Tag: Fall From Grace

Discernment

On the G3 Scandal…

Michelle Lesley

This article will be continuously updated as
more information becomes available.

Readers, yes, I am aware of, and familiar with – on a variety of levels – the situation regarding G3 Ministries leadership / Pray’s Mill Baptist Church elders anonymously accusing Pastor Tom Buck of plagiarism in his sermons, which became public Monday, August 17.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about and have never heard of G3 Ministries or Pastor Tom Buck, you may be excused and go about your life blessedly happy and unbothered by what follows. I am primarily writing this a) for those who have attended G3 events, have used G3’s resources or are familiar with Tom, and b) because I have participated in G3 events, linked to their resources, and recommended them to you, and because Tom is a personal friend and dear brother in Christ whom I’ve mentioned here and linked to from time to time.

The Scandal

The scandal itself is quite detailed and involved. This is a very brief, very general synopsis of the situation (adapted from an upcoming episode of A Word Fitly Spoken):

On August 17, a scandal broke involving G3 Ministries and its founding church, Pray’s Mill Baptist Church (PMBC) of Douglasville, Georgia. In March 2026, members of G3 leadership including, it was later revealed, the four elders of PMBC, Scott Aniol, Matt Sikes, Jon Norton, and Dylan Joyner, anonymously and underhandedly sent (and/or had knowledge of the sending of) largely baseless and exaggerated accusations of sermon plagiarism to the leadership of Pastor Tom Buck’s church, First Baptist Church of Lindale, Texas.

Tom’s church fully investigated the accusations, and they and Tom resolved the situation in a biblical way. But the outcome wasn’t satisfactory for these anonymous (at the time) accusers. When the situation wasn’t handled to their liking, they sent the accusations to former G3 conference speakers and other individuals and ministries outside of First Baptist, Lindale, urging them to look into the matter and make it public, all with the goal of ruining Tom’s ministry.

After these actions were exposed, three of the four elders were required by the deacons of PMBC to resign, and one (Dylan Joyner) voluntarily resigned. The elders wrote a letter of repentance from G3 Ministries to Tom and his church and publicized it on social media. There is credible circumstantial evidence that this letter was not genuine repentance.

G3 has now shut down the operation of its church network (where you can search for a G3-endorsed church), deleted its YouTube channel, and deactivated all of its social media accounts and the G3 website, which included the information and registration page for the G3 National Conference, scheduled for May of 2027.

There has been no apology or statement from G3 Ministries or the current leadership of Prays Mill Baptist Church to the public or G3’s thousands of followers and supporters.

Questions and Details
Pertaining to the Scandal Itself

If you have questions or you’d like further details related to the scandal itself, I commend the following resources to you (and I would recommend that you read or watch them in the order in which they’re listed):

Exclusive: G3 Promised “Cooperative, Not Competitive.” The Anonymous Targeting Continued at Protestia

Haman’s Gallows by Phil Johnson

About that anonymous accusation against Tom Buck by Tom Ascol

Tom Buck Accused of Serial Plagiarism by Gabe Hughes (analysis of specific plagiarism allegations)

Four ‘Pray’s Mill Baptist Church’ Pastors Resign Over G3 Plagiarism Dossier Scandal at Protestia

G3 Announces They Are Shutting Down G3 Church Network ‘Effective Immediately,’ Apologizes For Sending Anonymous Plagiarism Dossier at Protestia

G3, Pray’s Mill & True Repentance by Jon Benzinger

Walking Off the Plank in Their Own Eyes: The Dossier Comes for Aniol, Sikes, and Joyner at Protestia

Questions Pertaining to
the Fallout of the Scandal
and the Shut Down of G3 Ministries

Because neither G3 nor the current leadership of PMBC have issued any sort of statement communicating with G3’s followers and participants, many things are unclear in the wake of the scandal.

Below are some questions I’ve been asked and information I have been provided by my followers, along with some educated guesses on my part. I am not in contact with anyone at G3 or PMBC and have no “behind the scenes” knowledge of what is actually going on.

(For anyone from G3 who might be reading this and is tempted to take me or any of your other followers to task for guessing, speculating, and surmising, don’t. If you want people to know what’s actually going on, do what you should have already done and issue a public statement explaining these things. You have no one to blame for the speculation but yourselves and the way you’ve poorly and unbiblically handled this situation.)

The National Conference

It has not been made clear, officially, whether or not the National Conference has been canceled or will still take place in May 2027 (though this seems unlikely). Both the G3 website and the conference site have been shut down.

It is also unclear as to how those who had already registered for the conference will receive or may request a refund.

I did receive a comment from one follower who said she had been sent an email from G3 saying that the conference has been canceled and that she would receive a refund. While I have no reason to doubt her, no one else has confirmed that such an email was sent out, nor have I been able to see or obtain a copy of this email.

Leadership Page at PMBC Still Lists Resigned Elders

As of September 1, the “Our Leaders” page of the PMBC website still lists all four elders who resigned as “Our Pastors”.

The situation with G3 has happened very fast and very chaotically, and I’m guessing that, in all the hullabaloo, someone simply hasn’t gotten the chance to update the website yet. It’s also possible that one of the elders who resigned was the webmaster and has the password, and the current PMBC leader who’s been tasked with updating the website has not yet been able to obtain the necessary information from that resigned elder to gain access to the website.

Again, I would urge patience. PMBC is understandably reeling after the blow they’ve been dealt, and in addition to the spiritual and emotional pain they’re trying to work their way through, they have to deal with the practical and mechanical aspects of employment termination paperwork for these four elders, updating the website, etc.

I would encourage you not to bother them right now, or in the near future, with questions about when the website will be updated. We know all four of the elders have resigned. That’s sufficient. They’ll get to the website when they get to it.

The G3 Church Network

The G3 Church Network was the first sector of G3 to be shut down. Member churches were sent the following email:

The link went to a post on G3’s (now deleted) X page, presumably the post sharing the letter of repentance sent to Tom Buck and First Baptist Church, Lindale. This email is the only communication I’m aware of from G3 since the scandal that offers an apology to anyone besides Tom and FBCL.

Living Heritage Homeschool Curriculum

A number of homeschoolers have contacted me with questions about the Living Heritage homeschool curriculum, created by Becky Aniol, wife of Scott Aniol, G3 president and now former PMBC elder.

As you might know, there was considerable overlap between G3 and Living Heritage (LH) in practice, even if not on paper. G3 promoted LH. Becky was frequently a breakout speaker on homeschooling at G3 events. I’ve been told there was some degree of overlap between LH’s digital platforms and G3’s digital platforms. And, as one LH homeschool mom told me:

“You mentioned in your post* that Scott might read and approve of any curriculum Becky writes, which I am sure is true, but he is far more involved than that. He oversees the Living Heritage Mighty Network group [communication app]. A number of his books are used in the curriculum. He and Becky co-host a podcast on homeschooling.

