A recent article on our website reported the moral fall of a prominent leader in the mainstream evangelical community [1]. And while few readers of our site would likely consider Jerry Falwell Jr. or his wife as mentors or role models for their respective spiritual journeys, the challenge of how to relate to Christian leaders whose private sins become public is one not at all unfamiliar to Seventh-day Adventists.
The Bible offers a stern warning against placing our trust in human guides so far as our spiritual walk is concerned. God declared through the prophet Jeremiah, “Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm” (Jer. 17:5). Introducing her chapter in Patriarchs and Prophets on David’s sin with Bathsheba, Ellen White makes the following insightful observation about Biblical praise for human beings:
The Bible has little to say in praise of men. Little space is given to recounting the virtues of even the best men who have ever lived. This silence is not without purpose; it is not without a lesson. All the good qualities that men possess are the gift of God; their good deeds are performed by the grace of God through Christ” [2].
It is natural for even the most consecrated Christians to give religious leaders a larger-than-life profile. The latter often appear to be spiritual giants, with vast knowledge and experience so far as Biblical issues and spiritual challenges are concerned. It would be difficult to find any conversion testimony that didn’t involve the witness and guidance of an influential figure whose help and mentoring didn’t play a key role in one’s initial decision for Christ and subsequent Christian walk.
But such leaders do indeed, at times, experience dramatic and devastating failures. Following are considerations which can soften the impact on one’s Christian worldview and well-being if and when such a failure befalls a spiritual leader who holds—or has held—a prominent position in our lives:
1. Remember that things—and people—aren’t always what they appear to be.
Not everyone appearing to be a spiritual giant actually is one. Some men and women are very good at living parallel lives. The apostle Paul wrote of those who boasted of revering and observing God’s law, yet who broke that law in their daily practice (Rom. 2:17-23). That reality is as true today as in ancient times, even though personal secrets are much harder to conceal in today’s world than in times past, due to contemporary communication technology.
2. Keep in mind that “safety zones” do not exist, even in the circles of those who appear the most faithful.
Never assume that assemblies and aggregates of apparently godly people are free from the possibility of error and sin. The enemy of our souls takes no vacations, nor is anyone in any spiritual setting—regardless of how exalted—ever free from his harassment. As David learned on his palace rooftop, as Peter learned while walking the waves of Galilee, any momentary lapse of vigilance can prove catastrophic.
3. Never give excessive prominence, either in your own spiritual experience or in the collective experience of others, to a particular leader’s convictions or insights.
Whether we speak of leaders in administrative or academic lines, putting such persons on pedestals is always dangerous—for them as well as those they lead. This can often happen subconsciously, especially when people spend disproportionate time listening to recorded sermons or watching DVDs of certain speakers and not others—and even more seriously, spending more time listening to presenters, even the best of them, than in studying the inspired evidence on one’s own.
Equally dangerous is when certain speakers get invited repeatedly, even to very godly and Bible-centered gatherings, while others with an equal commitment to Bible truth are kept at the margins. This can give particular administrators and thought leaders such a high profile that should they experience a doctrinal or moral fall, the negative impact on others can be especially injurious.
One pastoral colleague of mine, while studying theology at a major North American Adventist university, told me on one occasion that for many—even among the most consecrated students of his acquaintance—their theology was no better than the last preacher they listened to. He spoke of how the spiritual life of such persons was primarily focused on listening to one presenter or another, rather than in studying the inspired materials for themselves.
This is an easy recipe for spiritual failure, especially if the speaker you follow experiences theological or moral missteps.
4. Respect for authority exempts no one from the scrutiny of the Berean test.
Respect for authority takes different forms across the liberal/conservative theological spectrum. Among theological liberals, such respect generally revolves around academic achievement and perceived expertise, while among theological conservatives such respect often revolves around tradition and leadership within institutions, such as the home and the church. Biblical knowledge, a history of gentle and positive nurturing, and the ability to articulate the case for Bible-based teachings against the attacks of critics, what is often called apologetics, can play a major role in generating respect for spiritual leaders and mentors among religious conservatives.
Authority figures in any setting often develop resistance to criticism, and can often convey the impression of being offended and affronted by challenges to the wisdom of decisions they make or the positions they take on controversial issues. But within a faith community where God’s written counsel possesses supreme authority in matters spiritual (Isa. 8:20; Acts 17:11), developing a culture of accountability is the highest possible imperative. It makes no difference how faithful and consecrated a mentor, administrator, or thought leader may seem, nor how long such a one has been trusted within a given setting. No one can be exempted from the application of the Berean test (Acts 17:11), whether the issue is theological or behavioral.
