When Pastors Fall Into Sin
Caleb Suko
Why do pastors fall into sin?
Of course it is always more shocking when a well-known and respected leader falls, but the truth is that all ministry leaders despite the scope of their ministry are prone to fall. They have the same temptations that the rest of us have but unfortunately for some they lack needed safeguards.
I’d like to share with you a few observations that may help us understand why men and women in ministry sometimes fall.
Position of authority can give a false sense of immunity from sin.
Positions of authority can be dangerous things in the church. We attach so much expectation, to those who hold important positions in the Christian world, we make them celebrities we invite them to speak at our prestigious events, we ask to have our photo taken with them after conferences, we watch them on YouTube and compare our unknown and untrained preachers to their amazing skills of elocution and theological acumen.
We expect our celebrity preachers to give us all the answers, to make our lives better, we want to be like them!
But we often fail to realize that they struggle with the same everyday sins that we struggle with. We think that someone in their position must not have temptations of lust, anger, or greed. We think that they have arrived, that they are as close as you can get to a modern day Messiah.
Yes, we all know that kind of thinking is wrong, yet somewhere down in our heart we tend to feel that way, even if we don’t say it! The problem here is that when enough people tell you how amazing you are, how much you’ve blessed their life, how they want to be like you, etc…
- You begin to believe it!
- You begin to think that you have that position of authority because you really are so great.
- You begin to look down on the petty struggles of everyone else.
- You begin to feel safe and let down your guard.
- You begin to sin.
2 dangerous ministry approaches
The “celebrity” pastor
He begins to believe the hype about himself. He sells his personality instead of preaching Christ. He builds entire organizations around his own personality.
2 Corinthians 4:5, 7–10
5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. … 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
Anyone who ministers for fame is not a minister of God. This was a problem even in Jesus day.
Matthew 6:1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
The “man of God”
“We are seeing Christian leaders who are now above accountability move from one scandal to another. Nobody should talk about them because they are the anointed ones. Usually you will hear that phrase used from Psalms 105: “touch not God’s anointed and do no harm to my prophets.” A passage of course taken out of biblical context. This has come to mean the Man of God controlling his followers through fear and intimidation. You find that the man has become like an assistant god. It’s like you cannot meet God without him. It’s like for you to be blessed you must come through this Man of God.”
Rev. Rodgers Atwebembeire
Even David had to be confronted for his sin
2 Samuel 12:7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
“Man of God” is used 71 times in the OT and only 2 times in the NT.
1 Timothy 6:10–11
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
2 Timothy 3:16–17
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
A true man of God is one who isn’t eager for money, and who pursues righteousness and godliness.
Knowing theology is not the same as knowing God.
I’m convinced this is one of the biggest dangers, especially in the world of Christian colleges and seminaries. When we equate Bible knowledge with spiritual maturity we are in a dangerous place and place where we may likely fall into sin.
They claim to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified to do anything good. (Tit 1:16)
To know God is…
- To love him
- To obey him
- To trust him
- To worship him
- To live for his glory
Man is good at hiding his own heart.
Another important fact to remember is how good we all are at hiding what is in our heart. We can go for months, years, decades without anyone knowing the true condition of our heart.
Leaders who are in high positions are often insulated from the fellowship and accountability of your regular church members. Whenever they enter a room everyone looks for them to speak a word of wisdom, to give some kind of edification. No dares pry into the leader’s life, and ask him how he’s doing, what he struggles with, where his temptations are.
The leader knows this and often in response he just pushes his own problems further into the depths of his heart where they can not be seen or heard by those around them.
It’s easy to make it a regular habit of hiding and the more you do it the more you’ll have to hide!
Matthew 23:27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.
All sins start out small
The most common response when a leader falls into sin is “How could he of all people do that?!”
What we fail to understand is that almost all sins start out small, it’s a stray thought here a moment when we let our guard down while browsing online. These little sins have a sinister way of growing in our hearts.
They are like weeds in the garden, if you see them every day you hardly notice how fast they are growing, but when a friend visits after a month he can tell that you have been lazy in pulling those weeks!
So when we say, “How could he of all people do that?” we fail to see the process that led up to that sin, all the little steps, all the small compromises, all the insignificant half-truths.
The best example of this is King David, his sin of laziness by not going to fight with his army resulted in adultery and murder.
1 Timothy 4:16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
How should we respond when a leader falls?
When leaders it’s a sober reminder for us of the insidious nature of sin. It’s tempting to simply call down judgement on the fallen leader but we are better served to take a step back and examine our own lives.
We should confront and call them to repentance
Galatians 2:14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
We should help restore them spiritually
Galatians 6:1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
Some may be disqualified from pastoral positions
1 Timothy 3:2–7
2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
Adultery, problems with temper, financial dishonesty, divorce, public sins that cause disgrace, these can all disqualify you from further service in ministry.
Some should be handed over to Satan
1 Timothy 1:19–20
19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
Some fall into sin and others are simply found out.
Turn our attention to the Good Shepherd
There are many thieves and hired hands. They are not true servants, they care nothing for God’s people.
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Jesus stands in contrast to these types of leaders
John 10:11–13
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
True pastors and church leaders should reflect this ministry approach.
Questions for reflection
- How do I relate to church leaders? Am I promoting celebrity status? Is my spiritual life dependent upon their blessing?
- Am I allowing small sins to turn into big sins?
- Am I ignoring the sins of an influential pastor because of his fame?
- Have I confused theological knowledge with spiritual maturity?
- Am I looking towards Jesus as the ultimate “Good Pastor?”