Additionally, Living Heritage was started as part of G3 by the leadership families of PMBC and G3. The team listed on the LH site consists of Becky Aniol and the wives of two other PMBC elders.

LH may be separate from G3/PMBC on paper, but in practice it is not. All three leadership teams consist of the same families.”

*I had previously mentioned this in an earlier edition of this article, but removed this statement when another LH homeschool mom informed me that LH is less a curriculum and more a list of books and reading plan. Because of this, I felt my statement was inaccurate and potentially confusing. I have only ever seen or heard of LH referred to as a “curriculum,” so I assumed that’s what it was.

Due to all of this overlap, the LH community understandably wants to know if LH is also shutting down, and, if not, how the delivery of their materials will be affected by the technology overlap.

I’ve never used or even looked at the LH curriculum, so my knowledge of it and the LH digital platforms are limited to what I’ve been told by my followers in the LH community.

I have been told that neither the admins of the LH Facebook group, nor the admins of the Mighty Network app/portal have openly made any sort of statement or given any sort of explanation to their communities regarding if, or how, the overlap (technological or otherwise) between G3 and LH will affect the LH community and the access to LH curricula and materials.

I’ve been told that even questions unrelated to the scandal itself, such as how LH’s digital platforms might be affected by the shut down of the G3 website, have been removed from the Facebook group by admins (though admins did answer privately), and that admins have ignored similar questions about LH’s continued operation in the Mighty Network app.

As one LH user who contacted me pointed out, these are paying customers – some who have spent hundreds of dollars on LH curricula and materials – and, thus far, no one at LH has had the common courtesy (or even the financial motivation to keep them as customers, it would seem) to tell them what’s going on and alleviate their concerns.

Apparently, some LH users have been told privately by admins that, because the G3+ app and G3 Press are being taken over by another, as yet unnamed, person or ministry (more on this below), the delivery of LH curricula and materials will continue seamlessly.

Eventually, Becky did make this information available to Mighty Network app users:

(Screenshot courtesy of a member of the LH Mighty Network app.)

The more common question I’ve been asked is, considering everything that’s happened, should we continue to support Scott Aniol and the vestige of G3 LH represents by continuing to use LH?

As much as I am inclined to simply tell you no, I can’t do that. Because (though heavily connected to G3) LH is a separate entity, this is an issue of Christian liberty and conscience. You must work through the decision-making process wisely, biblically, and prayerfully to arrive at the most godly decision possible for your individual family.

Here is the answer I’ve sent to followers asking if they should continue to use LH:

Hi _____,

It’s a tough spot they’ve put you in, isn’t it? Their [the elders’] sin forces you to make a difficult and confusing decision. I would take that into consideration.

I would also take into consideration…

  • that they’ve not addressed the scandal with their homeschooling community. And they should.
  • You and others had questions, and the admins hid or ignored them. Is this a Christian way to handle things, or is complete transparency, openness, and a posture of repentance the Christian way to handle things?
  • Make sure you read the latter part of [the article linked above] Exclusive: G3 Promised “Cooperative, Not Competitive.” The Anonymous Targeting Continued dealing with the theology of PMBC. Scott was heavily involved in shaping that theology. Becky is married to Scott, and is or was a member of PMBC. She has absorbed, and will continue to absorb that theology. Their theology will come out in any content they have created, or may decide to create for LH in the future.
  • Scott just lost his job, and he and Becky may be relying on LH as a source of income.
  • Will your conscience allow you to continue to support them financially?
  • There are plenty of other good curricula available out there that don’t carry this kind of baggage with them.

I would take all of these things into prayerful consideration, discuss them at length with your husband, and possibly get some counsel from your pastor or a trusted, older “Titus 2” woman or couple at your church. Then, leave the decision up to your husband and submit to his leadership.

I’m sorry the ripple effects of this grievous sin have reached your shore.❤️

Another Ministry Acquiring
the G3+ App and G3 Press

The only information I have about another ministry acquiring G3 Press is:

  • Per what some have been told when inquiring about the Living Heritage homeschool curriculum (see above), the same (as yet unnamed) ministry is acquiring both the G3+ app and G3 Press, the publishing arm of G3.
  • Dave Jenkins and Darrell Harrison have publicly stated that they have requested that G3 return to them the rights to their works published through G3 Press. My guess is that other authors published through G3 Press have done the same.
  • I surmise (see below) that books and materials heretofore published by G3 Press will remain available through the G3+ app.

On Thursday, August 27, subscribers to the G3+ app were sent this email:

Many thanks to one of my followers, who is a G3+ subscriber, for providing the above screenshot.

There’s been much speculation as to which ministry will be acquiring the G3+ app and G3 Press. Again, I have no insider information on this from G3 or any “Ministry X” which might be acquiring it. Your guess is as good as mine. All I can say is that I would be very concerned if any or all of the four elders suddenly turned themselves into a “ministry,” or used an existing ministry they already owned to acquire these two platforms. These men are disqualified and do not need to be running any sort of ministry right now.

David Morrill, author of two of the Protestia articles linked above, shared some additional concerns here (or read the screenshots below):

Will “Ministry X” purchase the app and publishing platform, completely gut them, rebrand everything, and use these platforms for its own purposes and publications? I don’t think so because of what LH users have been told and what the email above says.

LH users have been told that the acquisition of these two platforms will not change LH’s connection to them, meaning LH users will still be able to access the same LH or G3 materials through the app that they previously accessed through G3+ or the G3 website. This means that at least some LH and/or G3 books and materials will remain at the app and in publication after the acquisition.

Additionally, the wording in the email could reasonably give us pause. The softer and more ambiguous “winding down” rather than the clearer and more final sounding “ending,” “closing,” or “shutting down”. The equally ambiguous “this work continues”. What or whose work will continue? The continuing writing, speaking, and creating work of one or more of the four elders? G3’s work? The new work of the acquiring ministry? Christian ministry in general?

I don’t have the answers to these questions. We will have to wait and see.

If you’re an author with G3 Press, you may want to consider doing what Darrell and Dave did and request the rights to your publications back. I don’t know all the ins and outs and legalities of whether or not this is a good idea for any particular individual, I’m just saying it’s worth considering.

If you subscribe to the G3+ app, and you’re unsure whether or not to cancel your subscription, I think the wisest course of action would be to wait a week or two to find out if the transition has been made, who is acquiring the app, and what, if any, involvement any of the four elders will continue to have with the app. Then make your decision once you’re informed.

