Christians Behaving Badly: When Faith Leaders Don't Lead Well
By Josie Musico
A famed Christian leader makes his living telling others how to live, preaching daily about right versus wrong. Then, mixed reactions emerge from the public when the leader is caught in a shocking extramarital affair or fraud case. From Josh Duggar to Ted Haggard to Jim Bakker, it’s becoming a familiar scenario. Are those Christians hypocrites? Yes, suggested one of Lubbock’s own Christian leaders. “You are requiring something of someone that you are not doing,” Charles Stephenson, chairman of Lubbock Christian University’s department of biblical studies, said of those examples. “Rightly so, they are considered hypocrites.” But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad people. Like private citizens who make mistakes, they’re still human. “There’s a sense that we shouldn’t be surprised if people in general struggle with these things, to find out if our leaders struggle with these things too,” Stephenson said. “That’s not to justify it or say it’s OK. It’s just that when they take on leadership roles, they put themselves in a position where they’re supposed to be role models for others. They’re supposed to be held to a higher standard.” Anti-gay hypocrisy Josh Duggar, for instance, is known for his political efforts against same-sex marriage, despite his own sins of child sexual abuse and adulterous affairs. The Rev. Nancy Wilson, a Florida-based global moderator for the Metropolitan Community Church, told A-J Media it’s hard not to notice the irony between Duggar’s words and actions. “LGBT people have been shamed for being who we are and told just by being who we are, we are not moral,” she said in a telephone interview. “But morality is about your values — are you abusing, exploiting or harming others? We make the argument that LGBT people have as much capacity and responsbility to be moral as anybody else. We have a lot of the same values, and we think there’s a need for more honesty so this hypocrisy can be confronted.” The MCC pastor described another example in Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk refusing to offer same-sex marriage licenses, despite her own multiple divorces. Wilson, on ther other hand, is in a 38-year committed same-sex marriage. “The same Bible she thinks condemns homosexuality condemns divorce — where is her compassion?” she said. “It feels odd to be judged by her.” The Metropolitan Community Church is known for its stance in favor of marriage equality and other gay rights issues. But Wilson encourages folks hurt by Duggar’s or Davis’ claims of gay and lesbian inferiority to avoid feeling too smug or self-righteous. After all, she pointed out, Duggar’s abuse victims and Davis’ failed marriages certainly aren’t happy. “I think those scandals are always sad, because it means families are impacted,” she said. “There’s a lot of brokenness. You have to have compassion.” Role model impact The Rev. Paul Carpenter of First Christian Church urges his fellow Christians to avoid brushing off Duggar’s mistakes with “Oh well, everyone sins” statements or by questioning whether he is a true Christian. Reports of non-Christians sinning remind him of the Apostle Paul’s advice in 1 Corinthians 5:12: “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside.” “By Josh’s confession in Jesus, he is a member of the Body of Christ,” Carpenter said. “By his actions and betrayals, he should not only be responsible for himself, but also should be the responsibility of the church.” Wilson suggests watching Duggar’s future actions. “For him, it’s a humbling experience,” she said. “If his message changes, how is he learning from what he’s been through? How does he demonstrate that he’s gone through healing, or is he going to inflict more pain on others?” Forgiveness A major tenet of most Christian denominations is forgiveness of sin. And if an ordinary, low-profile believer can receive forgiveness, one might expect the same for a Christian leader. Right? Maybe. “Rather than distancing from sins and crimes, and rather than underplaying damage, Christ’s Church has a process that is deeply reliant upon the Holy Spirit to transform, redeem, forgive and bring life out of darkness,” Carpenter said. “...In addition to the consequences Josh will likely face, we are called to leave room for God’s spirit to transform this entire situation, not merely gossip, make judgments or — worse — excuses for sin.” Stephenson, the LCU professor, similarly recommends spectators leave the choice to forgive up to God, and the high-profile sinner take a break from telling others how to live. “It may be prudent for them to step aside from a leadership role until they have shown repentance and real change in their lives, until they have recommitted their lives to God and Christ,” he said. “Forgiveness does not therefore mean he or she gets to have the same role he or she had prior to the revealing of this unChristian lifestyle.” In other words, proclaiming Christian faith is not a get-out-of-jail-free card that allows a believer to act as he or she wishes, worry-free because forgiveness is coming. And while living a sin-free life may not be possible, Christians can still strive to live as close to that way as possible. “The forgiven person is still in need of earning trust again,” Stephenson said. “When you have so hurt and damaged the trust of people ... it will take a lot of humility on the part of the person who has sinned to accept what may be consequences of their actions.” Contact: josephine.musico@lubbockonline.com
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