Why preachers fall

Where do we go from here? Lack of self awareness and not knowing the consequences for their actions is linked to intelligence. I see so much of this on the male side of things. I have a question that I have yet to see covered anywhere on the web.

A pastor is in a special place in the western church, sometimes its viewed as a place of authority — the place only a husband should have.

How do you approach this without offense? Wow, this was so valuable to me! I am a young minister in training and I thought with much moral failure happening often, it would be best for me to learn and grow from people who have experienced this hardship and have helped others navigate through this. In a session geared to young ministers, they had some pastors that had failed speak about what led them to their failure. Everyone else had to wait their turn.

Humility and refusing some of the perks of pastoring just might save our souls. I was facilitating a ministry at my church. Prior to my walk with Jesus and this ministry I was involved with a man. I had broke off the relationship to go into o the ministry.

Well, the man I had been involved with came back around when I injured myself and was vilnerable. After the close of the session he led me astray. Being convicted I pleaded for the Lord to forgive me. I then shared my lapse in judgement with my pastor and told him Jesus had already forgiven me.

Since then I have been asked to step down from the ministry and our small circle keeps growing. I feel it has gotten out of hand. Jesus blood wiped us all clean. I have turned from that son and will son no more. Any thoughts on this? Should I keep having the go over the pain? I am ready to begin the healing. Hi Michelle. I would think an in depth conversation with Christian people who know you, know your situation and so an would help carve a sustainable path to restoration.

Yes I am working with a team and I am trying to heal from a unhealthy ungodly soul tie. I am going through the process right know for deliverance from this un godly soul tie. Please pray for me. Thank you! I think you helped some leader with that insight. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Share via: Shares. Sin happens in secret. The best way to keep secrets is to cut yourself off from true community. Solitude is a gift from God. Isolation is a tool of the enemy. Confession is designed to stop what sin starts.

Thinking about the consequences of your sin is a great way to avoid committing a sin. The person that was behind it ended up getting g his job. My husband was the only peacmaker in that situation. The leadership at the orginal church took a church of 4, and it dwindled to and most all of the pastors lost their job because the church dwindled. The orginal church is still suffering.

My husband went to lead of church of 30 people that grew to quickly and the same experience happened again a year later but this time to both my husband and I. The leadership 2 other elders created false accusations nothing immoral but silly stuff that was not try. Completely made up stories. Both elders were eventually removed by the deacon board and our God who sees all.

But the heart of both of these experiences was exactly what Absalam tried to do to king David. The desire for power, the discrediting of a man of God, trying to turn close friends of King David against him, plotting behind his back and excessive pride. If you strike the sheppard the sheep will scatter. My husband is the most gracious and loving person I have ever met, so I know if it can happen to Him, ever pastor is a target.

Just an idea for a blog post. Thank you for this article Pastor Carey. Something God has taught me personally is that we need to understand our identity in Christ. This is not what we have forgiveness, redemption, etc. As I study spiritual formation this new birth and our true nature in Christ is barely discussed; understanding and apprehending this is foundational to walking in the Spirit and growing in righteousness. God bless your ministry and the lives of all your readers.

I need to watch what I watch and how quick I am to speak before listening. I need to see my neighbors and fellow leaders especially as children of God, just as I want them to see me.

Father help me with these compromises. Thanks Carey for a challenging read and my co-laborer JDub for a thoughtful share with our team. Thanks Carey! Just two thoughts: 1. Most leaders miss the passage about Eli and his sons in 1 Sam about leadership gone bad at home and ministry. Would love to hear you unpack it? Some of the most humblest leaders I know off are actually outside of the North American context leading churches and movements bigger that anyone in US or Canada.

This is an incredibly insightful post, and I could not agree more. I appreciate your candor and I have never written a comment like this. I am a local church pastor in Los Angeles County. In my world, I continue to be amazed at the celebrity culture around pastoring. Then we get our own entourages — and the very things you cite are easily forgotten and ignored. Thanks for your gracious and helpful article. I do think that it is difficult to be totally honest with anyone who has power over you.