Scott Aniol No Longer Employed by GBTS

On September 4, 2026, Grace Bible Theological Seminary in Conway, Arkansas, announced the removal of Scott Aniol from its faculty.

Where do WE go from here?

At the time I’m posting this, because no statement has been issued by G3 or the current leadership of PMBC, it is unknown what, if any, plans anyone who’s still in some sort of leadership at G3 has for the future of the ministry. But with the public outcry against their ungodly actions and the aforementioned extent to which they have already shut down, it is unlikely there is any sort of future for G3. From all appearances, they would not be able to survive this tragic implosion even if they wanted to.

Nor should they.

From all appearances, G3 would not be able to survive this tragic implosion even if they wanted to. Nor should they.

As Phil Johnson said at the end of his article (above), “…frankly, it is time for G3 to dissolve and go away.” Permanently. Nobody from the outside needs to come in, take the helm of G3 Ministries, and try to raise and repair the Titanic. G3 does not need to lie fallow for a few years, then rebrand and make an embarrassing attempt at a comeback. G3 is dead, and no one ought to try to resurrect it.

G3 is dead, and no one ought to try to resurrect it.

It was just a little over a year ago that the very similar Josh Buice (then president of G3 and pastor of PMBC) scandal broke. Accusations, allegations, and criticism leveled from far away, under the shadows of anonymity, against faithful, doctrinally sound pastors and theologians… It’s as if today’s third grader copied the answers on his math test from a kid who flunked last year. The PMBC elders took a page out of Josh Buice’s book in the worst way possible. What would possess any Christian to do such a thing, and how in the world did Josh or the PMBC “gang of four” ever think they would go undiscovered forever? We may never know the true reasons in either of these cases.

It’s as if today’s third grader copied the answers on his math test from a kid who flunked last year. The PMBC elders took a page out of Josh Buice’s book in the worst way possible.

It’s been a tough couple of years in the Reformed camp…

Alistair Begg betrayed Christ, His Word, and us on the issue of “transsexual” “marriage”.

Steve Lawson committed adultery.

The Josh Buice scandal.

We lost John MacArthur and Voddie Baucham.

And now… this. It’s a lot to process.

Obviously, I’m saddened and appalled by the despicable and ungodly acts committed by G3’s leadership/PMBC’s elders, and disappointed that I can no longer recommend G3 as helpful resource to you.

I’m righteously angry that these cowardly men disrupted the peace and unity of a good church and attempted to sabotage the stellar ministry and reputation of a faithful and discerning shepherd, a courageous Christian statesman, and my beloved brother in Christ, Tom.

I’m incredulous that God gave these four men the perfect example of how not to handle disagreements with others – gift wrapped with a bow on top, and placed right in their very hands only a year prior – and for inexplicable and unfathomable reasons and motives, they went right ahead and did almost the exact same thing anyway.

I’m frustrated, exasperated, and offended that G3 has so rudely jilted all of us who loved, recommended, and supported them with our time, energy, influence, and, collectively, hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years, without so much as a “Dear John” letter. We’ve been ghosted, y’all.

I’m frustrated, exasperated, and offended that G3 has so rudely jilted all of us who loved, recommended, and supported them, without so much as a “Dear John” letter. We’ve been ghosted, y’all.

Where do we go from here as followers of and participants in G3’s ministry events and resources?

Don’t support G3. In any way. Do not give them one more word of support, one more second of your time, one more cent of your money.

  • If you’ve already registered for the 2027 national conference, cancel your reservations.
  • Don’t order any more G3 books or materials.
  • If it turns out that one or more of the elders are “Ministry X” that is acquiring G3+, cancel your subscription.
  • Because Scott Aniol plays a major part, practically and theologically, in Living Heritage, you may wish to consider whether or not to continue using the LH curriculum.

And whatever you do, don’t feel sorry for or defend these seemingly unrepentant men. Supporting G3, or the elders responsible for this sin, in any way, is doing them a disservice. People who do not feel the pain of the consequences of sin do not repent. Paradoxically, if you want to help these men, stop supporting G3.

People who do not feel the pain of the consequences of sin do not repent. Paradoxically, if you want to help them, stop supporting G3.

Pray. Pray that the Lord would sustain and help Tom, his family, and his church to heal from this ordeal, and to come out on the other side stronger for it. Pray that if the four elders are not genuinely repentant, that God would make them so, and that they would bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Pray for their wives, children, and families who most likely didn’t know about any of this and didn’t ask for any of this. Pray for the staff members at G3 who were not involved in this scandal. They’ve almost certainly just lost their jobs with zero notice. Pray for the deacons and members of PMBC. Can you imagine your church suddenly and immediately losing your pastor and all of your elders to a sinful situation like this? Who’s going to lead the church? Who’s going to preach? What is going on? Why were we blindsided with all of this? Who can we trust now? Pray for yourself, that the Lord would help you think and respond biblically to this situation.

Don’t lose your sense of trust. Don’t allow this scandal to be a reason or an excuse for sinfully building a wall around yourself and deciding that no one in Christian leadership – including your pastor and church leadership – can be trusted. To believe that lie is to believe the same Devil that influenced the PMBC elders to sin.

Your ultimate trust should be in Christ. No human being should receive the trust God has given you that is reserved for Him alone. But there are trustworthy – not perfect – but blameless, upright, and trustworthy people in Christian ministry and leadership in the local church and in greater evangelicalism.

You can’t live your life refusing to trust anyone. God didn’t design us to function that way.

Don’t abandon the local church. In the same way that you can’t allow this scandal to convince you not to trust people, you can’t use it as a reason or an excuse to abandon the local church altogether. That is sinful, and, furthermore, it indicates that you aren’t genuinely saved.

(Sadly, in this day and age, you will probably have to leave a particular local church at some point due to its embrace of false teachers, unrepentant sin by the leadership, or some other legitimate biblical issue. Leaving a church for biblical reasons – after doing your best to work things out – and finding a new, doctrinally sound church is not the same thing as abandoning the idea of church altogether.)

Give your heart and your loyalty primarily to your local church. God’s plan for the teaching and preaching of the Word, for fellowship, for doing the “one anothers,” for serving, giving, counseling, discipleship, and your sanctification, is the local church, not parachurch ministries (incuding mine). Don’t pour your heart out promiscuously to any and every parachurch ministry that comes along, or even to one favorite ministry. Pour your heart, your love, your service, dedication, and loyalty into the church you’re a member of, and keep your focus there. That’s God’s plan and design for Christians.

