Once upon a time, I sat under a pastor. Listened to his teachings for ten years. And was shocked by his fall from grace, removed from his pulpit for multiple violations of his marriage vows.
And once upon a time, I followed the teachings of a (prominent-in-his-niche) Christian teacher. And, although I came to move away from parts of his emphasis, I readily admit the effect of his teaching in my life. And, I was shocked by his fall from grace and censure for terrible behavior towards young women in his ministry. And shocked by an announcement of inexcusable behavior in the family of his most famous follower.
And once upon a time, I listened to the songs of a famous singer. Inspired words of a prolific writer. I even quoted him at a family gathering. But I became aware a long time ago of a serious scandal involving adultery, conspiracy to murder, ... yeah, I'm talking about King David this time.
I've lost count of how many Christian leaders have led their flock for decades, and then have committed grievous the sin. The world has not lost count - they love to point at the hypocrite. Where are your morals you taught is that what being a Christian is about. I'm certain that is one of the reasons we are warned that the shepherds will face the greater judgment.
But my question is is the fault of the shepherd - the fall of the leader - is it reason to abandon their teaching?
I've had many opportunities to contemplate and I come to a conclusion. It doesn't matter whether the leader has fallen or not . In any case it is our duty as followers of Christ to weigh the teachings of all the pastors, to see if we can follow them as they follow Christ.
Pedestals are dangerous things.
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