“The accomplice to the crime of corruption is frequently our own indifference”      Bess Myerson
 

Today I had an interesting conversation with a friend whose family was subjected to serious abuse by a former church. I can personally vouch for the reality of their situation. She said, “I just can’t trust anyone in the church. I know that sounds bad but I can’t help it.” After thinking about that for while, I said, “Actually I think that is a legitimate Christian response.” Have I gone off reservation? I think not. My friend is actually a realist who no longer sees church leadership through Barbie sunglasses. Instead she is viewing church polity through the clear perspective of the Bible.

 

The Long situation is one example of the validity of my friend’s new attitude. The following includes several concerning trends that I have seen in other churches troubled by church scandals. Perhaps it is these attitudes that contribute to possibility of sin in the pulpit.

 

1. My pastor and church are darn near perfect.

As we have investigated Eddie Long’s situation, as well as other similar circumstances, we have become increasingly surprised by the response of the typical congregation, which defends its pastor as if he is Jesus, incapable of sin. Where in Scripture is this ever implied? Instead we read in Romans 3:23: All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” No exemptions appear to exist for admired pastors and Christian celebrities.

A misunderstanding of the nature of sin can affect how a congregation views its pastor. He becomes God’s anointed man, which somehow places him above the average churchgoer. Such a misinterpretation of Scripture also affects how they treat those who would be so bold as to attempt to bring justice and truth in an abusive situation. Scorn and insults are often heaped upon those who speak the truth when it conflicts with the congregation’s image of the pastor who they perceive is just a little lower than God.

This occurs in instances of cognitive dissonance. The faith of the congregation is not based on the truth of the Scripture and the perfection of Jesus. In reality, in some congregations, the faith of the congregation is based on a charismatic pastor. It may be predicated on the numbers of those who attend the church. In today’s churches, successful faith means thousands in attendance in a church on a given Sunday.
Adherence to the status quo in this type of church is enhanced by a mentality that allows the church membership to embrace a “we” (good Christians at this church) against “them” (anyone outside the church who does not agree with our way of doing things). A tribal cohesion is thus achieved. But, is this really what is meant by unity in the body of Christ or is it  just another ho-hum social club?

The pastor is the general and the people follow him in the war against….well, name the sin du jour (homosexuality, abortion, liberalism, atheists, Mormons, Islam, Catholics, etc). If the pastor turns out to be a pedophile or extortionist, this causes angst in the congregation since their identity is based on the perfect church and pastor. So, something must give. And that, unfortunately, can be the truth. This is how cognitive dissonance works.

 

2. Those who report the sin are troublemakers and probably liars. Also, the devil may be responsible. Never, ever is the pastor or the church leadership to blame.

Those who speak the truth must be discredited and destroyed for the sake of harmony, both in the life of the individual congregant as well as the church. How many times have we heard the canard that “unity of the Body” must be preserved at all costs? In fact, I have seen many instances in which unity is valued over truth. So deacons cover up for a pastor who is having an affair. They believe that they are protecting the church and its ministry. They even make the excuse that scandal could harm the body of Christ.

We have news for these guys. They need to read their Bibles. It is filled with stories of great leaders who fell and churches that allowed sin in its ranks. Guess what? The church has survived the millennia. Jesus is quite capable of maintaining the body through all sorts of trials. They do believe this, don’t they? Or do they think it is up to them?

Then these leaders settle for that old saw, “We all need to just “get along.” Forget that stuff about a deep, abiding love that is based on following the One who is called The Truth. We settle for mediocrity instead of radical transformation.

Also, the devil is often a good excuse when scandal hits. In this line of thinking, this indignity is not caused by personal sin; it is caused by the evil one. It is comforting to be able to place the blame elsewhere. In his second appearance before his congregation this week, Bishop Eddie Long stated emphatically, “This is spiritual warfare!” He’s right but not in the way that he defines it. Here’s the clip:

 

3.If it isn’t illegal, it isn’t important.

I know of situations in which boys were molested by a pedophile in church. In some instances, they were treated as liars before the scoundrel was caught. After the arrest, these boys were not even offered counseling. A pastor once commented to some parents of these boys who were sexually abused, “You know, if they were only 18 we wouldn’t be sitting here.” There were others who said these teenage boys brought the abuse on themselves and even enjoyed it.

Why would the pastor think that, if the abuse happened to an 18-year-old boy, the age of my son, there wouldn’t be a problem? No problem? A pastor who uses his power and adulation to manipulate an insecure young man into providing sexual favors is not seen as a problem???

In this situation, Long is accused of having sex with boys aged16 and above. 16 is considered the age of consent in the state of Georgia. He is accused of having sex with boys from a school that is affiliated with his church. These boys say he told them to call him, “Daddy.”

