{"id":1902,"date":"2024-07-02T11:11:47","date_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/closetohome\/?p=1902"},"modified":"2024-07-03T08:38:07","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T13:38:07","slug":"our-fallen-leaders-amazing-grace-but-wheres-the-sound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/closetohome\/2024\/07\/our-fallen-leaders-amazing-grace-but-wheres-the-sound\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Fallen Leaders: Amazing Grace, But Where’s the Sound?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

As the Summer Equinox passes, there have not been many \u201cequal nights\u201d of \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d for our recently questioned or fallen leaders of the Church. You have seen them in the news. Stories of concern or scandal falling like dominoes: Driscoll<\/a>. Lentz<\/a>. Jakes<\/a>. Evans<\/a>. And now, Morris<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just the first six months of 2024. Over the years, there have been many pastors and preachers who slipped on a banana peel in the pulpit and experienced a fall from grace. The accusations and stories make it easy to allow disgust to rule what we think about these Christian leaders.<\/p>\n

And you would not be alone. Many believers have already done the same thing.<\/p>\n

Some of these people in the pulpit proved they were not capable of such unspeakable acts. Others have shocked millions because of their actions or words. Despite the outcome, when the stories leak, a solid brick wall of unforgiveness and unrelenting antipathy greets each of them.<\/p>\n

Therein lies the abrasive rub:<\/strong> These people spent a lifetime extolling God\u2019s eternal mercy to others but were not afforded one inch of it for themselves. Why? They stand in the gap for millions of strangers across decades. Yet, when one of them plummets face-first into a sinkhole, that gap becomes their new home because few people dare to help them out.<\/p>\n

The public hears the news and begins to point fingers. Forgiveness is forgotten, mercy is missed, and pain becomes a problem. At that point, we must ask anyone who will listen, \u201cAmazing Grace, right? So, where\u2019s the sound?!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sin is Sin Is Not Sin After All<\/h2>\n Does sin have levels? It does if you ask around in church. (Image credit: Maruxa Lomoljo Koren via Pexels)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n** ** \u201cTautology.\u201d<\/p>\n ** That\u2019s a fancy term for some similar phrase that carries the same meaning with different words. Think \u201ceither\/or\u201d statements, like \u201ceither church will be packed today or it won\u2019t.\u201d One of the most popular tautologies in the Church is \u201csin is sin is sin.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>It\u2019s a reminder that although any sin is bad enough to have us blacklisted from the Lamb\u2019s Book of Life, it never will.<\/p>\n ** **But then there\u2019s this:<\/p>\n " [Pilate] entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, \u201cWhere are you from?\u201d But Jesus gave him no answer.<\/span>\u00a0So Pilate said to him, \u201cYou will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0Jesus answered him,\u00a0\u201cYou would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore\u00a0he who delivered me over to you\u00a0has the greater sin<\/strong>.\u201d (John 19:9-11 ESV<\/a>)<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Jesus (surprisingly, to some) says that \u201csin is sin is not\u00a0<\/em>sin.\u201d Shouldn\u2019t that end the argument and allow Christian leaders to be judged based on their actions rather than perceptions of them? Is now the time to stop painting them all with the same judgmental brush?<\/p>\n " For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all<\/strong>. (James 2:10 HCSB<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Consider the standards of today\u2019s gospel leaders. They do good work all week. They\u2019re in the community serving others. Yet, all it takes is one good puff, and the house of cards blows down. The preachers, pastors, and priests who abuse their posts for ill-gotten gains (e.g., greed, lust, pride, envy) are being uncovered and exposed\u2014as they should be.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n What about those others who \u201ckeep the entire law?\u201d Some men and women of God spend their lives serving the Lord and His people. People change for the glory of God. But, \u201cfail in one point\u201d and are held \u201cguilty of breaking it all.\u201d Only Jesus walked this planet without sin. The rest of us? Please. Most of us reading this post sinned five minutes before getting on Patheos.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Shouldn\u2019t we apply the same grace to God\u2019s leaders that we do to the rest of God\u2019s children?<\/strong> Don\u2019t they deserve that much? Where\u2019s the amazing grace to apply to their<\/em> lives, mistakes, and sins?<\/p>\n Falling Forward<\/h2>\n Hey preachers. This is for you too. Apparently. (Image credit: @Skitterphoto via Pexels)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n " But he said to me, \u201cMy grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.<\/strong>\u201d Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Is God\u2019s amazing grace \u201csufficient for you?\u201d<\/p>\n When you mess up at work or in your relationships, doesn\u2019t it feel good when your boss, co-workers, significant other, or children give you grace for your mistakes? After you commit one of your \u201ccloset sins,\u201d why do you even bother approaching the Throne of Grace unless there\u2019s a shot to receive it? God will forgive you. It\u2019s a guarantee!<\/p>\n Aren\u2019t fallen Christian leaders not worthy of the same thing?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n We all have a past, most hidden and crammed under the bed with the rest of our junk. Each of us is worthy of God\u2019s atoning power. Now, the consequences of particular sins should be\u2013and, in many situations,\u00a0are<\/em>\u2013different. Break the law and pay the price. But break our hearts and that\u2019s an entirely different story and punishment.<\/p>\n " Don\u2019t bad-mouth each other, friends. It\u2019s God\u2019s Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You\u2019re supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it. God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others? (James 4:11-12 MSG<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Everyone falls, some in much larger puddles than others. Some shatter the law and do unthinkable things. Others mess up no greater than the rest of us. Yet if they are leading others from the pulpit, the amount of grace they receive from the people they teach can be as small as a communion wafer. And, for God\u2019s sake, that must change.<\/strong><\/p>\n We are no better than them. They are no worse than us. Let\u2019s remember what was used to \u201csave a wretch like me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We are all God’s children, but not all of us are leaders. Despite our walk with Christ, shouldn’t we be able to receive God’s amazing grace when we trip and fall? Consequences are different, but the forgiving power of God is the same. Now, let’s put down the first stone, people. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5303,"featured_media":1926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[246,44,164,252,56,405],"class_list":["post-1902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church","tag-christian-leadership","tag-evangelism","tag-forgiveness","tag-pastors","tag-salvation","tag-sin"],"yoast_head":"\nOur Fallen Leaders: Amazing Grace, But Where's the Sound?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the Summer Equinox passes, there have not been many "equal nights" of "Amazing Grace" for our recently questioned or fallen leaders of the Church. 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