“No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as a manor of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man’s death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
John Donne
Let me tell you about my preacher friend, Edwin. He’s been struggling personally since his wife left him. He made some mistakes along the way, I suppose. Allegations. Investigations. Dismissal.
Edwin was a great pastor. He had the most unique church building, a structure truly built for his congregation. It was small but fabulous. He was a visionary within his field, creating different ways of approaching music and worship, incorporating it into his sermons in fresh ways. He planted satellite churches and outreach groups. He led mission trips and built churches. He worked with similar Great Commission Christian groups, developing partnerships in order to reach as many people as possible.
But then he blew it, it seems.
I heard recently about a gathering where most people knew Edwin, and many were aware of his recent departure. The comments were quite harsh. Other words one might use would be hypercritical, uncompassionate, and unmerciful.
What the group failed to realize is exactly what Donne was describing: there are no islands in humanity, much less within the church. There is no such thing as a ministerial vacuum. When a pastor falls, we are all lessened. We all take the blow, in some fashion. Just as the loss of a single clod lessens Europe without the continent’s knowledge, so, too, the moral failure of a far-off pastor hurts our own ministries.
Edwin’s failures will influence this group of detractors far more than they realize.
Consider the impact of Edwin’s departure: his church is leaderless. The usual lowered attendance that follows the loss of a pastor, worsened by the implied moral failure, will depress morale. Giving will drop. Church members will be torn between defending their beloved leader and lambasting him for his failures, especially at state meetings. The satellite churches must figure out whether they want to remain a part of a headless system. Someone will lose their pastor in order to fill Edwin’s shoes. Younger pastors who looked up to Edwin are stunned into immobility.
Mission teams are on hold for now. Missionaries in two different countries will lose the volunteers who were supposed to help with summer camps and building projects. Some nationals will not receive the gospel. Partnerships with mission agencies fall apart in the interim.
My point is not that Edwin should have recalled his connections to others before making his mistakes. I think we can see that without question. Instead, the emphasis here is on our realization of loss. No one falls by the wayside without an impact, especially not in Christendom.
No Arminian pastor escapes a Calvinist’s fall unscathed. No African-American church burns without leaving a trace of smoke in white churches. Out of fashion congregations crumble to the detriment of house churches. No member disappears without consequence. No missionary stumbles into heresy without impact on locals. Ever. Even if we don’t see it, the damage is there.
The recent verbal stumbles by Richard Land spring to mind. He’s said (and apologized for) some things that at the very least were a little unwise. We should cooperatively mourn his mistake, and and just as cooperatively celebrate his attempts at reparation.
Consider the death of Saul. He died rejected by God, ignored by Samuel, and hated by segments of society. He had anger issues and murderous intentions. His death set the stage for God’s chosen successor to rise to the throne. And yet, consider David’s response: he mourned. He sang about the death of the Lord’s anointed. He executed a man who claimed to have given the final blow to the evil king. Despite the relief of personal peace and the hope of personal gain, David saw that Saul’s loss hurt the nation as much as it helped.
I would never claim that sometimes addition by subtraction is totally wrong. Sometimes, losing our own bad King Saul can only benefit the body eventually. Even so, addition by subtraction is subtraction. By definition, something is being lost.
So in times of loss, there are no Christian islands. How then should this alter our thinking and our behavior?
(to be continued…)
Failure is a bad word. I have been in several churches that had pastors that failed and there was great loss. Many were affected by the event and some used it as an excuse to never return. Lots can be said about that and I am looking forward to your continuing post on this subject. One thing that caught my eye was, “if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less,”. I have discovered through my experiences with every clod that is washed away there has to be more wash onto the shore. If it were… Read more »
This is some of your best writing, Jeremy, and good thoughts.
Jeremy,
I take your point that we are all connected and none of us is an island. We would do well to remember that. I also want say that your friend’s failures don’t make him beyond redemption. There may be consequences but this failure may yet lead him to more effective service and a more desperate clinging to Christ. We can mourn his losses and not write him off or give up on him either. This is part of what Donne meant.
Great point, Carter. So often, those who fall will leave the church due to the shame and the church isn’t better for it. The greater good is to remain and allow the affect to permeate the entire church. The fallen must display how to live forgiven with exposed sin. The church must display how to function forgivingly with the knowledge of the sin. It is one of the more difficult things the church has to overcome and yet one of the more important things we must do and experience, too. It seems that we define the “abundant life” to be… Read more »
You’re right, but sometimes the reason our fallen leaders/friends never return is that we fail to make them welcome. Our perspective is that their sin hurts them, and fail to see that their sin hurts the body as a whole. If we truly believed these sinners are worthy of reconciliation, we would not spend quite so much time griping about their failures.
Edwin is out of the church and I suspect will be for a long time. Why? No one wants him back. I think the feeling is “Good riddance to bad rubbish.”
comes to mind, this:
“. . . But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member,
25 that there may be no dissension within the body,
but the members may have the same care for one another.
26 If one member suffers, all suffer together with it;
if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it. ”
(from 1 Cor. 12)
from Dietrich Bonhoeffer: ” We now know that we have been taken up and borne in the humanity of Jesus, and therefore that new nature we now enjoy means that we too must bear the sins and sorrows of others. The incarnate lord makes his followers the brothers and sisters of all humanity. The “philanthropy” of God (Titus 3.4) revealed in the Incarnation is the ground of Christian love toward all one earth that bear the name of human. the form of Christ incarnate makes the Church into the body of Christ. All the sorrows of humanity fall upon that… Read more »
Jeremy, I don’t know the circumstances of the church as to why they would be that way after being under the right kind of leadership. That is why preachers and the leadership should consider strongly how to address these issues and always be prepared. Ideally, if a person falls in this capacity there should be a team of spiritual men to help restore him and assimilate him back into the church fellowship. It would always be a teachable moment as the body grows and matures. Sad that Christians have the wrong view of true Christianity. I am looking forward to… Read more »
I know of a fellow who failed. He committed adultery and murder, and he suffered much due to his stupid sins. However, God’s Holy Spirit, speaking by Peter on the great day of Pentecost, called David, “The Patriarch and a Prophet.”(Acts 2:29,30). How do we deal with something like that?