There’s a Whole Lot of Shaking Going On
By J. Lee Grady
My cell phone was jammed this week with messages from friends who had just heard shocking news reports about several prominent Christian leaders. All the callers asked the same question: “What in the world is happening to the church?”
I cringed along with everyone else when I learned that evangelist Juanita Bynum had allegedly been beaten by her bishop husband, Thomas Weeks III, after an argument outside an Atlanta hotel. Weeks was a fugitive from the police for three days, but he finally turned himself in after posting $40,000 bail. When he returned to his pulpit last Sunday, the folks at Global Destiny Church gave him thunderous applause.
A few days later Florida pastors Randy and Paula White announced to their stunned congregation that they are divorcing. No clear reason was offered for the breakup?just an admission that counseling had not helped them. Randy said he would continue to pastor Without Walls International Church, while Paula pledged to visit the congregation often. She says she will base her ministry out of several locations including San Antonio, where she’s purchased a house and has taken a part-time leadership position with a church.
If all this news wasn’t bad enough, former Colorado pastor Ted Haggard was dragged back into public view over the weekend when leaders overseeing his rehabilitation process accused him of seeking donations without their approval. Then the Colorado Springs Gazette reported that the man Haggard had allegedly designated to handle the funds is a registered sex offender.
For those of us watching this painful drama, it’s tempting to become cynical, discouraged or judgmental. After all, Christian leaders are not supposed to be linked to domestic violence, irreconcilable differences or gay sex scandals. Ideally they should be role models of integrity who live what they preach.
But godly people sometimes do ungodly things?and these scandals are a clear indication of deeper issues God wants to address. In this time of unprecedented spiritual shaking we must respond properly. Here are some steps you can take:
1. It’s OK to be angry. Counselors say forgiveness can’t be expressed until you are honest about your anger toward the person who hurt you. In these recent scandals the name of Jesus has been reproached. That makes God angry, and we can expect Him to intervene with His correction at the right time. (As folks say in rural Alabama, somebody is going to the woodshed!)
Holy anger should boil inside us as we see how the name of Jesus is maligned and misused in today’s church. We must aggressively seek accountability and integrity at a time when we have been compromised by hyper-prosperity preaching, carnal showmanship and self-absorbed charlatans. America’s pastors should lift their voices in this hour and denounce this shameful charade before the false prophets of Jezebel completely hijack the American church. The people of God need bold prophets who are not afraid to draw lines and call down the fire of holiness from heaven.
2. It’s necessary to grieve. I know an intercessor in Texas who told me she has been crying for days because of the news about Bynum and the Whites. Her tears reflect God’s compassion for these people as well as His burden for all unbelievers who might reject the gospel because they now view Christians as hypocrites. As the prophet Jeremiah wept over faithless Israel, we should sincerely grieve over how far the church has fallen. Our anger cannot achieve its result if it is not tempered by brokenness.
It might seem schizophrenic to suggest that we can be angry and grieved at the same time. But God feels both anger and deep compassion. The apostle Paul declared: “Behold then the kindness and the severity of God” (Rom. 11:22, NASB).
3. It’s essential to pray rather than criticize. Ultimately we must come to a place of humility as we face this crisis. We must admit that we too might stumble into compromise or moral failure if we held a stressful leadership position. How would you act if you had Juanita Bynum’s preaching skills, Randy White’s huge congregation or Ted Haggard’s access to the White House?
Leaders are targets of Satan. The devil once offered to give Jesus the glory of the world’s kingdoms if He would worship him. Today our adversary is still striking similar deals and demanding devotion in exchange for deceptive favors. Many leaders are being hypnotized by wealth and fame or seduced by pornography and perversion. We must pray that pastors and other ministers will stand firmly on the Word, as Jesus did in the wilderness, to resist every subtle demonic strategy.
Try this exercise: Before you say anything negative about Randy White, Bishop Thomas Weeks, Ted Haggard or any other leader who may have disappointed you, pray for them by name and ask God to grant them His loving correction, His amazing forgiveness and His full restoration.
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J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma.
DISCLAIMER: Church of God and Faith News does not necessarily endorse or sanction all or any part of this news item.
