Finding Hope When Leaders Failნიმუში

Growing up in the church, I remember looking up to my pastors and leaders with awe. I remember hanging off their words as they explained the Bible to us. I remember that feeling of not just wanting to do what they said but wanting to be like them.

Once I started reading Christian books, listening to Christian music, and attending Christian conferences, my circle of “heroes” expanded even further. Their words inspired me to give my whole life to Jesus. Their music helped me express my heart of adoration to God. Their boldness and conviction called out courage from within me.

Unfortunately, as the years went on, I learned about another reality of Christian leadership. I saw church leaders “step down” or be removed due to moral failure. I heard about Christians, including some of my own heroes, who were no longer walking with the Lord. I saw “boldness” and “conviction” become manipulation and control.

When Christian leaders fail, it can produce incredible grief: whether it’s someone in our own church, or someone we’ve never met but who has influenced us greatly. There is also a grief that comes when a leader we’ve never heard of fails, because we know the disgrace that is being brought to the name of Jesus because of it.

Can you relate to these feelings: “not again”, “not another one”, “not here”, “not him”?

In Ezekiel 19:1 (NIV), God instructs Ezekiel to “take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel”. This lament describes powerful kings of Israel (i.e. “strong lions”) who were taken down by the nations, trapped in their pits, and taken off into captivity. Ultimately the lament describes the demise of the nation of Judah itself (i.e. the “mother” / “vine”), through which a fire burned so intensely that “no strong branch” (i.e. leader) is left.

In the coming days of this Bible reading plan, we will look for hope and opportunity amid such leadership failures in the church. For today, though, I want to invite you to express your sorrow and grief to God for the failures of leaders in his church. If you’ve been personally hurt by leaders in the church, bring that pain to God in prayer today.

[This Bible Reading Plan is based on Episode 2 of Embracing the Fall, a six-part video discipleship series available on RightNow Media and at https://inspiringfaith.au. There is a Study Guide available if you would like to engage with this topic further with your small group.]