The notion of insularity and invulnerability seems to have been a major problem in the Falwell case. A former professor at Liberty University attests that Falwell “ruled the campus with virtually unchecked power” [3], and went on to observe:
There have been red flags for a long time. The kind of arrogance and authoritarian leadership that we experience as faculty was really just a symptom of this lifestyle that obviously was one in which he thought he could do anything and get away with it [4].
An editorial in Christianity Today enlarges further on the abysmal failure of those responsible for holding the Falwells accountable:
One of the most excruciating videos I have seen is of Becki Falwell speaking about “traditional family values” at the same time as she was having an affair. An affair her husband, who was head of a university demanding that all students and staff not have sex outside marriage, knew about. What's worse is that staff complained about the authoritarian bullying of the Falwells and it has been asserted that Falwell Jr used sexually inappropriate language in staff meetings. Why was this not dealt with? . . .
If Liberty University cared about the honour of the Lord and the reputation of the Gospel, then they should not have paid out the $10.5m severance according to the employment contract. That contract also mandates Falwell to behave and speak in accordance with the values and ethos of Liberty. Those 'traditional family values' do not include going into partnership with your wife's lover, posting photographs of yourself standing unzipped beside a young woman also unzipped, or posting racist tweets. Liberty University would undoubtedly discipline its students for breaching their code of conduct. In rewarding their President for being in an even greater breach, they are making a mockery of the Gospel they profess to teach. Whatever happened to biblical discipline? [5].
Whenever accountability is sidelined in deference to outward success, men and women in the spotlight are being set up to fall, and those looking to them for spiritual guidance and mentorship can suffer major disaster in their relation to the Christian message.
One Recent Example
Perhaps the most dramatic fall from grace witnessed up close by the present writer took place a few years ago in the experience of the movement known as Generation of Youth for Christ (GYC),
I will never forget the day I heard the news. I was sitting at my computer in my study at home in Berrien Springs, Michigan, when an e-mail crossed my screen addressed by a theological mentor of mine to one who had played a pivotal role in the nurture and expansion of the GYC movement. I could hardly believe what I was reading. Despite having seen numerous examples of human frailty in the context of ministry, I was definitely not prepared to hear that the individual in question had fallen into the sin to which he had been constrained to confess.
But devastating though this news was to the many who had looked to this man for counsel and mentoring in the development of what has surely proved to be the greatest youth revival movement in Adventist history, my fear that his failure would bring widespread dissolution, loss of faith, possibly even the collapse of GYC, proved unfounded. The years that have elapsed since that terrible tragedy have seen continued growth and strength on the part of the movement whose initial nurturing this brother had done so much to further. Those who might have wished GYC to disintegrate through despair at one man’s failure were destined for disappointment.
Whatever role anyone might have played in the rise and growth of the GYC movement, human leadership had never been its lodestar. Revival and reformation through a return to Bible truth and its amplification in the writings of Ellen G. White, codified and proclaimed by the collective witness of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, remained the enduring purpose of this powerful aggregate of committed young people, even as they mourned the loss of one whose role had been so decisive in the birth of their cause, even as they prayed for his spiritual mending and eventual salvation.
Conclusion
The Bible and Spirit of Prophecy writings promise a day, just before Jesus returns, when spiritual failure will at last have been vanquished in the hearts of lives of God’s saints (Zeph. 3:13; I Thess. 5:23; II Peter 3:10-14; I John 3:2-3; Rev. 3:21; 14:5). Life and lip will at last be joined in a witness of “untainted purity and spotless perfection” [6]. But so long as this demonstration of untarnished splendor remains a work in progress, failure and fallenness will attend the steps of the striving faithful. Only an uncompromising focus on God’s Word and its supremacy in our spiritual journey will forestall disappointments and discouragement in the face of missteps and shortcomings on the part of fellow believers, especially those in responsible positions.
REFERENCES
1. Kevin D. Paulson, “Whited Sepulchers,” ADvindicate, Aug. 28, 2020 http://advindicate.com/articles/2019/9/20/paulson-draft-1-s88fl-6mlnf-49y4n-dkr69-dcwee-sxa65-f8e9m
2. Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 717.
3. Daniel Burke, “Jerry Falwell Jr’s fatal miscalculation,” CNN, Aug. 30, 2020 https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/30/us/jerry-falwell-jr-downfall/index.html
4. Ibid.
5. David Robertson, “The fallout from Falwell,” Christianity Today, Aug. 29, 2020 https://www.christiantoday.com/article/the.fallout.from.falwell/135450.htm
6. White, Testimonies to Ministers, p. 18.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan