2/10/07 – Restoring the Fallen

Hi all,

I'll be teaching at Destiny Training Center in Oakhurst, CA this weekend on Spiritual (NT) Leadership (destinytc.com) so I am sending my 'Thoughts' out early.

I was in the midst of writing about something else, but then I saw splashed across the news today a formerly fallen pastor is now "completely heterosexual", and I just had to comment. The press release of such a statement from one of the (what I'll call) the band of brothers assembled to help bring the former pastor to restoration prompts me to examine what scripture actually says about restoration of people - there is quite a contrast between the current process of restoration versus what scripture says about it.

But before getting into the Word, allow me a little freedom to point some things out:

I had commented at the time of the 'fall' that the outcome would be entirely predictable and not require the Spirit of God to prophesy a sequence of events: The fall, the acknowledgment/apology, the band of brothers to offer counsel, and within 3-6 months a pronouncement of wholeness restored. And so it is being played out.

Understand my critique is of the process in the church world that funnels fallen ministers through a boot camp of restoration and then presents them as whole to the public within about 90 days, and not of the ministers themselves. Today's news was just the catalyst for me.

I know this much about myself; I am very compassionate towards people but completely without patience for incompetent systems or processes. That's why I was taken aback by the headline, and thus today's 'thoughts'

There are a few exceptions to the traditional church process of restoration of course, Jim Bakker of note among them, who went through prison and genuine reformation and restoration in his life. It was in fact because he came out from under what the church world might have mandated as the cure for his waywardness and instead entered the criminal system, that God was able to do a complete breakdown and build up of the man

It's larger than just the church world, this fast track from repentance to restoration - how many confessions of wrong doing, racial slurs, insincere apologies - followed by enrollment in sensitivity classes or checking into a rehabilitation center - have you seen recently? Some comedian yells racial slurs at the audience and next thing you know he apologizes, goes to a sensitivity class, and then he is OK again..tarnished, but restored. Same thing recently with a cast member of a TV show making comments about another cast member's homosexuality and off he goes to sensitivity class while other cast members rush to smooth things over in the media. Is this any different than today's announcement that the pastor is now a 'complete heterosexual' mere weeks after his national scandal?

However, even in the world the process is so incomplete that it leaves the majority of people doubting the sincerity of the apology and restoration of the person. People know sincerity and true restoration when they see it, and actual sincerity and restoration come rarely these days.

In fact, most of what the press labels "apology" is not. The person says something like "I'm sorry if anyone took offense at my comments." That isn't an apology. An apology says "I was wrong. Forgive me. I apologize to those I hurt." Like the Fonz in the TV series "Happy Days", most people today are unable to say "I was wrong". Fonzie would say - "I was wrooooooo. I was wroooooo, you know what I mean" never quite able to muster a full blown apology.

The trouble is, churches and the body of Christ in general accept the world's idea of restoration. We live in a sight and sound generation, and so we expect our church leader's moral failures to be played out on the nightly news right next to Entertainment Tonight, replete with their apologies, rehab, and restoration - all within a matter of days or weeks.

As a result have the following well publicized cases in which the better part of congregations and ministry partners stayed in place when their leader fell from grace

There was the pastor in California who married his secretary less than a week after he divorced his wife - and he was right back in the pulpit (and TV) without missing a service. There was the hush-hush pay off of a man who allegedly had a homosexual relationship with the leader of the largest Christian TV network; there was Roberts Liardon and his homosexual relationships - and the 90 day 'restoration' process; there was the Florida pastor who divorced his wife of many years to marry another without missing pulpit time; or how about Bishop Paulk who has acknowledged some and denied some of the many sexual misconducts and affairs alleged against him...and he is still there...on it goes.

Some of these had what amounts to a spiritual "time out" where they stood in a corner alone for a short season, and then were right back in the pulpit they had occupied before. I don't know that getting back on the same treadmill is going to happen with today's case, but my thoughts go to examples of fallen leaders and their restoration process.

More specifically - here's an idea so outside the box it just might work - let's look to the Bible to see what it says about the process of restoration.

John Mark, or simply Mark, the author of the gospel comes to mind. He started off as Paul's assistant who joined uncle Barnabus and Paul on their first trip, but chickened out and ran home about 1/3 of the way through. (Acts 13: 5, 13; Col 4: 10)

He had a history of running when things got tight. Commentators are generally agreed that with the style of writing in the first century, the author Mark was undoubtedly the young man who ran out of the Garden of Gethsemane naked when Jesus was arrested (Mark 14:51-52).

In Acts 15 Paul wants to take another trip to the churches they'd helped start and Barnabus wants to take his nephew and give him a second chance...Paul won't hear of it so Barnabus takes Mark to the family home in Cyprus for a time of restoration.

We lose track of Mark until history records he became Peter's assistant since Paul didn't want him, and he wrote the gospel of Mark from the lips of Peter.

His restoration involved months or years, family, friends, time out from his former life pattern, placement in a different place in the same field of endeavor  - with Peter who took him under his wing. However, in Paul's last letter he asked that Mark come to help him, "for he is useful to me for the ministry." (II Tim 4:11) so we know his restoration was complete.