Often our church rules and systems require that any major mistake or struggle including just being overwhelmed or dissatisfied requires you be let go. One of the most helpful groups I was in included other pastors but all from different churches. There was a greater trust and sense of safety in that setting and we could be brutally honest. Churches will need to keep looking at their structure to see if they are truly a safe place to go when staff is struggling.

That is so true about the cult of personality among pastors. Pastors are no holier than anyone else. Just ask the wives! But in our culture we glorify men and celebrities and people in charge. Ive seen local pastors in small congregations give in to it. It must be much more difficult for pastors of much larger congregations. We should keep them in prayer. Carey, thanks for this post and many of your others, and the sensitivity with which you handle it. I appreciate the humility with which you write as it really is in each one of us to fail or succeed, to glorify God or commit the most heinous of sins.

There but for the grace of God. I was particularly thankful for point four, Somewhere Along The Way, I lost My Soul, which was a good reminder to constantly guard our hearts against the subtleties with which Satan seeks to take us out.

Rarely is it a big failure that happens overnight, but rather, a slow but sure lessening of our values. It is so sad when a brother falls and we must carry him, his family, and his church in prayer and respond with bucket loads of grace too. Carey, Thank you for your vulnerability and boldness to wade into the muck of ministry life. I was just reading 2 Cor. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you.

And, 2 Cor. The church has always done poorly with both. The only way to truly live the longview is to give away to the least of these. While I agree with your thoughts, I think it stops short of the deeper issues at play. There is also a reason for the lie — a place, time, event where it was birthed.

People who have their interior world in a healthy place, who know and walk in their true identity as a son or daughter, not as an orphan, tend to make better decisions. This article screams of the need for inner healing ministry and emotional healing for leaders and pastors. We ALL need it. Root issues have to be addressed. You can behavior manage all day long which is exhausting , but a bad tree will still produce bad fruit. You have to replace the tree. Inner healing prayer ministry connects people with Jesus, and Jesus reveals truth, He replaces the tree.

The truth really does set you free! The ministry I run is in the early stages of putting together a film and podcast series about inner healing. It is heartbreaking when pastors and leaders fall — whether it be a sin issue, or a burnout issue, or whatever… but those things happen because of a bad mindset, a bad tree, a lie buried somewhere within. We need to deal with the bad tree, or the bad fruit will continue to come. This was so encouraging and life giving. Keep it coming! Makes me see His grace is sufficient for me, His power is made perfect in weakness.

Therefore…His power may rest on me. Man has that been seared in me through this today. Carey, thanks for the insightful and challenging post. And I appreciate the way you interact with all who respond. That takes hours to reflect on what each response communicates. Our church is in the midst of a building season which brings challenges of all kinds. I have served in the lead role for 31 years. All the cautions and concerns you mentioned are so relevant.

Our elders have focused on being a healthy church. While they are very supportive of my leadership, they are not yes men. They call our church and me to prayer as a foundational aspect of our faithfulness. I agree with your emphasis on transparency. Thanks for sharing that. I feel better knowing you have experienced those feelings even at this level of ministry. Blessings to you. I appreciate your posts and recent book.

Hi Carey, Your article has come to my attention at a critical time. As an associate pastor or lay minister I am astounded by the responses I get when I seek to give leaders constructive criticism. And they become comfortable, particularly if paid! Well called. Write more Carey! Thanks for sharing this! There is no arriving in the Christian life as Paul writes. We are not exempt…. Thank you! This impacted me greatly and opened my eyes to several things in my own life.

Coming from a fire service back ground, risk management has always been a top priority. This is the epitome of risk management for those in ministry. Hey Carey, I appreciate your openness and willingness to be vulnerable, two things that are important but too often lacking in our churches. Another thing to think about is the right role of elders to provide spiritual oversight to the churches. When that authority level is compromised or missing, there is no objective checks and balances for the church leadership.

