When leaders in ministry fail us, the ripples spread far and wide. We’ve seen this with Jerry Falwell Jr., Ravi Zacharias, Mike Bickel of IHOP (International House of Prayer), and other big-name pastors, teachers, and leaders in Christian ministry. And when it hits “home,” it hits hard.
The latest domino to fall from a pedestal is Micah Wilder and some of the other members and wives of Adam’s Road Band—a popular and beloved group of ex-Mormon missionaries who traveled nationwide sharing their faith in Jesus Christ as evangelical Christians since 2009. The scandal is too tawdry to go into detail, but their sexual escapades make all the aforementioned men on the list look like cherubic choir boys.
You will find sexual misconduct and abuse—and things far worse—among those from every walk of society: politicians, Hollywood celebrities, judges, teachers, CEOs of large companies, and small business owners. Humanity has a sickness; it’s called sin. But when it happens with people we love and admire, especially within the community of faith, it hurts like a punch in the gut.
Many who know about the fall of Adam(‘s Road)(the irony), are reeling from the shock. Some are hurt. Some are angry. Some are devastated. And some are experiencing a crisis of faith. “What’s real?” they may be asking, especially individuals who have come out of Mormonism into the Christian community. “Is anything authentic? Is it all fake? Are all these professing Christians fake? Can I trust any leader, any church? Maybe this whole religious thing is a bunch of hooey.”
I get it. It’s hard to recover when someone you respected and trusted has violated your trust. So, I’d like to offer a perspective that may bring some understanding and encouragement.
Let me start with this: Jesus is real. He lived, He walked the talk. He was as authentic as they come. In fact, no one has ever been like Him, nor will there ever be. He is the Aleph and Tav, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. And He died as a propitiation (appeasement, atonement) for our sins. His precious blood was spilt on our behalf. No one took His life; He laid it down willingly and sacrificially for humanity. A leader’s failure does not negate the work of the cross or the reality of Jesus.
Romans 3:3–4 (ESV)
3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though everyone were a liar…
People’s failures are nothing new. Look at King Saul who went from auspicious king of Israel to a raving madman who rebelled against God and died an ignominious death. Or Solomon who was gifted by God with a wisdom matched by no man before of since. Yet, he became an idolater and worshipped the “gods” of the surrounding nations. His son, Rehoboam, was a vain and foolish man—he “did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord” (2 Chronicles 12:14).
The list goes on. And as for fake believers, it was a problem in New Testament times. The Apostle John faced this issue and wrote:
1 John 2:4–6
4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
1 John 2:18–19
18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
1 John 2:28–29
28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
Let me repeat John’s observation: “everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.” There is no room for “greasy grace,” the idea that God winks at sin and because we are saved by grace we can do what we please. God forbid! We cling to Ephesians 2:8–9, and tend to ignore verse 10:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
The expectation of “good works” is not antithetical to the gospel and does not negate grace. God is Holy, and we too must be holy. Yes, we are new creations in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17), but we must still put to death the carnal desires of our old nature daily!
We live in a time of great uncertainty. There is political upheaval, social unrest, and alarming world events. In the last few years, how many Hollywood celebrities, elites, politicians—and yes, religious leaders—have been exposed for detestable acts against children and others? Sometimes it feels like society is falling apart. Sometimes it feels like Christianity is unraveling. But it isn’t. The wheat is being separated from the tares.
So what are to make of the troubling things we are witnessing today? What are we to think when those we looked up were not what they appeared to be? Our faith and confidence must be anchored in Jesus Christ alone—not in anyone or anything else. We need to stop putting people on pedestals. It isn’t fair to them, and it isn’t prudent for ourselves. We need to stop being satisfied with feel-good, ear-tickling messages that satisfy the flesh and being content with getting spoon-fed from the pulpits, stages, and microphones of alluring, popular preachers. It’s imperative to start feasting on the word of God through diligent study, as Paul the Apostle advised in 2 Timothy 2:15;
Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
In the coming months and years, we are going to see more and more people that we’ve put our trust in be revealed for what they really are. But things are being shaken for our good, so that we can see what’s real and true.
Hebrews 12:26–29
26 At that time [Mount Sinai] his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.
Secret things are coming to light, and our confidence should be in God, not man. When our hearts are prepared to be good soil, tilling it and watering it with the word of God, we will come to know Him and know He is good.
Luke 8:5–8,
5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Luke 8:11–15
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
The beautiful hymn On Christ, the Solid Rock I Stand, written in 1834 by Edward Mote, gives these invaluable words that are imperative for us as believers to take to heart:
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil.His oath, his covenant, his blood,
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay.When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found:
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne.
Bold emphasis in Scripture quotes are mine.
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