Pour your heart, your love, your service, dedication, and loyalty into the church you’re a member of, and keep your focus there. That’s God’s plan and design for Christians.

Learn. David’s adultery. Noah’s drunkenness. Solomon’s idolatry. Judas’ betrayal. And G3’s scandal. One of the reasons God pulls back the curtain – in the Bible and today – and allows us to see people blowing their lives up with sin is to warn us of the consequences we’ll reap from our own sin, and so that we might learn not to repeat the sins of others. Take the free advice God gave the PMBC elders. They spurned it. You learn it. Or you just might be the next example God allows others to learn from.

Your sin will find you out. You might sin and get away with it or keep it a secret, but it’s unlikely. Most of us aren’t criminal masterminds when it comes to covering our tracks. You want to avoid the fallout these elders are experiencing? Don’t sin. And if you do sin, stop it immediately and repent. Forget about the earthly consequences with human beings – God knows what you did. And that should scare the living daylights out of you.

Repent rightly. As you’ve read in some of the articles above, the elders did not repent right. You must rightly understand and meditate on what Scripture says about your particular sin. Realize that your sin nailed Christ to the cross. He took the punishment you deserved for it. Stand broken, undone, and without excuse before God, confess everything without reservation, and ask Him to cleanse you. Then ask Him to give you the wisdom, courage, and love for Him and the people you’ve sinned against to thoroughly and rightly repent to them, ask their forgiveness, and make restitution, if possible. Do everything in your power to make things right with them.

As for me, I’m going to join you in doing all of the above. I’ll also be removing all G3 links from the blog. I’ve already removed the G3 Church Network from my list of church search engines at my church finder resource – the Searching for a new church? tab (in the blue menu bar at the top of this page).

If your church was listed at the G3 Church Network and would like to find a new place to list, I would be glad to consider it
for inclusion on my list of recommended churches.

If your church was listed at the G3 Church Network and would like to find a new place to list, I would be glad to consider it for inclusion on my list of recommended churches.

Removing all the G3 links from the last 10-12 years of blogging is a daunting prospect, but it will have to be done, if for no other reason than the fact that the G3 website has been shut down and the links will only take you to a “404 error” page. I will have to remove links gradually, as I come across them, so thank you in advance for your patience. If you’re reading one of my articles and come across a link to a G3 resource (or any other problematic link, for that matter), I’d be most grateful if you’d drop me a comment, DM, or email alerting me to it so I can remove or replace it.

If the Lord permits, Amy and I will also be addressing the G3 scandal – from a biblical perspective, as always – on at least two upcoming episodes of A Word Fitly Spoken in the near future.

I’m tired, y’all. I’m powerful tired.

And I know you are, too.

But the Lord is good.

Steal away with Him and meditate on His goodness. Lose yourself in the wonder of His Word. Commune with Him in sweet hours of prayer. Throw your head back and sing to Him with all your might in worship.

And get a good night’s sleep.

Because another battle’s coming tomorrow.

Press on.

Brothers, I do not consider myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14
Church, Sin

Dis. Grace.: Responding Biblically to Church Scandal

Michelle Lesley

Originally published June 30, 2015

The last time I re-ran this article was in September of 2024 (only about eight months ago), when Steve Lawson was caught in sin. Today, I’m re-running it because another well known pastor, and president of G3 Ministries, Josh Buice, has been caught in sin. As Josh is under church discipline, I have removed him from my list of recommended pastors and teachers. G3 itself is still a trustworthy ministry, and my hearty recommendation of it continues. Please read the statement from G3 here.

If you are registered for the G3 Women’s Expository Teaching Workshop at the end of May, any of the other workshops, or the national conference this fall, please check the email address you registered with for further information on your registration. I’m so sorry I won’t get to see those of you who were going to be at the women’s workshop.

I’m going to take the rest of this week off from blogging, not just due to this, but primarily due to some other things I’ve got going on as well (mostly good things🙂).

Please keep G3 Ministries and Prays Mill Baptist Church (Josh’s church) in your prayers as they navigate this difficult time.

It happened again last week. Another scandal. Another high profile pastor stepping down from the ministry in disgrace. Another family broken. Another church stunned and bereft.

And it’s not just the money grubbing televangelists anymore, either. This was one of the theological good guys. Sadly, pastors and Christian leaders – both those in the public eye and those right around the corner – seem to be dropping like flies these days. Adultery. Financial sin. Pornography. Abuse. Fraud. The list of sinful behavior goes on and on, leaving a wake of destruction in its path and giving Christ and His bride a black eye in the process.

So, what is the biblical response to scandals like these for Joe and Jane Christian? We view the situation through the lenses of Romans 8:28:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

How can God use this scandal, awful as it is, for my good and the good of my brothers and sisters in Christ? It’s an opportunity to learn, teach, and minister in so many ways:

Fully grasp the destructive power of sin…

Imagine the agony the pastor’s sin is creating in so many lives. What must his wife be going through? His children? His church? What about his own relationship with God? What about the lost people he was trying to win to Christ? What about the fact that his career may be over and he may lose his house?

It’s been said that sin destroys completely and completely destroys. It’s a good time to reflect on the fact that sin is not something to be trifled with. Count the cost. Would it be worth it to you to commit the same sin in your own life?

It’s been said that sin destroys completely and completely destroys. It’s a good time to reflect on the fact that sin is not something to be trifled with.

Realize your need for Christ…

“There, but for the grace of God, go I.” “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12) “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’re better or holier than the person who sinned, therefore, you would never do what he did. Instead, let his sin push you towards the cross, realizing that you’re just as weak and susceptible to temptation as he is. Let it amp up your prayer life and drive you to cling to Christ and His word lest you fall into sin.

Let his sin push you towards the cross, realizing that you’re just as weak and susceptible to temptation as he is.

Dive into God’s word…

What does the Bible say about the sin in question? Learn what God’s word says. Apply it to your life, your work, or your marriage. Teach it to your children. Share it with those in your circle of influence. Build up your brothers and sisters in Christ so they might stand firm against temptation.

Implement safeguards…

People don’t just wake up one day and decide to commit adultery or embezzlement or whatever. Every sin starts with a wayward thought, which, when left unchecked (or entertained), snowballs into action. What could the scandalized pastor have done, practically, to prevent his sin? What are some concrete, proactive steps you can take to guard against sin in your life? Maybe your husband should hold the credit cards or you should cut ties with that certain male friend. Don’t wait for sin to find you. Build some walls before it arrives.

Use the scandal as a springboard for prayer…

Pray for those involved in the scandal. Ask God to protect you, your husband, and your loved ones from that particular sin. Realize that your own pastor and church staff are tempted to sin every day, pray for them regularly, and let them know you’re praying for them.

