Sadly, on occasion we see prominent Christian leaders explode in spectacular failure. Prominent pastors of large and influential churches have resigned their roles in disgrace—this goes all the way back to the 1980s televangelist era all the way up to today. Then there are Christian businessmen, sports figures and politicians who engage in corruption, dishonesty or immoral activity. The media and those outside the church point to these failures and question the validity of our faith and the strength of Jesus’ teachings. After all, if these men really believed and trusted in the God of the Bible, and espoused His Words as truthful, then why would they betray Him so fully and openly? A recent list of open failures includes:

• Ravi Zacharias, a prominent American theologian who died of cancer, only to be later exposed in a far reaching sexual harassment scandal.[1]

• Archbishop Stanley Ntagali, a promiment and recently retired Anglican leader in Uganda who had an extramarital affair with a married woman.[2]

• Carl Lentz, the celebrity pastor of Hillsong Church, who confessed unfaithfulness in his marriage and a cover-up of leadership issues in his own church.[3]

• Mark Driscoll, charismatic pastor of Mars Hill Church, who resigned his pastorate after an investigation of his leadership uncovered corruption and actions making him “unfit to serve as pastor.”[4]

And the list goes on and on. Lest we believe this is only an issue in large churches or prominent ministry roles, let’s not forget the Houston Chronicle’s investigation finding more than 700 victims of sexual sin by leaders in Southern Baptist congregations, that has rocked that denomination to the core, leading to the resignation of its top executive leadership and an independent investigation of its Executive Committee.[5]

Let’s admit that we too within the Christian faith not only pile on when it comes to faith failures, but deep down we too question whether God is worth following. How can any one of us possibly have a spiritual impact in our world if these guys, who had every means to assure their spiritual success, ended up crashing and burning? If men who have dedicated their lives to Christian ministry can fail so spectacularly, how can we as Christian leaders within our own homes, companies and communities guard against the same thing happening to us? 

The truth is that these failures are never the result of a momentary lapse in judgement. Time after time when we examine the failure, we see a pattern over time of people whose day-to-day life strays from God’s purpose and plan long before they go down in flames. These failures in leadership usually fall along two or three major themes, and they can serve as a warning to us of weaknesses to avoid in our own lives and leadership:

Lack of discipline. This is not lack of self-discipline, but rather that a leader is subject to authority and can accept the discipline of his superiors. Lack of discipline can appear as sloppy work, a rebellious attitude, a tendence to break rules, a resentment of authority, immaturity in daily life and a resistance to saying “no” to oneself.[6] Famous World War II flying ace General Jimmy Doolittle had a reputation for breaking rules. He wrote later in in life, “Have finally come to realize what a good thing the plebe year at West Point is. The principle is that a man must learn to accept discipline before he can dish it out. I have never been properly disciplined. Would have gotten along better with my superiors if I had.”

God’s discipline is described by Job, who reminds us, “Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal” (John 5:17-18). Indeed, “God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:10-11). Leaders who fail to heed God’s discipline and the wise discipline of elders and superiors will soon find themselves in trouble. Look at Christian leaders who crash and burn and you’ll often find themselves setting up a leadership structure which gives them no personal or spiritual accountability to those in their organization.

Wandering attention. A second facet of leadership failure we see in prominent Christians is a lack of focus. They step away from daily time in the Bible and prayer. They spend less time with other believers. Instead they may give their attention to other celebrities, or fads of the moment, or seek the approval of politicians or the media. The hymn “Come Thou Fount” contains a warning to all of us in the line, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love…” This is so true! Leaders who put their mind to facets of life unrelated to Christ soon drift toward personal gain, personal pleasure or personal fulfillment that is at odds with the very faith they profess.[7]

You can hear the wandering admission from Carl Lentz, who wrote upon resigning from his church, “I did not do an adequate job of protecting my own spirit, refilling my own soul and reaching out for the readily available help that is available. When you lead out of an empty place, you make choices that have real and painful consequences. I was unfaithful in my marriage, the most important relationship in my life and held accountable for that.”

James 5:19-20 tells us how to handle wandering leaders: “My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path will save that person’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” This is sometimes called the ministry of correction—the idea that Christians who see others wandering have a calling and responsibility to correct, to help them refocus and renew their faith and to put their minds onto the things of Christ. Many organizations fail in this because they fear the repercussions of calling a popular leader to accountability. Often, then, this line of ministry doesn’t materialize until it is too late.

That one—er, two times. Perhaps the most common characteristic of failed Christian leadership is that it is never the result of just one thing, or just one occurrence. You may hear a person say of their public sin, “It was just that one time.” The reality is that moral failure is always the result of a pattern of sin. When a leader (or anyone) sins against God, they are consciously moving away from God in preference to something or someone else. The Bible does tell us that when we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive. But it also says many will claim Christ and His response will be “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:22–23). The evidence points to a persistent issue with ongoing sin, and growing sinfulness in a specific area, is reasonable cause to question a leader’s commitment to Christ. When a leader fails, it is helpful and right to work with the individual, encouraging repentance, and along the way discuss the progression of sinful behavior that lead to their downfall.

A leader who claims the name of Jesus has a high standard to meet. You’ll find these outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; and 1 Peter 5:1-5. Christian life standards are described in 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 and Ephesians 5:1-5. Generally according to Scripture we regard the standard for those who claim Christian leadership as higher than other leaders. 1 John 1:8-10 has both a warning and a promise to Christian leaders who crash and burn: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”

[1] https://africa.thegospelcoalition.org/article/ravi-zacharias-the-scandal-the-hurt-how-to-respond/

[2] https://anglican.ink/2021/01/18/archbishop-ntagali-suspended-for-adultery/

[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/05/us/carl-lentz-hillsong-pastor.html

[4] https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/july/mars-hill-elders-letter-mark-driscoll-pastor-resign-trinity.html

[5] https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/abuse-of-faith/

[6] https://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/joe-mckeever/why-leaders-need-discipline.html

[7] https://www.kaylonjoseph.com/blog/prone-to-wander