When Leaders Let You Down

When Leaders Let You Down

The Celebrity Culture has always produced casualties. Famous movie stars got besmirched in sordid affairs, multiple marriages, and substance abuse. Politicians and business tycoons were exposed for their corrupt financial dealings. 

After a while, we no longer were shocked by the scandals. The National Enquirer and People magazine have made lots of money because of our twisted interest in such things. For many of us, keeping up with the scandalous lives of celebrities has been like witnessing a train wreck—we just couldn’t quit watching.

However, something major has shifted in recent years. The Celebrity Culture is no longer confined to places like Hollywood and New York City, where celebrities gained our attention because they were rich and famous, not because of any moral virtue. 

Perhaps the shift was signaled by the fall of Jim and Tammy Bakker and their PTL empire. Rather than being movie stars or politicians, these were celebrities of a new breed, professing to be ministers of the gospel.

Now the shift has accelerated. The rise of megachurches has catapulted “rock star” pastors and worship leaders into a new kind of Celebrity Culture. Not only have we been attracted to such people because of their talent and charisma, but also because we assumed they were virtuous—celebrities truly worth following. 

Yet if history shows anything, it reveals that bad things tend to happen when we put people on pedestals. The Bible repeatedly illustrates this painful fact of life: Other than Jesus, its top “celebrities” all had flaws and shortcomings.

It’s alarming today that our celebrity preachers and worship leaders seem to be falling like flies. Rather than being obvious hucksters, many of these men and women were highly esteemed across a wide cross-section of the church world. But when the curtain was pulled back, we were shocked by what we saw.

Lessons Learned

How should we respond when our spiritual leaders let us down? Although I should write an entire book on this subject, here are my immediate thoughts:

  1. Let’s tear down the Celebrity Culture in the church. The body of Christ is supposed to be a lovingly knit community of friends, not an audience of strangers. If you’ve never even met your “pastor,” they aren’t really your pastor! 
  2. Let’s figure out how to restore those who have fallen. Without true repentance, restoration is impossible. And, admittedly, some fallen celebrities in the church probably have disqualified themselves from ever returning to the kind of ministry they once had (1 Timothy 3:1-13). Yet the Bible also says “mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13), and we must have a “gentle spirit” when we restore people (Galatians 6:1). We have too few success stories of leaders who have been restored to spiritual health after a scandal.
  3. Let’s each deal with our own sins. If we take any kind of delight when someone else’s sins are exposed, God is not pleased (1 Corinthians 13:6). As the psalmist observed, “If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:1). Instead of hoping revival will come to because the celebrity preachers have repented, let’s ask the Lord to search our own hearts for things that displease Him (Psalm 139:23-24). 

Healing Our Damaged Hearts

When leaders let us down, we’re flooded with emotions like bewilderment, grief, and anger. We find ourselves tempted to become cynical, wondering if ALL Christian leaders are hiding their double life.  

Some of my greatest mentors ended up becoming my greatest disappointments when their sins were revealed. By betraying my trust, they made it much harder for me to extend trust to other leaders. 

When we’re hurt like this by untrustworthy people, we must put our eyes back on the Lord and regain our trust in HIM. We also need to realize we had put our faith too much in human leaders in the first place.

Jesus wisely refused to entrust Himself to people, because “he knew what was in man” (John 2:24-25). Such a great lesson! When we look for human leaders to idolize, we’re bound to be disappointed. 

Friend, don’t give up on God! Yes, it’s disillusioning when those who claim to be His representatives let you down–and they WILL.

This is incredibly painful, yet it’s exactly what the Bible predicts about flawed humanity.  Let God heal your wounded heart–and He WILL!

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