painfully harmed others. It is right for us to mourn the loss of the person we thought we knew.
- Remember where our faith is placed. It is too easy to misplace our faith in the leaders before us, rather than in God Himself. If we place our trust in human leaders our faith will be shaken. We must trust in God, for He alone is worthy of praise.
- Refuse to let God’s growth within you at the time this leader’s ministry be undermined by that leader’s sin. Though you may have grown in your faith under his instruction, this does not mean that it was some misguided work of this fallen minister. If that growth was genuine gospel growth, then it was the work of the Spirit, not of this minister, and it is good.
- Know that the sacraments in that era were true. Sacraments are from God, not from the minister who performs them—no matter how perfect or flawed the minister may be.
- Support those who have been harmed; pray for the hurting families of the young girl who was murdered; seek justice for any others who may also have been hurt.
- Be reminded of your own depravity—for we each have our own propensity to sin and fall short of God’s glory.
- Take comfort in the goodness and sovereignty of God; Stand firm in the Truth of the Gospel for it is the firm foundation on which we stand.
“My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness…On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand: all other ground is sinking sand.” May you stand firm in His Gospel Truth as you walk in His Grace.
-Mariellen (October 2023)
References:
Ash, C. (2019). 3 Ways to Respond When a Church Leader Is Found Guilty of Abuse. The Gospel Coalition. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/3-ways-respond-church-leader-found-guilty-abuse/
Ash, C. (2019). How to Respond When Church Leaders Fall. The Gospel Coalition. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-respond-church-leaders-fall/
Blystra, Nick. (30 July 2023). “Our Rock and Our Salvation”. Fairfield Christian Reformed Church.
Hansen, C. (2021). Ravi Zacharias and the Judgement of God. The Gospel Coalition
Osunnuyi, F. (2021). Ravi Zacharias: The Scandal, The Hurt, & How to Respond. The Gospel Coalition. https://africa.thegospelcoalition.org/article/ravi-zacharias-the-scandal-the-hurt-how-to-respond/
Reissig, C. (2014). When Leaders Fail Us. The Gospel Coalition. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/when-leaders-fail-us/
Rishmawy, D. (2018). You Want A God of Judgement. The Gospel Coalition. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/you-want-god-judgment/
Scripture: Exodus 20:13, Psalm 62:6, Psalm 94:18, Psalm 118:9, Psalm 130:3, Psalm 146:23, 2 Corinthians 11:29
Hymn: Mote, Edward. (1843). “My Hope is Built On Nothing Less.”
Proverbs 19:21 