One would be hard pressed to not come across headlines or stories about “failed church leaders” or “church leaders in crisis.” Credible (or once credible) and noteworthy churches and church leaders fall and fail. In the last 6 months, two churches from the Chicago area, Willow Creek Community Church and Harvest Bible Church experienced painful and radical undoing from the actions of the pastor and church leadership. These two churches have had such a positive perception for many years that when it all came undone, people were left disenfranchised, confused, and damaged.
Perhaps you have been on either side of a bad situation. You have been the one whose actions hurt a church or you had to deal with the pain and hurt of another leader. Regardless of the activity and/or the action, the problem typically involves a power dynamic gone wrong and/or a justification by those in power attempting to change perception of the problem. Such leadership failures ultimately result in the removal/resignation of the core leadership, including elder/board leadership. What follows such dramatic correction is a call for holistic and systemic examination leading to a transformation of the church and its community culture.
More can be written on why and what goes wrong with churches and church leaders. There’s a few things to keep in mind moving forward for youth workers who seek to reflect God’s love to students and families during church leader and church leadership failings. To be clear, not all failings are created equal, but there is a similar mentality that goes with handling any church related failure.
Here are a few things youth workers need to remember when things go wrong:
- It’s not the first, and it won’t be the last. We should be reminded that the presence of sin has broken the world inside the church and church leadership before. And, unfortunately, it will happen again.
- Truth takes time, and time can be healing. If authenticity and courage is pursued in the Spirit of faith, hope, and love, then transformation can be expected in the church and in the life of the pastor and leadership that has done wrong. It’s not going to be easy. When darkness is exposed, there’s a tremendous amount of hopelessness and despair that overwhelms people. It will take time, but persevere, spiritual resiliency will occur.
- The worst can prepare us for God’s best. God shows this time and time again when we work through hardship and brokenness. God wastes nothing of our pain. So, even if it feels like the worst, it can be a sign of how God can grow you to experience something much healthier and better in leadership and life.
- Authentic truth keeps all possibilities, understandings, and perceptions on the table. Unhealthy conflict, leadership failings, and toxic cultures are radically complex, but the complex shouldn’t discourage us from understanding. It just means we consider all the angles, especially if we are close to the brokenness. Ask questions, demonstrate transparency, and acknowledge grief, anger, and hurt. Everyone has a right to their feeling and acknowledging those feelings can open the door to deeper transformation for everyone.
- Abuse (any kind of abuse: emotional, financial, physical, sexual, or spiritual) should be held accountable. No matter how “good” or “blessed” a ministry is perceived, abuse has to be brought into account. Abusing and marginalizing is never excused because of a perceived “good ministry.”
- Healing/redemption is a promise of encountering Jesus and His Gospel through the brokenness. When truth is sought, brokenness is held accountable, and a process of transformation is pursued, healing and redemption come to real life. Using the disciple Peter as an example, the leadership failure can literally be denying Jesus, and Jesus will still come to meet you and recalibrate you for a different future.
To end the discussion on church and church leadership failure, let’s all consider the words of Paul in Ephesians 5:8-13:
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.
Everyone must pursue living a life of light in Jesus Christ. No church’s reputation, perceived success, or leadership platforms are above living in the light of Jesus. No one wants to walk through a church or church leader going wrong. But if you find yourself in that situation, the invitation is one of hope, transformation, and new life for a new day of walking in the light of Christ.
For more resources on church and church leaders going wrong, check out the following links:
How To Know If You Are Experiencing Spiritual Abuse
The End Of The Celebrity Pastor
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