When Christian Leaders Fall

Every now and then a high profile Christian leader experiences a moral fall.  Sometimes, when this happens, I am asked by a person in our church or, perhaps, even outside our church to comment.

Here is a comment . . .

When high profile Christian leaders take a moral fall, there are three uncomfortable feelings that strike me. First, I feel sadness for the person who has fallen.

Second, I feel embarrassment.  The Christian community points to standards of behavior and says, “This is what we should be striving for.”  So, when one of our community falls, morally, there is a certain amount of inevitable embarrassment.

Third, I feel bad because I know that the moral fall of the high profile Christian leader can contribute—in the minds of some—to a loss of credibility for a truth that I sincerely believe and deeply love.

A significant factor in this matter is that Christians talk a lot about values and behaviors.  So, whenever a visible Christian does not measure up to those values or behaviors, people have a tendency to shake their heads and say, “Uh huh, just what I thought.  It’s all talk and no consistent action.”  And I can understand that response.

But I believe it’s helpful to note that a value or behavior can still be good and right, even if it isn’t attained as consistently as we would hope by those who recognize and accept the value or behavior in question.  For example, we all agree—Christians and non-Christians—that stealing is wrong.  (In fact, we’re all POSITIVE that stealing is WRONG, when it was our stuff that was taken!)  However, thievery occurs despite the fact that NOT STEALING is a widely agreed upon value.

The fact that Christians do not always live up to our stated values and behaviors does not necessarily mean that those values and behaviors are wrong or outdated or unreasonable.  It just shows once again that Christians are not perfect—even high profile Christians.  Actually, we all knew that before the person fell, but—I know—it’s still pretty sensational to see it happen.

Someone might suggest, “If high profile Christians are going to fall back on the, ‘Hey, I’m not perfect’ defense when they take a moral fall, then they ought to be a lot more humble BEFORE any trouble happens.”  And I couldn’t agree more.  Jesus was pretty keen on humility, too.

I suppose it will appear insufficient, to many, for me to say this but, I’ll say it anyhow, Christians hold up behaviors and values that we believe are true and right and we believe they reflect the wisdom of God based upon the teaching of the Bible.  I’m embarrassed and I’m sorry that we do not always live up to those behaviors and values.  But I hope people can understand our inconsistencies to be a flaw of weak, fallible people—who are humbly attempting to point to something noble and right—not a lack of credibility on the part of God.

Dan Marler

Oak Lawn, IL