Another Lesson From a High-Profile Pastor

In this day and age of technology it is no secret that another high-profile pastor has had to resign from the pulpit. News travels faster than wild fire today it seems. Sadly this resignation is due to sexual uncleanness, namely adultery.

I do not desire to "pile-on" to the misery, sinfulness, and heart-ache that this man, his family, the church, and Christendom will suffer and experience. I don't even want to talk about the man's failure.

I certainly want to take heed to the apostle Paul's admonition when he said, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." (1 Corinthians 10:12,NKJV). I realize that except for the grace of God there go I. At this very moment I do not know what sin desires to deceive me and to devour me. I must trust God for His grace to put to death sin in my mortal body in order to live my life pleasing to the Lord and worthy of His great salvation.

My reason for this post is that I am once again reminded that the "proof of the pudding is in the eating." I am amazed that how soon the so called evangelical world wants to jump on the band wagon of new and up-coming men who seem to be polished pulpiteers and charismatic authors or dynamic leaders. 

It seems that once you have had some level of "success" the publishers are beating down your doors for book deals. Soon these men who are not very old or have been around very long are sought after as experts, advisers, or pioneers whose methodology needs to be copied.

Just recently some one recommended to me a book by a high profile pastor turned author. I certainly don't want to put my head in the sand and avoid anything that could be beneficial to me, but I want to wait and see how these guys turn out. Do you know what I mean?

Make no mistake, I am not judging this man and his failure  or his motives, his heart, or his commitment. I have seen some glaring signs of danger in the reports that I have already read, but I am not going to focus on them. I just want Christendom, particularly evangelical Christendom to learn some valuable lessons about the promotion and even "worship" of high profile pastors.

Like most pastors I have a list of my "heroes" of the faith. These are men whom I love, respect, admire, and even try to emulate. Maybe to my detriment my list of heroes does not contain young men in the ministry or men who have not been in the ministry for long periods of time. I want to see how they turn out, how they end up. 

So along with others, I grieve for this "black-eye" on the church of Jesus Christ and for the hurt that will be experienced by all who are involved or affected. I am indignant at sin and its awful, horrid, deceptive, and destructive work in the lives of God's children. I am concerned for myself that I do not give into temptation and sin in some fashion that would grieve the Holy Spirit of God and hurt others. And I certainly want to continue with my "wait and see how they run their course" attitude toward high-profile celebrity type pastors.