I know there are many models but the correct biblical undrstanding of being under authority is very often missing in many of these cases and that exposes the church and the Pastor to be tempted into self governance.

We need elders to stop prioritizing the Pastor, the budget and the attendance over the health of the church body. Hey Dan…true. Jesus made it clear that we should not look at ministry through the eyes of the world. He made this clear when the disciples were jockeying for position in the coming Kingdom.

He is quoted in Matthew that we are not to have a worldly system of church structure. Can anyone distinguish most churches from a local corporation in their community? Then to further complicate the situation the other staff are financially dependent and must restrain themselves from speaking truth, in love to the Senior Pastor. This was first addressed by Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. He advised Moses to select elders, with emphasis on plurality, to govern the congregation.

This in effect created a team of equals who literally pastor each other. This eldership is found to be practiced in the entire Bible. In fact, Paul always placed elders in the churches he planted. May God continue to bless you, your family and the team He has joined you to. As a man now managing a business and no longer in full time ministry due to my own failures it can easily be summed up by continuing to sound this warning.

And by all means. None of us should be exempt from or too great for feedback and criticism. Even Tiger Woods had a swing coach at the height of his career. Who is on the outside looking in at your life and suggesting changes to keep you on top of your game? The article is also a great reminder to me to be praying for my church leadership team regularly.

Phil…this carries so much weight. And thanks for still praying for and believing in church leaders. But I wholeheartedly agree. Another truth I see is when a leader no longer only serves the Kingdom of God, but serves to only build up their own kingdom.

Like you said, they serve themselves, rather than the church. Church leadership was never designed to be self-service. Often they are motivated through insecurity, or just plain selfishness or greed. The dysfunctional seed of power is still very fertile even in the most hardy of soils. As a pastors wife and now a senior pastor I think this is gold. What a great post thank you for writing it. This is so spot on… and one of the reasons, as a ministry of healing for pastors, we often mistrust the surveys that only ask the pastors how they are doing.

No one asks the wives. We have seen this over and over again… spouses — listen to your intuition and believe the signs. Unless this happens in our early experience of leadership, the seeds take root and produce a harvest eventually. I am not talking about sexual sins, but the sins of pride, arrogance, abuse — becoming a law unto oneself. While no two stories are alike, at the root of all failure is pride which produces terrible fruit. The sad truth is, pastors fall whether they are large or small church pastors.

We are all flesh and blood and but for the grace of God, there go I. Kind words and advice for a tricky situation. This just sucks. I know the pain and how real it is. I feel for the folks involved. Perhaps the western church model is in need of reform.

The church seems to be more about encountering the preacher and less about encountering God. I wonder if the pulpit structure of church is mutually enabling for both the preacher and the audience.

The preacher gets to be the center of attention and speak theories about God. The audience gets to numb out their hearts and distract themselves with a good lecture. For me, I wish church looked more like AA. A group of people sitting in a circle, acknowledging their own sin and mutually sharing their hearts in a place of grace. I get that Mike. My question when people challenge the structure of the church is simply this…how do you reach people.

No American model has ever been effective at staying small and reaching people that I know of. But transparency and acceptance? With you all the way. Thanks for the reply, Carey. That organization seems to be pretty visible and well-known while creating intimate spaces at the same time. Mike, Alpha The Alpha Course might be worth a look. It was designed with that discussion model in mind from AA.

And from what I have seen has been successful in small and large churches. Hi Mike, What you are proposing sounds like being involved in a small group bible study. If you have never experienced one, I would encourage you to join one. I agree with you, Mike. I also think it is a crisis waiting to happen, putting men up on a stage while countless people hang on their every word as if it is straight from God.

Seriously, and I mean no offense, but these men called pastors have no greater access to insight and understanding via the Holy Spirit than do any other men and women. This without being held accountable by enabling input and questions from his listeners is dangerous to both him and his listeners.