Practice the Golden Rule…

What if you were the one who sinned? How would you want people to talk about and treat you and your family? Call a sin a sin, but let’s remember, when it comes to scandals, to watch our words and actions, and treat others the way we would want to be treated.

Use the scandal as an opportunity to share the gospel…

Inevitably, some lost people will see pastoral sin as one more candle in their “Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites” cake. Don’t be embarrassed if an unbeliever approaches you with this line of fire (and whatever you do, don’t try to make light of or justify the pastor’s sin). Own it. Admit it. “You’re right. This guy sinned. He needs to repent and be forgiven by Christ. He needs to make things right with the people around him. Just like me. Just like you. By the way, Christ was crucified for sinners like him and me and you. Have you ever repented of your own sin and trusted in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as the payment for your sin? Mind if I tell you how?”

Repent and Forgive…

It’s hurtful when someone you trust and look up to lets you down. But because we’re sinful humans living in a broken world, it’s going to happen. The pastor who sinned needs to repent. When he does, the people around him need to forgive, even though there will probably still be disciplinary consequences to his actions. Is there sin in your life that you need to repent of and face the consequences for? Is there someone who has sinned against you that you need to forgive? God extends the grace of forgiveness to repentant sinners and the grace to forgive to their victims. Repent. Forgive.

 

Scandals among Christian leaders are heartbreaking, disappointing, embarrassing. But the God who sent His only Son to the cross to turn sinners into saints has a wonderful way of taking offenses and turning them into opportunities for His kingdom.

Scandals among Christian leaders are heartbreaking. But the God who sent His only Son to the cross to turn sinners into saints has a wonderful way of taking offenses and turning them into opportunities for His kingdom.

Additional Resources

Pastoral Propriety with Church Ladies, and 7 Ways Women Can Help

Sin Feels Like Death, Because it Is by Amy Spreeman

“Disqualified”: What it means and how a pastor gets there at The Cripplegate

Church, Sin

Dis. Grace.: Responding Biblically to Church Scandal

Michelle Lesley

Originally published June 30, 2015

In light of the recent news about Steve Lawson, I thought it might be helpful to re-run this article. I will be removing Dr. Lawson from my list of recommended Bible teachers forthwith.

No, this is not a rumor. No, nothing has been hacked. Yes, this has been confirmed by (and was announced by) his own church. Sadly, it is true.:

It happened again last week. Another scandal. Another high profile pastor stepping down from the ministry in disgrace. Another family broken. Another church stunned and bereft.

And it’s not just the money grubbing televangelists anymore, either. This was one of the theological good guys. Sadly, pastors and Christian leaders – both those in the public eye and those right around the corner – seem to be dropping like flies these days. Adultery. Financial sin. Pornography. Abuse. Fraud. The list of sinful behavior goes on and on, leaving a wake of destruction in its path and giving Christ and His bride a black eye in the process.

So, what is the biblical response to scandals like these for Joe and Jane Christian? We view the situation through the lenses of Romans 8:28:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

How can God use this scandal, awful as it is, for my good and the good of my brothers and sisters in Christ? It’s an opportunity to learn, teach, and minister in so many ways:

Fully grasp the destructive power of sin…

Imagine the agony the pastor’s sin is creating in so many lives. What must his wife be going through? His children? His church? What about his own relationship with God? What about the lost people he was trying to win to Christ? What about the fact that his career may be over and he may lose his house?

It’s been said that sin destroys completely and completely destroys. It’s a good time to reflect on the fact that sin is not something to be trifled with. Count the cost. Would it be worth it to you to commit the same sin in your own life?

Realize your need for Christ…

“There, but for the grace of God, go I.” “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12) “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’re better or holier than the person who sinned, therefore, you would never do what he did. Instead, let his sin push you towards the cross, realizing that you’re just as weak and susceptible to temptation as he is. Let it amp up your prayer life and drive you to cling to Christ and His word lest you fall into sin.

Dive into God’s word…

What does the Bible say about the sin in question? Learn what God’s word says. Apply it to your life, your work, or your marriage. Teach it to your children. Share it with those in your circle of influence. Build up your brothers and sisters in Christ so they might stand firm against temptation.

Implement safeguards…

People don’t just wake up one day and decide to commit adultery or embezzlement or whatever. Every sin starts with a wayward thought, which, when left unchecked (or entertained), snowballs into action. What could the scandalized pastor have done, practically, to prevent his sin? What are some concrete, proactive steps you can take to guard against sin in your life? Maybe your husband should hold the credit cards or you should cut ties with that certain male friend. Don’t wait for sin to find you. Build some walls before it arrives.

Use the scandal as a springboard for prayer…

Pray for those involved in the scandal. Ask God to protect you, your husband, and your loved ones from that particular sin. Realize that your own pastor and church staff are tempted to sin every day, pray for them regularly, and let them know you’re praying for them.

Practice the Golden Rule…

What if you were the one who sinned? How would you want people to talk about and treat you and your family? Call a sin a sin, but let’s remember, when it comes to scandals, to watch our words and actions, and treat others the way we would want to be treated.

Use the scandal as an opportunity to share the gospel…

Inevitably, some lost people will see pastoral sin as one more candle in their “Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites” cake. Don’t be embarrassed if an unbeliever approaches you with this line of fire (and whatever you do, don’t try to make light of or justify the pastor’s sin). Own it. Admit it. “You’re right. This guy sinned. He needs to repent and be forgiven by Christ. He needs to make things right with the people around him. Just like me. Just like you. By the way, Christ was crucified for sinners like him and me and you. Have you ever repented of your own sin and trusted in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as the payment for your sin? Mind if I tell you how?”

Repent and Forgive…

It’s hurtful when someone you trust and look up to lets you down. But because we’re sinful humans living in a broken world, it’s going to happen. The pastor who sinned needs to repent. When he does, the people around him need to forgive, even though there will probably still be disciplinary consequences to his actions. Is there sin in your life that you need to repent of and face the consequences for? Is there someone who has sinned against you that you need to forgive? God extends the grace of forgiveness to repentant sinners and the grace to forgive to their victims. Repent. Forgive.

 

Scandals among Christian leaders are heartbreaking, disappointing, embarrassing. But the God who sent His only Son to the cross to turn sinners into saints has a wonderful way of taking offenses and turning them into opportunities for His kingdom.

Scandals among Christian leaders are heartbreaking. But the God who sent His only Son to the cross to turn sinners into saints has a wonderful way of taking offenses and turning them into opportunities for His kingdom.

Forgiveness, Mailbag

The Mailbag: Can unforgiveness cause you to you lose your salvation?

