Why have so many church leaders fallen?

“Are all the leaders in the American church corrupt?!,” is a question I ask myself on an almost daily basis. News seem to come out weekly about yet another major ministry figure in the church being involved in some form of scandal. The findings released about Mike Bickle have left the entire charismatic world swirling.

The pain, confusion, and disillusionment that many are feeling in light of these revelations have formed an entirely new branch of quasi–Christianity I call the “antichurch” movement, who pride themselves on their ability to “deconstruct” — which seems to always lead them towards the political left in the end or at least hobnobbing with it. While to some extent this is an understandable reaction to betrayal, I would like to propose to you a different way.

In order to discuss where we should go, first we must look at where we’ve been. With so many victims coming forward as witnesses to abhorrent sins in leaders’ lives, we have to ask ourselves: How did we get here?

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To figure that out, we need to look at where the current leaders of the church came from, namely, the Hippie Movement.  Prior to the Hippies, America was a fairly conservative nation.  But a counterculture began that encouraged rebellion against the values of the previous generation and instead pursued “sex, drugs & rock ‘n roll”. Like all sin, this seemed to start out great for them, but in the end, it left them feeling hopeless, empty, and broken. 

Then came the “Jesus People.” God began to call many in their lost and broken generation to Himself, and a revival started that produced most of the leaders of the Charismatic church today.  While God can deliver anyone from the chains of their past, the devil is patient and tries to wear us down over time.  Having leaders with pasts filled with prolific sexual sin didn’t help the situation we find ourselves in.

I’m not sure if every leader that’s being exposed right now started out with nefarious intentions or not, but I do believe there are several factors contributing to this issue of abusers finding safe haven in the Church.  For one, they seem very sincere when they preach. This might seem like a minor point to make, but if you’ve sat under a leader who preaches about holiness and prayer with emotional passion, it can be difficult to imagine that they are living a double life. “If they were faking it, they wouldn’t be able to have so much emotion about it,” is the subconscious thought process most believers have — and that’s absolutely true because they aren’t faking it! 

I’m fully convinced that most of these leaders started out with a sincere devotion to Christ. At some point in their journey, temptation came, and instead of resisting it, they gave in and the results of their sin are now being displayed for all to see. While it’s easy to condemn the atrocious acts these people committed (and they are atrocious and should be condemned), I think it’s important to realize that the moment a leader arises with a legitimate anointing on their life, all of Hell puts a target on them and gives a green light for their minions to attack. The devil will surround a genuine servant of God with those he’s enslaved to Hell, and initiate strategies to get them to slip and lose their footing. Once they fall, they become trapped and in many cases, they are most likely blackmailed and told to do what the devil wants “or else.” 

Should a leader who’s been exposed of abuse be restored to leadership after years of systematic predatory patterns are uncovered? Almost never. However, I doubt many people understand the level of pressure and demonic harassment these leaders endured for years and even decades before they gave in. Would you or I do any better? I hope so.  People often medicate their pain with sin. Recent church history is replete with examples of leaders who weren’t abusive but were involved in affairs or other kinds of sin. Surely the Christian walk is a marathon and not a sprint, with many eager to catch a leader in failure so that their own promotion can come. 

Is God purifying the church right now and removing predatory leaders? Absolutely. Is the devil sitting outside with a net, waiting for the hurting and abused to run out so he can snatch them up? You bet he is. 

Times like this require incredible discernment to navigate because on the one hand, there are horrific things being revealed about how the Church has protected abusers and oppressed victims.  On the other hand, the devil will not miss an opportunity to bring sweeping judgments toward the entire Church, accusations that are empowered by legitimate offenses caused by the sins of church leaders. 

Reformation is needed, the Church must change or it will not survive what’s coming. Praise God that it’s His plan that we’re following & not the plans of any man with broken hands. 

Followers of the Way, I implore you: although you’re burning with pain due to all the exposure, do not give up on the Church but rather look up, for your redemption draws near.