He cannot help but think he is mightier than others no matter how humbly he denies it and the congregation are trained to turn off their own minds and spirits and let someone else do their thinking for them.

It is the office itself which is at fault. Thanks for this excellent warning. As a man in ministry, I greatly appreciate it. One thing I would like to raise to your attention. You repeatedly said you have not had an affair and I admire that. However, I think that sometimes we set the bar a little too low when we assume that as long as we have not had a physical affair we are ok.

I am not saying you are doing this but sometimes we in the ministry can be more like the Pharisee than the tax collector. Anyways, I hope you find this feedback helpful dare I say challenging? Great point. And yes, I am guilty of that.

I preached on that Sunday at Connexus. That said, there would be no one in ministry or leadership of any kind if that standard was applied as an entry or sustaining criteria for any leadership. So I think there is a distinction between inappropriate thought and inappropriate action. I completely agree. My main point is that if we do not think of ourselves as ever having been involved in an affair or having committed adultery then we probably would not respond with the grace we should to those who have committed the physical act of adultery more in a 1 Corinthians or Galatians type of way.

Thanks for taking the time to respond and I appreciate the opportunity to learn from your perspective. When the preacher or staff member starts looking forward to being in a meeting with someone, or attempts to arrange things so that can occur, it is a danger sign. When the staff member overprotects a staff assistant or secretary assigned to them, is flattering toward them or is jealous if someonelse gives them attention, something is wrong.

We have all been guilty of such things, but must pay attention to those warning signs. Thank you so much for this article, it truly spoke to my heart.

Carey, all of us need more dialogue regarding these issues because unfortunately there are many of us who are isolated and cannot find a trusted friend in whom we can trust with our weaknesses. I appreciate you. Thank You for your kind prayer Pastor Nieuwhof. I do always hope and pray that someday the church will find unity and be sadden by people that fall.

I am never happy when someone falls from the church and I know that I could very much fall too under bad conditions. I can only hope the church in the future will believe more in restoring people who fall and not write them off as a sinner that GOD cannot restore.

Pray, scripture and trust in God are the foundation of this blog too. And if I wrote about that in each post, they would all sound the same: Should read your bible more, pray differently, and trust deeper. There are many great theological blogs and books that use scripture more widely than I do. Excellent writing based on the given context. This is not for the ones who have already decided saying all leaders in church are hypocrites. It is a word for Pastors and ministry officials to be careful, vigilant and take time to examine what are the areas we are prone to weakness and ask the Holy spirit to help us get out of those areas.

Yes some may need counseling or talk with other pastors and seek help. At the same time i am from Asia but Canadian citizen now for the last 11 years. One of the observations I have made seeing mega church Pastors either watching online or DVD or in few times directly by visiting is there is a sense of huge celebrity style.

Sometimes it feels sounds like one person is trying to outdo another in the realm of sin and needing forgiveness. Church as the world sees it is full of those who sin.

And they are right. We all sin. We need to get back up, suffer the consequences quietly, and get back in the race. It is now and always, all about Christ. In my opinion, not that it counts much, this is a very thought provoking article. By the same token, no person should ever think that it is entirely up to them up to them to write the music, play the tune and dance all at the same time. IMHO sexual sin is a leading symptom vs. I am not saying sexual sin in the ministry is not a big problem. It is.

Many churches, my own included, attempt to take some strain off the pastor with a group of elders who are supposed to share in the counseling and shepherding duties.

That arrangement is not only in keeping with the biblical requirement that an elder be able to teach, but it also makes it obvious to the congregation that each elder is equally qualified and available to do his shepherding job. Virtually all of the pressure of the job can be removed by simply removing the job. An understanding of New Testament church government reveals that the original apostolically-authorized leaders of local churches performed in a group called elders or bishops.

The notion that those gifted as pastors Ephesians 4 —that is, as those who care for the sheep—are to be placed in a CEO position with a title and administrative responsibilities, and endowed with a fiction of clergy authority, has not only corrupted the church from its authentic simplicity but has burdened the resulting individual so-called pastors to death. It is a religious system inherited from the Roman catholic ecclesiology, which borrowed it from pagan religion and secular politics.

