The news has been filled with stories about former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich regarding his impeachment and criminal charges; the tax problem of Tom Daschle which has led to the withdrawl of his name as the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and the recent HBO documentary about former Evangelical leader and Pastor Ted Haggerd, who was dismissed from his church after alegations of immoral conduct and drug problems.
What is a Christian response to such issues? There are some who argue: "Everyone makes mistakes" and "No one is perfect". That is most assuredly true. We do need to remind ourselves that God forgives sinners. He will forgive any sinner who truly repents. We do need to allow for people to disappoint us and to fail. Even the best of men are only men at best.
Does this mean these men are getting a raw deal? I don't think so. The Bible is clear that those in leadership position are held to a higher standard than others. Leaders require the public trust. In selecting elders we are told they are to be "above reproach". An elder is to have "a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap." Deacons are to be men worthy of respect." (1 Timothy 3) Leadership calls for consistent integrity and character.
This is not the same as expecting perfection. However, what happened with each of the men listed above is that their actions resulted in the loss of public trust. The removal of all three of these people from these positions is right. Leaders need to call people higher.
We must however be careful! Removing these people from positions of leadership and treating them as those cast away by God are not the same thing. We should pray for all of these men. We must pray that God opens their eyes to help them take responsibility for their actions. We should pray for their families. The spotlight, disgrace, and meanness of public scrutiny is horrible. We should pray that these men work hard to once again demonstrate integrity and trustworthiness. They should nto be tossed aside as people even though they should be removed from leadership.
