In churches, people often emphasize the responsibility of pastors and staff workers toward the church and its members, such as providing care and protection for believers. However, there's rarely a discussion on what responsibilities the church and believers should hold toward their pastors and staff workers. This imbalance is not a normal phenomenon. While pastors do need to be on guard for their flock, believers should also strive to guard their pastors.
How Should We View Sinning and Fallen Pastors?
In recent years, incidents of pastors and preachers falling into sin have surfaced in diverse places, some involving well-known figures. These failures have sometimes led to tragic consequences, such as church splits or members leaving the faith.
How should Christians view sinning and fallen pastors? Many quickly become outraged, ready to condemn. A believer’s previous love and respect for a pastor can quickly turn into profound disdain when that pastor falls. However, Rev. Wang Yiyan from a northern city church has a different perspective.
Wang has served in this city church for many years and has witnessed cases of pastoral failures, including one involving a highly respected pastor that caused an uproar when it became known. Many people, upon hearing the news, relentlessly criticized him, wishing to see him removed entirely.
Pastor Wang chose a different approach. He wrote an article and shared it with some pastors and members of his own church, where he stated that each person is a sinner.
First, he acknowledges that fallen pastors must take responsibility for their actions. However, pastors are human, not God. They have weaknesses, just like any believer. When such things happen, the church’s first response should be one of forgiveness and love—not self-righteous judgment and punishment.
The Bible contains the Old Testament and the New Testament, with the former focuses on the law and the latter on love and relationships. Jesus Christ, who completed the salvation, fulfilled the law rather than abolished it. If a pastor or preacher sins, the church must handle it according to its established regulations, which may include revoking their pastoral qualifications. However, concerning the individual’s soul, the church and believers should approach them with forgiveness.
Dealing with Pastor's Sin While Showing Mercy to Their Soul
A pastor or preacher’s failures are often not solely their fault; church systems and surrounding environments can contribute as well. After they bear the consequences, the church, fellow workers, and believers should still lend them a helping hand. “Even if it were an enemy, we should still forgive—how much more for someone who is not an enemy!” wrote Wang.
Should we kill someone if he contracts an infectious disease? Certainly not. It is the illness that is bad, not the person. The pastor’s soul remains good, even if he commits a sin which is evil. They acted as if he didn’t overcome the evil spirit and would likely deeply regret it after recovery.
He is a good person if he recovers from spiritual sickness and a patient when he is sick. We should show compassion for the weak who are spiritually unwell. If they remain unrepentant, we should let God rather than humans judge them.
Every organization has its regulations, and as an organization, the church must discipline pastors or workers who commit sins. However, ultimate judgment belongs to God; humans cannot take on the role of God as the ultimate judge. To act beyond our assigned responsibilities is to act from human impulse, not God. “We must trust in God’s fairness and justice; He will surely judge everyone according to their actions.”
Distinguishing Church and Pastors From God and Faith
Believers go to church, not to worship a specific building or pastor but God. The church and pastors are merely intermediaries. However, people often mistake the intermediary for the source, since they cannot see God directly and instead rely on the church and pastors.
Pastor Wang likens the role of the church and pastors to that of a matchmaker. In traditional Chinese society, a good matchmaker could facilitate a happy marriage between two people who had never met or knew little about each other. Ultimately, however, marriage is a relationship between the couple, one in which the matchmaker has no involvement. Pastors and the church serve similarly, acting as intermediaries between God and believers. But because people often only see the church and pastors, they end up equating the church with faith.
How to Protect Pastors?
First, don’t treat pastors as "leaders."
Pastor Wang suggests that neither co-workers nor believers should elevate pastors to the status of leaders, as this can lead to error.
Leadership positions bring dangers; if you regard yourself or are regarded by others as a leader, temptations arise. Humbling oneself and refusing such a title prevents this. Believers should also avoid elevating their pastors. In many cases of pastoral failures, believers bear some responsibility. Out of love and respect, believers sometimes place pastors on a pedestal, akin to God. Initially, a pastor might remain humble, but constant adulation can lead them to see themselves as godlike.
“I’m not fond of the term ‘church leader’; the true leader of the church is God, not any person.” Privilege tends to breed corruption, and this holds in the church as well. When everyone is treated equally and no one holds special privileges, the risk of failure decreases, reducing the likelihood of a pastor falling into sin.
Second, establish effective church oversight mechanisms.
Pastor Wang also believes that it’s crucial to define what constitutes a “good church,” “good believer,” and “good pastor.” Establishing these standards would lead to a more stable and healthy church environment, minimizing disruptions.
Many overseas churches have developed effective oversight mechanisms over decades or even centuries, but most Chinese churches are relatively new and unregulated. Before 2000, the situation was manageable; however, since then, economic bloom in China has led to churches having more funds, which has introduced a range of new problems.
One significant issue is that many churches operate independently with minimal or no oversight. While TSPM churches have some degree of supervision, resulting in fewer issues, non-registered churches often remain disorganized and resist joining the TSPM to avoid restrictions. Few people, particularly regarding financial matters, are willing to submit to oversight. Without proper accountability mechanisms, church leaders often hold substantial power, sometimes leading to “one-person rule.”
Pastor Wang believes that establishing effective oversight mechanisms to limit pastoral authority provides the best protection for pastors. When power is restricted, pastors face fewer opportunities to sin.
- Edited & translated by Abigail Wu