I feel the pain. Inadequacy, ineptness, inarticulateness…The list can go on until all self-deprecating words are exhausted. The congregation I have pastored for 10 years is in decline. We probably have months until the treasury is emptied and I feel directly responsible.

I dare not speak thoughts of utter failure to any man in the congregation. I tried counsel from another pastor which was humbling to the point of agony and it was like one addict going to another addict for guidance.

I do think of the prophets often. I love the prophets of God. What is most wonderful to me is that these men, called by God to speak for Him, could not stop their fore-telling and forth-telling if they had wanted to.

God would not permit them to quit. I can read these prophetical books and wish that God would speak to me directly and comfort me, telling me that I will suffer and agonize and even die for preaching His word, but that He is with me, and when the ministry is over, in spite of all the distress and affliction from Satan and myself, I will be with Him in His Kingdom.

That what I am doing is not dependent upon me, but Him. Press on in My name. Such people should not be pastors or teachers if they themselves have not been filled with the Spirit…. How can anyone who has the Holy Spirit go and commit adultery or watch pornogrophy??? To many are looking to teach their views and little are willing to get alone with God in the Secret, not for another sermon or teaching, but rather to actually encounter God.

Though your note here has some valid things to consider, it misses the mark. It is very possible to have the Holy Spirit and stumble. Paul coveted Romans 7 , Peter denied Jesus and fell back into racism and legalism Galatians 2 , King David committed adultery and murder…all after they had received the Spirit. The more correct statement is that you cannot be filled with the Spirit and sin actively. But in moments of weakness, the old man creeps in and the flesh is fed instead of feeding the Spirit…which leads to tragic results.

For the rest of us this is an excellent discussion that deals with real people and their issues. Would you say that King David was a lesser man than you? He fell. All of us are human still.

Jesus came for sinners. Peter messed up big time. His first pastor and closest friend. It was because of this, I think, that Peter himself could be compassionate to all who would come to him later. There was another thing that I think we have forgotten about church leadership. Like the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Jesus picked 3 initial leaders for his church, not simply one. We always think about Peter and forget about James and John. All three men had spent time with Jesus.

The Enemy is looking for sheep to devour—not discuss the finer points of theology with over tea. If you are familiar with anyone who is truly ruthless, I think you might reconsider your confidence. Spirit-filled men have fallen. Not because they were unfit to lead but because they were being ruthlessly apprehended by spiritual enemies who knew their every weaknesses and will exploit them. We have a restoration ministry for those pastors. If you know a fallen pastor or one on the edge, have him contact us at crashministries.

Passive aggressive case in point. I only point this out because when this is multiplied over the years of a ministerial career, it contributes to malaise that becomes a burden.

Friendship: Profoundly critical. I am not sure what is taught in seminary about friendship. In my own work not a pastor, but occasional lay leader , encouraging friendship has been central. It may seem selfish in hindsight, but the mind is functioning in a state that circumvents reason and rationalism. However, there were months and weeks before that the Holy Spirit could have intervened.

And yet, sometimes he does not. Maybe for my own good. Maybe after years of living a lie being a super-star instead of a human being, being adored and admired instead of understood and accepted.

Especially now that the great apostasy has begun, could it be possible that God wants to save some of these men from themselves? I wonder if some of these mega-pastors, if in their prime would make it to heaven after observing what goes on in private and behind the scenes.

I think that there needs to be a more serious and clear look at mental illness in the church in general. There are church environments which are toxic for the mentally ill—and all backed by scripture. Scripture is a beautiful tool… and a horrible weapon.

You make a lot of insightful comments. PKs being on a pedestal is one of them. My father is a great father. Ah, the theological conundrum at like 8 of explaining that yes, while God the Father in Heaven was my father, that the man who stood in front of the church, who was also my father, was not God. After hours he played Jimmy Hendrix on the guitar and made ridiculous puns with us around the dinner table.

