Celebrity Pastor Restoration Part 2

This is Part 2 of a 2 part post.

Here are some concerns and things to think on:

It is not OUR job to restore fallen celebrities to positions of influence and/or ministry. It is their own community’s job. And privilege. We didn’t walk the road. We didn’t live the story. We don’t know the conversations. We aren’t the first line of accountability. Some would then say the big “C” church needs more stories of restoration. I say that’s not necessarily what we need. We need more stories of the process of restoration going well from within that person’s own living breathing church community. And, that person may have lost the privilege of ever serving in the same capacity again depending on many, many things you and I may never know about and don’t have to.

Likewise, it is not OUR job to make judgments as to whether or not someone is or has dealt with their shortcomings. Same as above. To expand a bit on the Twitter quote earlier, when the worldwide church encourages and applauds a fallen ministry leader’s return to power and influence outside of or in spite of the accountability and authority of that leader’s own church community, the “restoration” is about as effective as wiping a baby’s butt over the phone and saying, “all clean!”

If I come home from work and my children tell me a story of how mom disciplined them for doing something wrong, I am going to get a very one sided story. They might tell me how they were treated unfair. They might make excuses. How wrong would it be if I immediately took their side, removed the punishment and sent them on their way? How horrible would it be if I said to them, in mom’s earshot, that I disagree with her and she is being too hard on them?

What would that say to their mom, my wife about how much I trust her? What do I teach my children about process? What disservice do I do to the family unit? What do I communicate to my children about how I view mom’s role? What horrid lessons do I teach my children about consequence. This is not restoration. This is rebellion, misuse of power, mistrust, and manipulation by both me and my children. It is wrong.

On Paul and David . . . Paul was a murderer before he was a Christ follower and before he was a leader in the Christian church. David was a king who abused his power and was disciplined for it. He was a king, not a pastor. God and the prophet Nathan dealt with him. Bad things happened because of David’s sin. Family members died. He wasn’t allowed to build the temple. Different system. Different rules. Different accountability. P.S. David did not escape that accountability. This line of reasoning is dumb and inappropriate.

On accountability . . . Accountability doesn’t count with the ones who don’t know the whole story or the ones who would help you hide the bodies no matter what the story is.

On grace and forgiveness . . . our ability to forgive, love, and be gracious to any individual who has fallen are completely separate issues from restoring someone to a position of influence. The process of relational restoration, restoring someone’s personal and family dignity, getting or giving someone counsel, ensuring a fallen brother or sister has the wherewithal to earn an income outside of ministry, etc. are all wonderful responsibilities and privileges of that individual’s church community. We can and should forgive and be gracious.

Do our churches need to be better at forgiveness? Yes. Do we, on the whole, suck at loving people who have made bad choices. Pretty much. But, our general church of Jesus worldwide problem is an issue that should be treated separately and should not be confused with our role in the restoration of an individual who may have influenced us yet we have no relationship with.

Restoration happens in relationship.

Discuss.

Celebrity Pastor Restoration Part 1

Today I twittered, “Saying a fallen pastor is ready for influence in spite of the authority of the local church is like wiping a baby’s butt over the phone.” Many of you commented and wanted me to expand.

We are not immune to our leaders falling. Sex, money, power . . . they have the ability to corrupt and often do. None of us are immune. We are all “one giant confession of a respected leader” from falling to our own knees and having our world rocked. When our friends and leaders fall it often defines us in new ways.

Nothing is as sweet as restoration. Healing. Forgiveness. Grace. Where would we be without those things. We love to receive it. We need to give it.

Yet, I am increasingly puzzled and often angered by what happens with celebrity restoration. By “celebrity restoration” I am referring specifically to leaders of great influence and/or popularity being restored to their positions of influence (or similar positions)—as if nothing ever happened— in a short period of time— or over a longer time thanks to short term memories or the fear of conflict—not by the people they are in relationship with, but by the “fans” of that leader.

Did you catch that? I’m referring to us, the fans, the big “C” church, the church worldwide, looking at a leader we know nothing about and putting them back into a position of authority. Looking to them as experts. Buying their books. Hiring them at our churches. Having them speak as authorities and celebrities at our conferences. And doing all of this outside of the authority and accountability of their very own church—the one they let down.

Hear this: I am NOT saying fallen leaders lose their voice or become something less. I am NOT saying they can’t share their story. Here’s what I AM saying . . .

Scenario: A pastor of an influential church has a sexual failure or any major moral failure. He loses his job and his position of power and influence. Because his sin was so public and because so many of us in the church world observe the story, we begin to create our own narrative/mythology surrounding their fall. As such, given the limited and tainted details we receive, we arrive at conclusions such as, “they were treated unloving and/or unfair,” “why can’t we all get along?” or “sure they have faults, but don’t we all?” Typically, someone will throw into the conversation that, if we don’t “receive” them, we are hypocrites who wouldn’t even allow the Apostle Paul or King David to be on staff with us. Soon, because of their celebrity and because everyone wants the rest of the story, they are “restored” to a position of influence, often looking like victims and continuing in ministry of some kind. They get on the road telling the “story,” writing books, speaking and teaching, consulting and merchandising. Much of the time, they do so with little to no accountability or they say they are accountable to some yet, those people are not the ones they should be accountable to.

In these cases, I say it’s doo doo.

To be continued . . .

Cyber-Confessionals

Today was a great day at The Winds.

We opened up with The Who’s “Join Together” which, I must say, is a great call to worship. We also covered Eddie Vedder’s “Rise Up” from the “Into the Wild” soundtrack. Great tune. Vocal and mandolin. Period.

We are in the middle of this series entitled, “Sin Monkey.” The idea is that sin is like a little pet monkey you buy and bring home. He’s cute and cuddly and a joy at first but, as he grows, and you begin to lose “control” of him, he thrashes your furniture, claws up your family, pees on everything, and flings poo at your kids. Pretty soon, none of your friends wants anything to do with you because of your little pet.

We showed this video today (below) which is spooky macabre, and looks like something Tim Burton might produce. The video is a good picture of the effects of sin that is enjoyable for a season but has long lasting damaging effects. The music is creepy cool—it’s the song that plays in my head when my daughter’s porcelain dolls run around the house in the middle of the night.



Today’s highlight for me was the first-time use of our cyber-confessionals. Five booths were built in back of the auditorium space where “confessors” could go behind a curtain and confess sin anonymously to anonymous “confessees” on the other end of a terminal. We used Yahoo! Messenger and set up profiles for confessor1,2,3,4,5 and linked them to confessee 1,2,3,4,5 respectively. So, when a confessor went in to a booth and started typing, their confessee was ready to listen and pray with them. The confessees were from Michigan, California, Tennessee, and other states. We will have the booths up for a few more weeks.

Stay tuned for more interactive worship confession ideas. This series is full of them. We have some creative and meaningful things planned that I can't wait to share with you!