LONDON (ENGLAND)
Christian Today
March 7, 2019
By Archie Catchpole
Resignations seem to be all the rage in the Christian world these days. Just recently I was reading an article about one such resignation and the ‘you may also like’ section read almost like an obituary of half the world’s church leaders. I most certainly did not ‘also like’. It is a difficult and disconcerting issue which is as much unavoidable as it is uncomfortable.
Even if our insatiable desire for gossip finds this infuriating, a lot of the time we don’t know many details about these incidents. Nor do we necessarily need to. (A Christian version of Hello! magazine is one of the last things we need – and besides, we all know that if it is gossip we want then we need only ask anyone’s prayer requests.) Speculation in these scenarios is almost certainly misguided, morally questionable, and definitely not helpful.
When a leader fails, how should believers handle it?
However it may be just as misguided to simply sweep these kinds of situations under the carpet as if nothing ever happened. News of scandals and resignations is not unimportant. These stories are embarrassing, yes, but they are also sobering, sombre and incredibly significant. In the light of this, I seek to offer some short reflections which could bear some general relevance. I hope my words do not come with any judgment or insensitivity. Rather, I hope that they can be honest, maybe a little bit insightful, and possibly even edifying.
People sometimes say that it is encouraging when church leaders fail. Although it definitely cannot be stressed enough that our leaders are only human, I still struggle to get on board with this. Whether by a leader or not, sin is still sin, and it is never encouraging – it is sad. It is also scary. It is scary because (on the whole) we respect our leaders. Therefore whenever I read of a fresh scandal or resignation, my mind goes into overdrive: ‘If someone so highly-esteemed as [insert name here] can be ensnared in such a way, then how much more might I?!’ This is of course flawed thinking, because regard does not reflect discipleship any more than Christian fame indicates faithfulness. Nonetheless, when these kinds of stories surface, they hand us sad but timely reminders to check our own lives; to remain in Christ and continue to follow hard after him with humility, reverence and integrity.
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