With the multiple reports of fallen leaders in the last few months, my heart breaks.  I’ve seen first-hand the devastation that abusive leadership can cause.  My heart goes out to the families, to the victims, to the innocents who are now caught in a whirl of confusion and hate just because of who they trusted or followed.

With the breaking news comes dozens of questions.  How can we keep this from happening to others?  Who that we trust is caught in similar issues – but it hasn’t been revealed yet?  And most importantly, how should we handle this in terms of holding sinners to account vs. restoration?

I feel that it’s wrong to bar a person from ministry because something happened in their past.  That’s simply not the gospel – there is forgiveness for sins (Hebrews 7:25, etc.).  I also think of ministers today who God is using powerfully – but when they were young, they went through one or more scandals.  Apparently, something happened to allow these ministers to be pure vessels that God can – and does – use. Plus, we are called to forgive the person who trespassed against us (Matthew 18:22).

I also feel that it’s wrong to simply reinstate or restore a leader.  We can’t be wishy-washy or complacent about sin.  The Bible has some pretty strong statements about that (1 John 3:6, for example).  Far too many people have been given a cover to continue sinning simply because they were “God’s anointed” or the leader everyone was afraid to cross.  It allows abusers to continue to hurt people.  That’s just as wrong as refusing to believe in God’s forgiving power.

I don’t have the ultimate answer for how to decide whether a leader should be (or is ready to be) restored.  It’s a very individual thing – one person should never, ever be allowed back in ministry, while a second (even with exactly the same sin or scandal) needs restoration as part of the healing and God-ordained process for their life.  Here are a few thoughts:

What to Look For Before Restoring a Fallen Leader

1. Is the fallen leader devastated over their sin?  I hate to say “are they repentant” because I’ve known too many people – especially leaders – who were very good at an outward repentance but their heart wasn’t in it (which might include excuses like, “I’m so sorry, but…”  “She made me do it…”  “I tried to resist, but…” etc.).  Does it break their heart that people are hurt?

2. Is the leader’s aim to be back in ministry, or is their primary goal to deal with the root issues of their problems?  Paul told Timothy to take his time in both appointing and reinstating people for ministry (1 Timothy 5:22 AMP).  When a person’s goal is the position, title, job, or function over a willingness to lose their external identity, their heart is in a vulnerable position to fall again.

3. (And this is the big one!) What does the rest of their life look like in terms of sin?  Are they arrogant?  Controlling?  Greedy?  Manipulating, especially through fear, guilt, or favor?  Passive about white lies (to “protect” the ministry or people)?  Oppressive by instituting a spiritual pecking order, controlling the flow of information, or placing myriads of rules and requirements on those under them? Have they told the entire truth about their sin (see Acts 5:1-11)?  Do they brush off their own or others’ sin?  I could add to the list, but you get the idea.

4. What is on their phone? This will tell you a huge, huge amount about what their life outside of ministry looks like.

I’m not suggested in a witch hunt; if you want to find sin in someone’s life, it’s not too hard to convince yourself that it’s there whether it is or not.  (A sidelong glance, and suddenly, the accusing party knows that the pastor has a greed issue!)  I’m also not suggesting that this is the ultimate list.  No leader should be restored without long prayer and communication with God.

I hope this helps you sort through some of the scandals that have rocked the church world recently.  You may not be close enough to the person in the situation to be able to apply these guidelines, and that’s ok.  If you simply don’t know – or even if you do know – pray for the leader.  For the victims.  For those involved.  And especially, that they would be restored when God knows their heart is pure.