These boys were most likely poor and had few role models. Imagine manipulating these boys into thinking he was treating them as sons. He reportedly even gave them gifts. These acts may not be illegal but they are immoral and any pastor who doesn’t think so has no business pastoring a church. Shame on them! Can you imagine such a pastor standing before God and saying that it was legal?? ! Mercy!

 

4. A hyper-authoritarian pastor should a raise red flag.

A comment received yesterday from BDW at TWW is most insightful.

“I found a fascinating chapter on Eddie Long in a book titled The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism by Jonathan Walton (who has been quoted several times in the CNN Religion columns about Long). I was able to read most of the chapter via Google Books.
Long really is a great example of what absolute authoritarian leadership looks like especially in the megachurch world of charismatic/pentecostal Christianity. I read where Long described himself as merely a “hired preacher” who only become a “pastor” once the Deacon board “relinquished control” of New Birth to him.

Long is right when he says New Birth is a corporation. But it’s a corporation that lacks any level of oversight from its shareholders. “
 

BDW then went on to refer us to an article entitled: Eddie Long Has Apostolic Authority Over 79 Churches in Georgia and More Nationwide

"The current Dominionist trend results in congregations where members are supposed to submit to the almost absolute authority of their anointed leaders, a change that removes the congregation as a balance or check to the power of the pastor. Long claims spiritual authority over more than his New Birth mega-church in Lithonia, Georgia. He is the 'apostolic authority' over churches in The Father's House network, including 79 churches in Georgia alone and a total of approximately 275 in 38 states. Many evangelical churches are shifting away from their traditional democratically governed structures

When Haggard's scandal became public it was not his New Life congregation but his apostolic Overseers who had the authority to remove or discipline him. According to Article Thirteen of the bylaws of the nonprofit corporation (as of 2001), the "sheep" or congregants never pass judgment on the shepherd; only the Overseers have authority over him and "may discipline him in any way they deem necessary."

Once a church has shifted to this model, the pastor can no longer be hired and fired by the membership but becomes the authority over his flock. Only his overseers or spiritual authority figures can remove or discipline him. In these networks an apostle (or bishop in some cases) provides spiritual or apostolic "covering" over others".

 

Hyper-authoritarianism is taking today’s evangelical churches by storm. The current darling of the SBC/Reformed set, CJ Mahaney, has called himself the “Head Apostle” of his family of churches known as Sovereign Grace Ministries. Although he rarely uses this title now, most likely trying to avoid irritating those who endorse his books and provide him paid speaking engagements, he has never renounced such a title. One only needs to read a few stories over at SGM Refuge to get an idea of iron -fisted control of these congregations.

This sort of pastor answers to no one but himself. There is great danger in being “the guy in charge.” One’s eyes easily stray from Jesus as the Author of our salvation to becoming the next Mr. Big Shot, the guy in charge. There is a long sad history of the ability of power to corrupt.

 

5. A pastor who becomes rich off of the tithes of his church members is most likely abusing them in other ways.

Many in Long’s congregation are indigent, which leads us to suspect that he is a people user who believes that his congregation exists to take care of him and his needs. This sort of thinking can easily leak over to other forms of gratification such as sexual. This sort of man is not a pastor but a ruler. When Congress decided to investigate him, his followers should have taken notice. Instead, who did they attack? No brainer: the godless Congress.
From start to finish, the Long saga is rife with concerns and we fear this story will end badly. However, it is important to realize that Long is not the only culprit here. Surely, there are those around him who knew that there were issues with him. The fact that Congress was looking into his monetary situation should have spurred those folks to action.

 

It is time for those sitting in the pews to take some responsibility for allowing these pastors to run wild. But that would mean admitting that the church and the pastor are not necessarily acting in the best interests of the Body of Christ. Some people have difficulty in admitting that the god they have been serving looks nothing like the God of Scripture.

My friend has learned a hard lesson at the hands of her former church. All men are sinners and capable of dreadful actions, even pastors. Perhaps we, as the church, need to take a Ronald Reagan approach to how we view our leaders: Trust but verify. We should also remember that we can only serve one God but He will never let us down.
 

For further information, we have provided some videos to keep you up to date with this Goliath in Gucci.

There have been many news stories, and here’s a link to keep you up-to-date.

 

Two years ago Long’s church produced a YouTube in which he tells his folks they need to tithe in order to eat. Note the manipulation.

 

Finally, Eddie shows off his muscles and acting ability.Here is the link.

[Mod edit – fixed broken link]

 

 

Lydia’s Corner: For the weekend: GENESIS 15:1- GENESIS 24:67