Whenever a pastor or a preacher is caught in a sexual scandal, it's instinctive to try to salvage your ministry and not admit any kind of guilt.
To do so would jeopardize everything that a pastor has built.
So intuitively, they set out to make an initial statement. In their statement will be an admission of I've made a "mistake." Or "I did something that was "inappropriate." Or, "My acts weren't adultery, it was non sexual, just an "emotional relationship." Or I was in an "inappropriate relationship."
It's all code for the fact that fornication, adultery, or homosexuality took place.
We're not stupid.
Now unless they're able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it wasn't sexual, at least, the preponderance of it happening exists.
To deny it ever happening is the normal response from a pastor that's accused of sexual immorality, but when you use "word salad" to deliberately deceive the people, you can't be trusted.
Ministers and ministries "circle the wagons" to protect the fallen leader because more to be lost is at stake. Members that support the ministry with regular financial donations leave.
No members or partners, no money. Very simple math.
Then they're forced to step out of the lime light for a very short season. Or they stop for a little while and then start a brand new work some where else, hoping that they could salvage something.
We all know that people do defame and slander people. They lie to make a reputable person look bad and to ruin their reputation but when you're trying to cover up the sin, you're trying to "save your life."
The Lord Jesus said these words.
Luke 9:23-25 (NKJV) "Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?"
Fallen pastors that try to save their lives will lose it. Fallen pastors that lose their lives for His sakes will find it.
Sexual sins damages everything in its path.
First, it defames the name of the Lord to the point that people blaspheme the name of the Lord, and consider following Christ as worthless.
James 2:7 (NKJV)
"Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?"
We much rather for the world to see our good conversation that glorifies the Lord, even when they blaspheme His name, He is glorified. But when we sin and the world sees it, they'll blaspheme His name ever worse.
1 Peter 4:14 (NKJV) "If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified."
Second, it ruins the reputation of other pastors that maintain their walk before the Lord, knowing that if sin is discovered in the pastor, he takes everyone with him, throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Everything goes.
The world will blame everyone in ministry. satan is the "accuser of the brethren."
He will slander the believer every chance he gets for the purpose of placing dirt on God.
However, when it comes to sin, the fallen pastor is only interested in the fulfillment of sin.
The pleasures of the flesh dominates him. He's obsessed to blindness. It's almost like "depraved indifference." You don't care that others are hurt while you selfishly fulfill the desires of the flesh and mind.
So he does everything in his power to appear before the people to save face.
Why?
When ministry is your only source of income, you're going to fight light mad to keep getting paid. When people no longer believe you, most of them walk away. Some of them even go back out into the world. And sadly, many of them return to satan and end up in hell.
So what's the best way out of this?
Crucify your flesh. Don't be the next one that ends up in sexual sin. If you are, and you haven't gotten exposed yet, it's a matter of time and the sand in the hour glass is slipping through. The Lord has given you space to repent by warning you to abstain from sexual sins.
If you squander the moment, the scandal will take you down. If there's anything that's hidden, if you expose it yourself instead of trying to hide it, you may salvage your life and ministry. If you keep it hidden, the Lord will expose it.
Psalms 19:12-13 (NKJV)
"Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous (arrogant) sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression."
Keeping it secret for months or years is, but not limited to "arrogant sins."
These are sins committed arrogantly. In other words, pride keeps you from exposing the sins yourself and you continue in ministry as if nothing happened, and in arrogance, you keep hiding it, hoping that no one would discover it.
Robert Morris allegedly committed a crime of having sex with a 12 year old over 40 years ago. He hinted that he committed sexual sins, but in arrogance, he left out an important incriminating detail that he knew it would mean jail time. Never mind ministry.
Michael Brown, a married man, on the other hand, sat on the information of allegedly touching sexually a woman 23 years ago. While he alleges that he never committed adultery, the kissing on the lips, the sitting on his lap, the slapping her behind, and the holding hands, is no doubt, is definitely sexual in nature. Let's not fool ourselves.
Steve Lawson (73), as a married man with 2 children, also kept his "relationship" with a 20 year old a secret for 5 years until t was discovered.
Fred Price Jr., a few years ago, mentioned an "inappropriate relationship," and he had to "sit" from ministry for 1 year. Fred Price Sr. was forced to return to the pulpit for 1 year and then a short time after, Fred Price Sr. passed away.
Joni Lamb, of Daystar allegedly is obscuring an incident involving her own grand daughter, and shortly after the death of Marcus Lamb, her husband, she went on over 20 flights, using a Daystar ministry jet to see a married man Doug Weiss, who has divorced his wife to marry a Christian marriage counselor.
Joni claims not to have had sex with Doug until after they were married.
But in these alleged sexual acts, there's no real clearing of the air. No full admission of the sin because the statements by them obscures the actual sin in hopes that the reputation is maintained so they don’t lose money.
“The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.”
We get no joy in the full disclosure of the sexual immorality among pastors, however, by laying it all out to bear, it gives us the seriousness of your approach to handle the sin.
When will we "get serious about being serious?"
If they were straight up slanderous accusations, you would expect an outright denial, but you don't see it. You see a word salad response of the Lord exposing their sin.
You do have something to hide.
Hiding behind "we're waiting for a full investigation to be completed into the alleged facts and then we'll give you a statement," is legal spin.
At any time, you could disclose what happened. It's not about just being frustrated. It's about we being truthful in the face of embarrassment.
When you're not forthright about it, it's being disingenuous. It's dishonesty. It's lying because you're desperately trying to hide the actual sin before the people because the Lord knew it before we were born.
But it will not stop the saving of face. It will continue.
We use legal terms so as not to incriminate ourselves.
When you tell the story truthfully, you're not giving the story a chance to live.
There's "there" there and everyone knows it. If you deny it, that's one thing, but again, you don't see any denial. Just word salad to obscure the obvious which is designed to mislead the people.
The intention of lying is to deliberately deceive the people.
"...and all liars will have their part in the lake of fire." Revelation 21:8b
Leaving out pertinent details is deceptive as well.
When you put it all on the table, there's no story to tell further.
In the end, we'll all say "I knew it."
Ecclesiastes 12:14 (NKJV)
"For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil."
So pastors in sexual sins are saving face because they want to save their lives, their money, the empire of ministry they've built, and their reputation, but in the end, they'll lose their lives.
THEY'LL LOSE IT ALL.
"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?"
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