Michelle Lesley

Can unforgiveness cause me to lose my salvation?

Forgiving (or refusing to forgive) others as it relates to our salvation is such an important issue. I’m so glad you asked!

Let’s break this question down a bit.

Can you lose your salvation?

The first thing we need to tackle is whether or not someone Christ has genuinely saved can lose her salvation – for unforgiveness or any other reason. And the answer to that question is no.

Why? The short answer is that if God saves someone, and that person can subsequently “unsave” herself, that makes her more powerful than God, which, as we know, can’t happen. You can’t save yourself, and you can’t unsave yourself. Salvation is all of God.

You can’t save yourself, and you can’t unsave yourself. Salvation is all of God.

When God saves you, you are His new creation in Christ. You can’t “uncreate” your new spiritual life any more than you can “uncreate” your body, or a tree, or a planet. You can kill or do damage to those things, but you cannot reverse God’s creative process. To use another example, oh so relevant to today, God created you female. You can mutilate your body til kingdom come trying to appear male, but that will not change the fact that at your genetic level – the very essence of your being – you are female. And you can’t undo that because God created you that way, and you’re not more powerful than God. If you can’t even change God’s creation of your physical body, how in the world can you change God’s creation of your spiritual being?

The moment God saves you, He forgives all your sins, past, present, and future, and robes you in the righteousness of Christ.

In addition to the fact that you can’t uncreate the new creature God has created you to be, you need to remember that the moment God saves you, He forgives all your sins, past, present, and future, and robes you in the righteousness of Christ. That swear word you’re going to say next week? Already forgiven. That lie you’re going to tell five years from now? Already forgiven. And if you decide to commit the sin of refusing to forgive someone, that sin has already been forgiven too. (So since all our sins are already forgiven, we can just commit as much sin as we want and we don’t have to worry about it, right? Wrong.) We still need to confess those sins to God and be cleansed from them because they disrupt our fellowship with God, but in His accounting office, that sin debt has already been marked “paid in full”.

Furthermore, Jesus tells us plainly that if He’s got you, He’s got you:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

No one. That includes you and your sin. The power of your sin is not greater than God’s power to forgive that sin.

The power of your sin is not greater than God’s power to forgive that sin.

They will never perish. To say that a person about which Jesus Himself has said, “I give them eternal life,” can lose her salvation is to call Jesus a liar. He says that person “will never perish.” End of story.

Still not convinced that someone whom Christ has genuinely saved can’t lose her salvation? Try these passages on for size.

Now the reason it can look to us like someone can lose her salvation comes from two places: experience and misunderstanding the Bible.

The reason it can look to us like someone can lose her salvation comes from two places: experience and misunderstanding the Bible.

Experience:
It’s happened plenty of times in the past, but in the last few weeks, we’ve seen two high profile evangelicals “walk away from the faith,”: Joshua Harris and Marty Sampson. Maybe you know someone personally – a friend, a loved one, even a pastor – who gave every appearance of being a Christian and then suddenly left Christianity, and the church, behind.

How does this compute when the Bible teaches that genuinely born again Christians cannot lose their salvation? Well, we need to remember something else the Bible teaches that’s very important:

Not everyone who claims to be a Christian actually is one.

Some people consciously know they’re not really saved and are just trying to pull the wool over the eyes of others. But many (my guess is “most” – these days there’s not a lot of social cachet in calling yourself a Christian) are deceived into believing they’re saved. Maybe they heard some sort of unbiblical gospel presentation and have put their faith in a decision they made in response. Maybe they just assume they’re saved because they’re good church-going people and their church doesn’t teach them otherwise. Who knows? It could be a lot of things. But we know for sure that there are many people who call themselves Christians and believe they are Christians who aren’t. Why? Because the Bible says so:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Matthew 7:21-23

“Many will say”…False converts are common, not few and far between. And it’s not just your average Joe or Jane in the pew, either. People who “prophesy…cast out demons…do mighty works” under the auspices of Christianity? They’re pastors, elders, deacons, Bible study teachers, seminary professors, “Christian” authors, evangelical celebrities. And Christ does not know them, because they don’t know Him. They talk the talk, and might even look like they walk the walk, but they’ve never truly believed the biblical gospel, repented of their sin, and trusted the Jesus of Scripture to save them. First John 2:18-19 puts it this way:

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.

People Jesus has genuinely saved may fall into sin for a season, but they do not fall away from the faith. Those who leave the faith were never part of it in the first place, despite appearances or their claims to the contrary. It might be difficult, but this is one of those occasions when we have to believe what Scripture says over what we can see.

Those who leave the faith were never part of it in the first place, despite appearances or their claims to the contrary.

Jesus also tells us in the parable of the sower that there will be be “rocky ground” folks who will appear to be Christians, but because they have no root, they “endure for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the Word, immediately they fall away.” Jesus follows up this parable with the parable of the wheat and tares which further drives home His point that there will be impostors in the visible church.

So even though we observe people who appear to be Christians “falling away from the faith,” through unforgiveness or any other sin, we know that what’s really happening is that a lost person got tired of pretending to be saved and went back to being a lost person. Second Peter 2:22 puts it this way:

What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

If Christ has never fundamentally changed your spiritual nature from dog or pig into a new creature in Christ, you’re still a dog or a pig. And even if you manage to clean up on the outside you’ll eventually return to the vomit of being a dog and the mud of being a pig because that’s your nature.

Misunderstood Scripture
There are passages in the Bible that, when misunderstood, when taken out of their immediate context, or when taken out of the overall context of Scripture can seem to teach that a person can lose her salvation. But as we’ve seen, there are way too many rightly handled, in context passages of Scripture that refute that idea, and we know God does not contradict Himself.

Can you lose your salvation by refusing to forgive someone?

You mentioned in your original question that you believe unforgiveness can cause someone to lose her salvation because, “It is so clear in so many ways in Scripture, even parables that Jesus told.” But, you did not mention any of the Scriptures you think teach this. My guess is that one of the Scriptures you’re thinking of is Matthew 6:14-15:

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

In context, we can see that these two verses come at the end of the Lord’s Prayer. In verse 12, Jesus has just taught us to pray that God would “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,” and He’s giving us a little addendum on this in 14-15.

Remember, even though all our sins from birth to death were forgiven at the moment of our salvation, we still need to confess our sins in prayer and ask God to cleanse us from our wrongdoing to bring us back into right fellowship with Him. But if you’re willfully in the middle of committing the sin of unforgiveness against someone, you’re still actively sinning. You haven’t turned from that sin in order to be cleansed. You’re essentially rolling around in the mud and asking God to cleanse you while you have no intention of getting out of the mud. How is that supposed to work? It doesn’t make any sense. If you want to get cleaned up (“forgiven”), you have to get out of the mud (stop committing the sin of unforgiveness – “forgive”). Otherwise, you’re asking God to restore the fellowship you’re still actively damaging with your sin.

