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Fallen Pastor

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  Friday, October 18th 2013

 

 

 

 

“Another one bites the dust,” to quote Queen’s late Freddie Mercury. The song says, “And another one gone, and another one gone.” Yet another mega-church pastor has fallen from grace, or at least his wife has. I’ll not name the church because this isn’t about personalities. It’s about how this happens, and what the body of Christ does about it. Last Sunday this hugely successful church leader (15,000 member church) stood before his congregation and confessed that his wife had been unfaithful for at least a decade and engaged in multiple affairs, even while they were seeking reconciliation.  He professed love for his wife, but declared the marriage was irretrievably ended. He also said he would soldier-on and had no intentions of a sabbatical or taking any time off. “I’ve done nothing wrong,” was his explanation.  The congregation was assured that his wife would have access to the best therapists and psychiatrists possible while at an undisclosed treatment location.

Disclosure: I don’t personally know this man or his wife; I certainly know nothing about what really went on behind closed doors. But because this pastor so publically aired his dirty laundry before thousands, how it was handled does deserve scrutiny.  My thoughts are not critical but observational. The Christian church must end the lament of 2 Samuel 1:25: How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Indeed, how? Some suggestions.
  1. Let’s return to valuing character not cool. This pastor was hip (complete with jeans and hoodie) and coolness as a style was apparently important to him, as it is to so many “emerging-church” Christian leaders today. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as it’s undergirded by theological depth. There are some very cool, young pastors out there who are biblically sound. But this particular pastor also confessed that he had a teenage son addicted to drugs. That’s not cool, and I have to wonder about the family dynamics the caused all this spiritual chaos. I’m not saying it was this pastor’s fault but something was rotten in Denmark.
  2. Pastors deserve a “time out.” This man of God needs a sabbatical. He confessed to being depressed and losing extreme amounts of weight during his ordeal. His board should demand that he get away from the church and recover. He’s in no emotional condition to continue his immediate responsibilities. Unfortunately, in America we worship at the altar of success and some pastoral entrepreneurs have built religious empires that require constant stoking of the financial fire, lest the machinery of religion collapse.
  3. This man’s wife is spiritually oppressed. And dare we say it: under demonic attack. The problem is this pastor is part of a group that doesn’t believe Christians can have demons so he’s not sending her off for inner healing and deliverance. That’s the most egregious part of this sad picture. I deal with many couples in ministry like this, in confidence, and I know this situation is fixable by confronting the curses that caused it and intervening to find the demonic root of the problem.
My heart is broken for this pastor whom I’m sure loves the Lord and is in a state of shock. His life has been devastated and his dreams shattered. He needs comfort, prayer, and his own encounter with inner healing and deliverance. Let’s be blunt: God only knows how many demons his wife picked up from the men she cohabited with and brought home to this pastor. Too many have bitten the dust. Let’s get real, American church, and offer true spiritual restoration that involves confrontational healing prayers and demon-chasing spiritual warfare!

An encouraging word: DON’T FALL IN THE BATTLE
My blog today quotes the scripture, of 2 Samuel 1:25: How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! We often think of people falling by the wayside of life, but many fail, even turn away from the Lord, in the midst of their battles when they are fighting the hardest. Gal. 6:9 contains the warning to not be “weary in well doing.” Satan doesn’t always attack when we’re at rest and undefended. He sometime strikes us when we are opposing him the most. We must always be vigilant against the devil’s schemes whether on the sidelines or in the heat of conflict. Don’t fall down spiritually when the battle is raging.

 


Bob Larson has trained healing and deliverance teams all over the world to set the captives free and Do What Jesus Did� (Luke 4:18).  You can partner with Bob and support this vision to demonstrate God’s power in action by calling 303-980-1511 or clicking here to donate online.

 

 

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Bob Larson

Bob Larson

The world's foremost expert on cults, the occult, and supernatural phenomena.

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