Another Christian in the Public Eye Stumbles and Falls...
Another month, another scandal. The parade of pastors, ministry leaders, authors and CCM musicians caught in scandals of their own making seems endless.
I have no interest in pointing out all the many specks in my (mostly) brothers' eyes when I have enough planks of my own. I simply want to say, from the perspective of helping to lead a relational network of leaders, that it doesn't have to be this way. Not that we'll ever get to a place were leaders don't sin... of course not. But could we ever get to the place where leaders are able to own their temptations and even their failings and deal with issues before they blow up, shipwrecking their ministries, their lives and marriages, and often the faith of countless others?
I pray that we can.
But to get there, we'd need to see something we don't see a lot of these days: radical honesty and transparency, supernatural grace, and over it all an uncommon courage.
We don't see all the times when leaders are able to interrupt the cycle of sin and destructive behavior, so we really can't say how well we are doing as a church in being honest and transparent with each other, how well we're doing at showing a supernatural, Jesus-like amount of grace, and how often we're courageous enough to have the kinds of conversations where those qualities can show up and make a difference. We just see the cases where apparently one or more of those things was absent, where the shipwreck wasn't averted. But seeing that, we can say with assurance: we could do better.
And doing better begins when we all admit: It could happen to us. There but for God's grace go I. And beyond just admitting that it could happen to us, developing the relational guardrails that will keep our churches, our families, and our own lives and callings out of the ditch.
Here's what that looks like:
- Having someone in your life you can talk to with complete honesty... and actually talking to them.
Ministry is lonely. You need someone you can talk to beyond those in your direct ministry context. If it's a friend, fine- but know that the temptation to present a false-self with friends, and even your spouse is great. The temptation is to be vulnerable enough to appear real, but not so vulnerable that you feel like you are letting them down, losing their respect, or in some way jeopardizing your relationship. If you have someone that you feel you could tell anything to, then by all means, do so. Start easy- confess what you are tempted to do. Confess the small sins. Tell the story of big sins from a couple of decades ago. Work towards radical honesty and transparency. Test the waters for supernatural grace. And in doing so, begin to develop the uncommon courage you will need at the lowest point in your life before you reach the lowest point in your life.
If you don't feel like you have any relationships that could hold that kind confession, pay someone. A counselor, a spiritual director... someone whose job it is to listen compassionately, and offer hope, encouragement, and occasionally the kick in the pants you will need.
2. Having a group of others leaders in similar contexts, with similar struggles, and journeying with them over the long haul.
The benefits of having a group of people who over time become a group of friends, who track with us month after month, celebrating and mourning with us season after season can't be overstated. It's knowing that even if we aren't necessarily sharing everything, we're developing those muscles of honesty and transparency, learning how to listen compassionately and with a non-judgmental spirit, and building a bench of folks we could call upon when we're in crisis. (And if you feel like you don't necessarily need that, think of it this way: someone else probably needs it from you.)
Do you have these things in your life? If so, good. I'm confident that whatever you might face, you have in others a provision from God that will see you through- something that will carry you through the small failures and keep you from the life-changing ones.
If you don't, here's my offer. The staff of the Ecclesia Network is here. We've seen and heard it all. I'd be surprised if you could confess anything that would truly shock any of us. The whole reason we are here is to partner with and equip you. If you need to talk, get on my calendar. If you need to set up something more long term, we can provide that or connect you with someone who can.
Join a Leader's Circle. We have a good number of them going, but we're far from seeing every leader in Ecclesia connected in a regular, relational way with others. We'll have some new ones starting soon- so if you want in, just let me know.
We can't do much about what's happening in the broader world of Christian ministry, and the failings we are seeing there. But we can do something in our lives and within our own network. Let's be the kind of Network that cares about each other and receives care from others, in such a way that, by God's grace, our list of "failed leaders" remains mercifully short.