Another passage you might be thinking of is the parable of the unforgiving servant. The takeaway from this passage is not that God will rescind the salvation of Christians who commit the sin of unforgiveness. This passage doesn’t say that and we already know that idea conflicts with what Scripture teaches about the security of the Believer.

The takeaway from this passage is that God has forgiven us a sin debt that is incomprehensible. Knowing and having experienced that forgiveness, how could we not forgive some paltry little sin another human commits against us? First John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us,” and the way He loved us was to forgive us our sin. So we also forgive because He first forgave us. And if we can giddily and unrepentantly harbor unforgiveness in our hearts against someone else, we’d better start testing ourselves against Scripture to see if we’re really in the faith. Because that kind of unforgiveness is not the fruit of a redeemed life, it’s the fruit of someone who’s unsaved.

No, a genuinely regenerated Christian cannot lose her salvation by committing the sin of unforgiveness. But if she is genuinely regenerated, she will repent of that sin and forgive.

A genuinely regenerated Christian cannot lose her salvation by committing the sin of unforgiveness. But if she *is* genuinely regenerated, she will repent of that sin and forgive.

Additional Resources:

Walking Away from Faith? at A Word Fitly Spoken Podcast

The Mailbag: Must I reconcile with my abusive ex-husband?

Forgiving Like Kings and Servants

You Can’t Love Jesus with a Heart Full of Hate: 7 Reasons to Love and Forgive Your Enemies

Am I Really Saved? A 1 John Check Up

If you have a question about: a Bible passage, an aspect of theology, a current issue in Christianity, or how to biblically handle a family, life, or church situation, comment below (I’ll hold all questions in queue {unpublished} for a future edition of The Mailbag) or send me an e-mail or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.

Random Ramblings Ruminations Resources

Random Ramblings, Ruminations, and Resources

Michelle Lesley

A couple of months ago, I “beta tested” a new feature here at the blog, which I alliteratively titled Random Ramblings, Ruminations, and Resources. People seemed to like it … or … at least the majority of readers didn’t seem to hate it too much. So I decided to bring it back every once in a while when I’m feelin’ it.

I’m feelin’ it today. Buckle up, Buttercup. 

I’m Sorry…

I need to kick things off with an apology. God has graciously seen fit to convict me that my tone has been too harsh in some of my articles recently, particularly in the first part of this article. If you’ve ever been offended or hurt by the tone of that or any of my other articles or remarks I’ve made on social media, I wanted to say I’m sorry and to humbly ask your forgiveness.

And even if you weren’t offended or hurt, I know where my heart was as I was writing that article and the tweet it was based on, and I know it wasn’t right. I failed to exercise self-control and selfishly spewed my emotions in a way that was designed only to vent my own frustration and get it out of my system (which was pretty hypocritical since I was writing that we shouldn’t be slaves to our feelings!). I wasn’t even thinking about how a new Christian, someone going through a difficult time, or someone weak in the faith might have taken the tone in which I was saying those things. Romans 15:1 says:

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

Well, I don’t consider myself all that strong, but I guess each of us is stronger in the faith or in a stronger position of life circumstances than somebody. And for those who are weaker in the faith than I am, or walking through a time of pain or discouragement, I did the exact opposite of what this verse says to do. I pleased myself at your expense, and that’s not what someone who serves you in the name of Christ is supposed to do. So, again, my deepest apologies and I hope you’ll be able to forgive me.

If you’re so inclined, I would like to ask you to pray for me about this. Tone is an extremely difficult and confusing sea to navigate, at least for me (that’s one of the many areas in which I’m weak). It is important to speak biblical truth firmly, unequivocally, and unapologetically, but some Christians see that, in and of itself, as being harsh. It’s also important to demonstrate gentleness, kindness, and compassion, but other Christians see that as being wishy-washy or not standing firm on Scripture. I have written articles to which some have responded that I was too harsh and others have responded that I wasn’t harsh enough – to the same article! Add to that the fact that Jesus, Paul, and others in Scripture sometimes used phraseology that we would consider very harsh today…..but yet Paul says, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” And, add to that that there are different expectations in the evangelical mind of how women are to address things versus how men are to address things, and you can see what a fine and perplexing line it can be to walk. But I really, really want to get it right in God’s eyes, because I want to please Him.

I can’t promise my tone will never offend you again. That would be foolish. I have over 11,000 blog subscribers and over 10,000 social media followers. Everything I write is going to offend somebody, even if I don’t mean it to. Also, I know my heart, so I know I’m going to sin again by being selfish and uncontrolled. Furthermore, I can’t attempt to please everyone. That’s not only an exercise in futility, it’s unbiblical. What I can tell you is that I will do my best to think more about how I’m coming across, edit more to keep my own words, approach, and personality from becoming a stumbling block, and pray more as I write, asking God to grow me in wisdom and self-control, in order to honor, and be pleasing to, Him.

About five years ago, I wrote an article called Sacrificing Truth on the Altar of Tone. While it’s incumbent on us as readers and listeners to be able to put tone aside in order to discern whether or not what the speaker or writer is saying is true, it is also incumbent upon those of us who speak and write not to burden our hearers and readers with the necessity of doing so.

Thanks so much for your prayers as I pursue obedience to Christ in this area of my life. You are such a blessing to me, and I love and appreciate each of you.

Fill it Filled to the Rim

Didja hear? I’m doing a women’s conference with the ever-awesome Amy Spreeman at the end of March. It’s free, including a couple of meals, and it’s in Princeton, Illinois.

(In case you were wondering, that’s not where Princeton University, former home of Jonathan Edwards, is located. That’s in Princeton, New Jersey. I know this because I was wondering about it, too, and had to look it up.)

If you’re still trying to make up your mind about whether or not to come, lemme help you: come. And you need to hurry up and register too. Last week the event planners said they were already at 83% capacity (one of them must have been a math major!).

Here’s all the info. Be sure to check out the app and other links for resources on accommodations.

Illinois is too far away? Being from Louisiana, I get that. Look, plan your own conference, and I’ll come to you. “Impossible!” you say, “I go to a tiny church with an even tinier budget!”. Get together with a couple of sister churches to share expenses. Do a bake sale or a garage sale or crowdfunding. Take up a love offering and/or sell tickets at a modest fee. If you’re at all able, offer a doctrinally sound conference option to the women of your church and community. Christ’s ewe lambs are hungry for truth.