In the Old Testament the life of Jacob comes to mind as an example of someone fallen and restored. After stealing his brother's birthright he left for fear of his life. (Gen 27: 41-46)

I like that - a person sins and then they fear for their life - it has a nice ring to it. I'd like to see the fear of God restored to the restoration process, or hey, here's an idea (it's so crazy), why not bring back the fear of God to the body of Christ...it's a silly thought I know, but it might be part of the answer!

After exposure of the sin, then the fear for his life - (fear of God and Esau) - Jacob goes through a character transformation that takes YEARS.

During the restoration process Jacob has the vision of seeing God and angels at Bethel, and he makes a vow to serve God (28:16-22). That is important - exposure of the sin coupled with fear, a run for your life, and then God starts reaching out. A revelation, a vow in response, and then in Jacob's case, 20 years of work with Laban - talk about character building!

In modern terms I see it as a fallen leader working outside his normal ministry setting as part of a larger process. Jacob could not work with his dad/brother/inheritance because of the exposure of his sin, he had to go elsewhere to find work - same type of work in a sense, but different surroundings, people, etc.

This provided time for character building, the memories of his sin to fade, and the establishment of his family in another setting. It broke patterns that had previously opened the wrong doors, and established new patterns while also allowing time to deal with the emotional, financial, and other fallout from the sin.

During this time Jacob even receives revelation about how to prosper under Laban's heavy hand (31:7-13). This tells me that God will prosper the fallen leader who is truly in a larger process of restoration - He will bless the person as they progress as they stay in the process - not getting back into the old pattern.

Twenty years go by (31:38) and Jacob prepares to meet Esau - and he is afraid (32:7).

God still brings the leader to the point he must have a face to face encounter with the person he sinned against. He must deal with the fears, the regret, the torment that God allowed to be put aside for 20 years...he must one day face the sin truthfully once again...and now he has some character to be able to face the music.

The process is like the scapegoat and sacrificial goat. On the Day of Atonement sacrifice there were 2 goats - the one goat was sacrificed by the priest and it's blood cleansed the altar and represents the sins being cleansed in heaven.

The other goat was the scapegoat, led out into the wilderness to be dealt with by God alone as an offering for the sin of the people. The scapegoat represented the sin in the earth - brother against brother, person against person - the injury sin caused - and that had to be dealt with in a wilderness experience alone with God. Once both elements were taken care of, the whole nation was cleaned.

The first goat dealt with the sin forgiven spiritually, while the scapegoat dealt with the injury caused by sin. In any restoration both elements must take place. 

Leaders in the traditional church world are eager to deal with the sin on a spiritual level, but seem unwilling to go through the wilderness experience with God which is required to deal with the injury that resulted by their sin. Mark was pulled from ministry and spent time with family and friends until he was ready to join in once again. Jacob had 20 years of wilderness experience until he was restored.

The church, and the world as I've already noted, wants it to be just 1/2 the process - forgive me for I have sinned - and forget the wilderness experience that deals with the injury they caused people. There must still be a scapegoat experience, a going into a wilderness experience of a personal nature alone with God, as part of a process of restoration.

It's only the Bible I know, so why follow such an example - the media way and American culture is so much easier than scriptural remedies. But Jacob spent 20 years dealing with his deceitful nature, Mark spent years dealing with his tendency to run away and let those who depended on him down. I've given counsel over the years to people with urges and temptations and sins of all types, and most of them will tell you they still have to resist the devil daily just like any human being - whether it's the ex-alcoholic or someone formerly addicted to porn or someone used to cussing a blue streak or someone just trying to walk in integrity at work - we all have to deal with the darker side of our nature.

So you can understand why I was appalled that the band of brothers announced this pastor is "completely heterosexual" today - he admitted to having homosexual urges for years and suddenly within weeks of exposure he's "completed". Again - it's the process at fault here, not the man who is a product of it.  

Back to Jacob - BEFORE he reconciled with Esau he spent a night wrestling with God with a determination that gave him a new name - no longer Jacob (deceiver) he became Israel (prince with God), God himself signifying his restoration was complete and THEN he met up with Esau. (32:24-32; chapter 33 all) and was able to reconcile the injury caused by his sin.

What passes for forgiveness in the church today is someone praying to God to be forgiven and they think that is all there is to it. But in truth scripture presents examples of both the sin AND the injury caused by that sin must be dealt with before full forgiveness and restoration are given.

In Leviticus 6:1-7 a person had to make a sacrifice for their sin, and ALSO apologize and restore the principle with 20% interest any injury caused by their sin. Once both were done God accepted their request for forgiveness. In a larger picture that is exactly what the Day of Atonement sacrifices mentioned above were all about. And in today's world, that is what is needed of fallen leaders.

I believe this former pastor has been forgiven from heaven, I'm just not convinced the injury caused by his sin and the full restoration process has taken place within himself.

The pronouncement that he is "completely heterosexual" by one of the 'band of brothers' was for the benefit of the fallen pastor, and to tell people that he is normal and getting on with his life. (and won't we just forget about it now) It's a statement that all is now normal and blessing has been restored

I beg to differ.

I'm off to sensitivity class...

:)

Blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org