He was just a guy. If he was any sort of hero to me, it was because of the kind of father he was, not the title of pastor. That said, I also somewhat intuited that my father never really had peers.

I noticed because it was hard on him, not as a flaw. In a way, I was grateful to be within the circle of real life that allowed my father to simply be… but even loving children are not the same as trusted adult friends. Back to Christians and mental illness, however, particularly suicide.

This may be more appropriate out of the public eye email? I have had every bad answer thrown away and a few life rafts at JUST the right moment. The pressure on the mentally ill by the world is hard enough. That such fears might be—not just present, but intensified—in and by the church is a difficult, dark reality. My own story is one I am not afraid to share… what it needs is the right place or audience at the right time.

There is definately a lot to know about this topic. I am regular reader, how are you everybody? This piece of writing posted at this site is in fact fastidious. Hello, I look at how the apostle Paul chose his leaders such as Silas. What was the criteria? The elders of the church set apart Paul and Barnabas for the work of ministry when the Holy Spirit directed them to do so.

They laid hands on them and sent them away. The thirteen who were chosen for the ministration of food and helps to the Greek widows were chosen based on their being recognized by the believers and elders as being full of the Holy Spirit.

There were I think other criteria used as well to find these thirteen individuals qualified for this ministration. When we read about Stephen later on at his martyrdom we get a real sense of his commitment and maturity as well as his life and devotion being pleasing to God.

How does a young man who is in his twenties who makes his decision to go to a theological seminary get enrolled? Based on what criteria? He should be mature and qualified before ministering as a pastor. Maturity here does not mean his age, but rather his qualifications for ministry. His spiritual qualifications, his lifestyle qualifications, his sacrificial qualifications, etc.

He should be dead to his own life. I doubt that a normal young man today in the church would have come this far in his spiritual walk. How is he then put into a position of authority within the church that is fraught with snares and difficulties? I guess my point in this comment is that people are placed into authority and leadership positions in the church by schooling criteria alone that they are not ready for. The first time actually cost me my church.

The last year has been the most life transforming in my ministry. Only by walking in the power of the Holy Spirit can we become spiritually and emotionally whole enough to survive!

IF anyone needs a listening ear or an encouraging word, please reply to this comment so we can connect. I am as serious as a heart attack about this problem. It is a BIG part of why the church in America has become in so much trouble. Without healthy leaders how can we ever have healthy churches? Before we strive to be boldly evangelistic we had better strive for spiritual, emotional AND physical health!

Hi Allen, Perhaps what is also causing much disturbance and dissatisfaction of church leaders and the membership is a mistaken goal for the church of numbers of people that are attending. This goal has changed the focus and the intent of church gatherings.

What Christians are hearing from their leaders in abundance these days is grow the church in numbers. Get people into the church. For example instead of Easter being about the dying of the believer on the cross with Jesus, the new creation of the believer, the death of our own ambitions and lusts, where I went it was all about inviting others to come to church. Pastors are leading in their own strength and wisdom much of the time.

This is burnout, despair, futility, frustration, maddening, etc. They are trying to make a living and also trying to make their mark among their peers. A lot of what this means for these men and women is how many people are attending their church. Can I just say what a aid to search out someone who truly is aware of what theyre speaking about on the internet.

You definitely know how one can deliver a difficulty to mild and make it important. More people have to read this and perceive this facet of the story. I cant imagine youre not more well-liked because you positively have the gift. Thank you for writing that Scot. I was a missionary in Cambodia for 20 years and I was really shaken when three senior leaders had moral failures.

One I used to drive to meetings, another I used to listen him preach — and admired him, and the third I only saw from a distance. I wondered, like you, why men much better than myself chose moral failure? When, from my perspective, I am made of much weaker fibre and character. It is only by HIS grace that somehow I am still preaching, even though now living in Ireland, when so many better than I have had to stop.

