Continuing with the theme of 80′s songs from yesterday’s post, I had a song stuck in my head the past two weeks, but didn’t know why. Last Sunday I was able to connect the song Human by The Human League to a thought I had and it all started to make sense to me.
Ministry is a tough calling. Seriously--as my friend David Macer pointed out to me--I wouldn’t wish this responsibility on anyone else. I’m not saying this to draw sympathy, but it’s just a simple fact. Think of this: If an NBA coach fails miserably and is fired, there are several teams usually waiting in the wings to snatch him up and look to him as their next savior. If not, then he’ll always find a team willing to hire him as an assistant coach or some college will drool all over him to coach at their school and bring his resume of NBA experience with him. Or how about this: David Carradine, the actor, is currently being scandalized in the news because he may have committed suicide in a Thai hotel last week. There are rumors that he may have died trying to use some dangerous auto-erotic technique for his gratification. The scandal doesn’t hurt the actor, it merely draws attention to him and causes people to now go back and watch his work all over again. Same thing was true of Heath Ledger we he died under suspicious causes--everyone flocked to see the movie he was making at the time of his death.
Now, think about someone in ministry that has some scandal or failures brought into the public spotlight. Does it cause people to want to know more about their work and build them up in conversations? The opposite is actually true. People speak negatively of the person in ministry and run as far away from them as they can to distance themselves from the one who stumbled. Is that fair?
Realistically, when one accepts the call to enter into ministry they must also accept that they are going to be held to a higher standard. Scripture supports this and I think it is acceptable. However, what happens when someone imperfect is being held to the standard of perfection? In my opinion it will always lead to failure. Sometimes tiny, almost negligible failures and other times big, massive failures that cause damage and pain to a lot of people. We in ministry bear a huge burden on our shoulders. It is up to us to give that burden to the Lord and seek wisdom, strength and perseverance in our faith through our Lord. Only then can we weather the storms, follow the right path, seek the righteousness of God’s kingdom first.
Being in ministry can never be associated with living a life of perfection unless the minister is known as Christ Jesus himself. He was the only perfect person ever to be embodied in human flesh.
News broke two days ago that Gary Lamb, a well-known and gifted minister of the gospel revealed that he had an affair with his assistant and subsequently stepped down from his role as senior pastor of Revolution Church in Canton, GA. Pastor Lamb, just like you and me, is only human. As the lyrics of Human from The Human League state:
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I’m only human
Of flesh and blood Im made
Human
Born to make mistakes
I am just a man
Please forgive me
Isn’t it time that we realized no matter what our expectations are, that pastors/ministers are human just like you and me, born imperfect just like you and me, and should be allowed to be forgiven just like you and me? I say we eliminate the double standard that causes ministers of the gospel to be struck down and despised because of their short comings. We are to follow Christ and not a man. We are called to be together as the church of Christ, not the church of Gary Lamb or Dave Ingland or Rick Warren or Joel Osteen. As the church, we are to move in grace and mercy, rebuke others as necessary and help restore others back to putting God first in their lives. When people fall, we are called to help give them a hand up regardless of whether they are an alcoholic, bank teller, sanitation worker, or a pastor. To abandon someone when they need people of strong faith surrounding them is a ridiculous idea to me. As the church, we of all people should recognize the forces of darkness surrounding us in this world and rise above our personal feelings and judgment and support those that have spent time serving the Lord just as we would our brother or sister or best friend.
Hoping you’ll join me in prayer for Gary Lamb, his family, Revolution Church in Canton, GA and all those affected by this situation. God will prevail and this will be used for his glory in some way. I’d rather pray with God than against him.
Related posts:
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- Sunday night thoughts…One Prayer has ended, but…
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Tags: gary lamb, grace, perfection
I have not heard of any “anti-Gary” sentiment or people running away from him. If so, that is sad. We need to support, encouragement, hold accountable and such, much of what Greg Surratt said. My prayer is there is healing for him, his family and his assistant and her family as well. I think the coolest thing would be that he would find his value in Christ and be restored back to ministry one day. We need people like Gary to help take Kingdom Land, that’s for sure!