It is so easy in the ministry to be deceptive, to have a divided heart and to deceive oneself. Recently, reflecting on my missionary service, I marvelled at how GOD has somehow preserved myself and my family. Two things came to mind, how within my possession I have the agency to destroy all the good relationships in my life and secondly who am I really before GOD?

May we see ourselves as HE does, May he continue to preserve us. The news is in Indonesian. I become encouraged to pray for my own pastors. As Roman Catholic parish priests, they had no families, but I know they must have their own struggles. I sometimes saw them tired and weary, especially after night mass, or after they visit congregant houses, to conduct services or preach. The pressure could be higher for married pastor IAG, until he compromised his morals by molesting children.

My husband is a board certified psychiatrist. He is an MD, of course. We are Catholic, but we totally admire Protestants both in their fellowship with members of their churches and their study of the Bible.

We attend Bible studies with mostly Protestant people. We have noticed, however, that psychiatry is regarded negatively. Many times on the weekends and at night, the phones for the Christian counselors are turned off because they do not want to put the time in that a psychiatrist must. His liability far exceeds that of a counselor. In any event, depression is a treatable disease, but it can be intractable even with the best medication and therapy. It is not a weakness to see a psychiatrist.

I think that there is a mindset that all a psychiatrist does is to tell you not to feel guilty. Of course, that is absurd and childish. Just as a minister should not form his own church when he has improper or limited education, neither should a Christian counselor hold himself or herself out as having the ability to treat true mental illness. I appreciate your thoughts. As a cradle Catholic, it is interesting to see that priests and ministers share so many similar problems which occur despite their marital status.

God bless all of you. Thanks for sharing. Recently I have come across a person whose husband is terminally ill. Guess happens if her husband dies? The idea of Biblical faith does not have its focus on how positive I can be or how much I am convinced that God will do what I know is best. This sets us up for a fall and depression and yes, perhaps psychiatry. Instead, Biblical faith is trusting in what we as Christians should know is true and that is that God exists, He has our best interests in mind for His glory, and He has prepared eternity for those who have trusted Christ for the forgiveness of sin and trusted in Christ alone!

What is that ratio compared to? The more I engage even a muster seed of faith in the Bigness and Greatness and Lovingness of the only real living God who created the universe, the less I need anything to help me crutch around this broken, sinful world! The more I go there with a Christian community calling me away from me and towards Him, the less likely my body chemistry will lapse towards a need for psychotropic drugs!

Our King chose to die for us, so that we could be forgiven and carry His righteousness. His light through us shines brightly in a dark world and with this I wish all a very sooncoming Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Thank you, I needed to hear that today. Much of it applies to anyone in Christian work, and not pastors only. Scott Sauls wrote about it and he is spot-on. Could I make a personal and slightly selfish request? I attended a mega church near Chicago for decades. I drove an hour to be involved with a huge group of Christians that were truly following Jesus and committed to making a difference in our world, in His name. Sometimes as many as , people a weekend would revolve through the hundreds of doors, travel escalators to upper balcony seats and sit in eager expectancy to hear the Word of God.

As the lights and music filled the auditorium, we would worship our living Savior. I remember one day I was compelled to slip off my shoes, as I knew I stood in His presence. Many times I was moved to tears as different speakers challenged us to move to action for the call of Christ in our own lives.

I have since moved away, but often miss my mega fellowship of believers. Then I hear of the sad news, allegations, denials, resignations.

The devastating choices of one man in leadership has hurt and effected so many, it is truly, so sad. But I know God is in the business of redemption, to bring all of mankind to Himself. As it all comes down to Jesus, dying on the cross for our sins, and His unconditional, unwavering, undeniable love for us all. It is really quite an amazing life, as we seek His face, and truly know the powerful and holy God of the universe is our loving Heavenly Father!

Particularly challenging was the muddled response to Bill Hybels which rocked many who saw Willow […]. Your article was very thought provoking. I feel that Pastors are called to be Pastors and that God equips those He calls. I also feel that being human, Pastors need what all of us need… fellowship, prayer, friends, family, rest, relaxation, recreation, a decent paycheck, time for living… the hour idea is insane.

I feel heartbroken for those who chose to end their lives, how lonely they must have felt. And we all sin… we all fall short of the glory of God. Some sins have bigger consequences and may hurt more people than others. I understand the concept of Elders and Deacons, but I have always thought that they were there to support the Pastor in various parts of the ministry of the church, and Deacons as well, but their roles are not all the same.

Jesus is the Head of the Church… but these roles I believe are temporary while we are here on earth. Though Elders and Deacons may be there to support the pastor, that is not the same thing as friends.

Friendships are not automatic … and need time to grow and flourish. He and his wife drove my mother to the hospital in NJ when my brother had spinal meningitis along with a few deacons who were his friends as well… not just his Deacons.

Then when He had a multiple bypass in the days when you were in the hospital for a month… they all drove my mother to and from NYC. And when he had to go back a few weeks after that for another one as the first failed… they did the same.

They drove me to the college they had gone to when I decided to go there. We were church family… and real family… and true friends. I knew I could call them in the middle of the night not because they were a Pastor and Deacons… because they were friends.

I am very thankful that this Pastor took the time to be more than a Pastor and to be a true friend. He also had a true friend in my father. And I had a great example of true friendship and support.

A friend that is closer than a brother. This is so humble, wise, and helpful, Scott. I have friends who are pastors for whom I am a confidant and encouraged when it comes to this area.

Many will be put on pedestals too high and will fall. Those who are awake will see, and will be grieved, yet they will not be heard. As the body cuts off its nose despite its face, the pastor and the body will drift toward accommodation, rather than the full counsel of God, as the spiritually blind lead the blind. Many will be fooled. Matthew The pride of man always comes before the fall, and like David, who thought too highly of himself, and had a too low estimation of God, fell.

David sinned well before he summoned Bathsheba. The root sin of David was when he moved his eyes to the temporal, rather than fixing his eyes on God. David saw his arrogance, but only when Nathan spoke. The sexual sin of David was merely the fruit sin of disobedience.

Moses, as he struck the rock in his own power, revealed his arrogant pride, believing he was the source of power, rather than God, in whom he should have placed his confidence. Only two in two million followed God fully, out of the entire first generation, as they placed their trust dependence on God. God sees who worship in Spirit and in truth, and he sees those who have a form of godliness with no power.

Many shepherds are leading the flock astray as they depend on themselves and the vain words of man. All of what I have read is so true, and pastor burnout and suicide happens way to many times. My wife and I are Lay Ministry, I did complete my training, because God revealed to me, that this was not the course he wanted for me. Our Ministry is to support and encourage pastors.

I have prayed and supported many pastor over the 40 some years, My greatest help has been, to be a Spirit Filled Believer, many pastors that fall, have not allowed the Holy Spirit in the life, which is a very tragic mistake. Scripture is very clear that the Holy Spirit is the one who comes along side to strengthen the believer in his ministry.

Thanks for this post, Scott! The ground is level at the foot of the cross. Scott, when you give a message at a memorial service, do you look at family survivors and refer to the death of their loved one as un-timely? Many comments here seem to reflect a belief that God does NOT know the numbers of our days. Your Pastor friends and all other believers who gave way to self-inflicted demise have not checked out of this life a day sooner than was expected.

My wife of thirty years passed from a brain tumor, and I was angry for a long time. Not just angry at God, but also His people. That was and only in the last 6 years have I realized the truth that she left this world exactly when she was supposed to. The more that sunk in, the less upset I was with my Maker, the less depression took a toll.

Do these friends and Pastors of ours simply lose sight of this truth when they decide to leave this world behind because life is unbearable?

Have I missed something in your essay that un-does what your words have done? Have your words not refuted the truth that our Savior is sovereign? Today my faith is comparatively shallow, and I despair, too. I am very sorry about your wife.