UPDATE: As I go to press, this conference is at capacity (“sold out”). If the organizers are able to open up any more spots, I’ll let you know. Also, if you’ve already registered and end up not being able to attend, please contact Princeton Bible Church and let them know so they can give your spot to someone else.

Scandal in the SBC

By now you’ve probably read the Houston Chronicle article that came out last weekend: Abuse of Faith: 20 years, 700 victims: Southern Baptist sexual abuse spreads as leaders resist reforms. If you haven’t, you should, regardless of whether or not you’re Southern Baptist. But, maybe especially if you are. It’s horrifying. And the way some have responded to victims over the years is downright disgusting.

Unless God leads me differently, it’s currently my plan to write an article about this, but I wanted to take the time to give it plenty of thought and prayer. In the meantime, I commend to you this stellar article by Tom Ascol: Southern Baptists, Sexual Abuse, and a Far More Serious Problem. It covers a couple of points that I had already rough drafted into my own article before I read his. (So, when you read mine later, just know – it’s not plagiarism, it’s two like-minded Christians drawing the same conclusions.)

This also seems an appropriate time to share this vlog with you explaining how I decide which kinds of evangelical current events to write about, and when, and which I don’t, and why:

And Speaking of Scandals…

This has been in the hopper waiting for me to write about it since the last high profile pastor “fell from grace” (I actually can’t stand that expression. If you’re saved, you’re “in grace” and you can’t fall from it, and if you’re not saved, you’re not “in grace” so you can’t fall from it. It makes no biblical sense. But, I digress…). And, with the recent news of Harvest Bible Chapel firing James MacDonald after years and years of spiritual and financial abuses, I was reminded of it again.

There’s a dynamic that happens on social media that you see nearly every time something like this happens. A Christian celebrity falls and other Christians re-post the news story and/or comment about it. In the circles I run in, the comments are usually

biblically appropriate (“This is so sad,” “We need to pray for his family,” etc.). But there will always be someone who will comment to the effect of: “Why is everybody commenting and re-posting about this event? How can it possibly be fruitful or necessary to share this information?” It’s not that people are commenting unkindly, but that people are sharing this information at all that bothers this person.

There’s probably an extent to which this person is right, and you can share or not share as your conscience dictates, and I’ll admit that there have been times when an event has been so over-shared that I grew weary of the dead horse being beaten. But God has very good purposes in sinful events coming to light. And He demonstrates this Himself in Scripture.

God could have omitted from Scripture every sin, failure, and foible committed by every Bible character, and we would never have heard about them. But He graciously pulls back the veil and lets us see some of them. Why? For His glory and our good. And the same could be said about the public availability of information about the sins of today’s high-profile Christians:

💡 These stories, both in the Bible and in yesterday’s newspaper, allow us to learn, and develop a holy fear of the consequences of sin without having to go through it ourselves. “Stay home from the war and seduce my neighbor’s wife? Um, no thanks. Look how that turned out for David. I’ll just avoid that altogether.”

💡 These stories emphasize to those in leadership that they must walk circumspectly because the world, and the church, are watching them. There is a heavy price to pay for setting a bad example.

💡 These stories are a reminder that we cannot hide our sin.

💡 These stories are a call to pray for everyone involved in the situation. You cannot pray about what you do not know about.

💡 When churches and other Christian organizations properly handle a sinful situation, it is a testimony to the world that the church is not “full of hypocrites” – that there are Christians who strive for holiness and obedience to God. It sets us apart from the world, and from “CINOs” (Christians In Name Only).

💡 When the high-profile Christian repents and submits to church discipline, it paints a picture for the watching world of the way sin is supposed to be dealt with by the individual, and the way God and the church deal with sin in grace, mercy, forgiveness, and restoration. It can be a testimony of the gospel.

On “Dating” your Daughter…

There are a lot of great, godly dads out there. I love hearing them talk about leading their families in worship, talking about their love, hopes and dreams for their kids, and seeing them spend time with their children doing special activities. All of those things are absolutely awesome, and more dads should be doing them.

So maybe it’s just me (it wouldn’t be the first time), but it’s a bit disquieting when I hear men label spending time with their little girls as “daddy-daughter date night” and doing things like bringing them flowers and candy, ringing the doorbell to “pick them up” for the date, dressing up as if for the prom, etc.

Listen, it’s not a sin, and the guys I know and love who do these things are doing them for all the right reasons. And, if they want to keep on using the “dating” terminology and motif, more power to them – they won’t hear a peep from me and I will still have the utmost respect for them as godly men and godly fathers.

But if I could just throw out some food for thought…

♥ There is a difference between a father’s role and fatherly love and a (potential) husband’s role and romantic love. Are we blurring the lines and confusing our daughters when Dad mimics boyfriend? Could we, instead, make sure those lines are clearly defined and teach our daughters (and sons) the beauty and goodness of the two different roles and types of love?

♥ We want our children to be safe from predators. If we introduce and normalize the idea that it’s good and godly for an adult man to engage in behaviors with a child that are usually associated with romantic love, is it possible that we could unwittingly be making it harder for our daughters to recognize when a predator is attempting to groom them?

♥ If we have both sons and daughters, how is this affecting our sons? Are they getting the impression that their sisters are more special and loved by Dad than they are?

♥ How is this affecting the relationship between mother and daughter? Is Dad showing as much attention to Mom as he is to daughter? Is there potential for any undercurrent of rivalry or jealousy for Dad’s attention to develop between Mom and daughter? Could the daughter come to see herself as being on equal footing with Mom instead of submissive to her authority?

♥ Why is the “dating” terminology and motif necessary? Is there a biblical or practical reason why simply spending time with your daughter – whether it’s at home or even on a special outing to a restaurant, movie, etc. – without calling it a “date” or acting like it’s a “date” isn’t good enough?

♥ If the purpose of “dating” your daughter is to demonstrate how her future husband should treat her, what happens when she grows up, gets married, and her good and godly husband is just kind of inept when it comes to “date night”? Have we not created an opportunity for her to unfairly compare him to Dad, find him lacking, and resent him?

♥ If the purpose of “dating” your daughter is to demonstrate how a husband should treat his wife, couldn’t we be confusing our children by putting Dad in the role of the daughter’s “husband”? “I’m not his wife, I’m his daughter,” she could think, “so why is he acting like my ‘husband’?” Would it not make more sense to model for our children how a husband is to treat his wife by Dad treating his actual wife in a godly way?

Children are very impressionable and – if you remember back to your own childhood – highly susceptible to misunderstanding things and believing things that aren’t accurate. I’m just wondering if maybe we need to think through this whole “daddy-daughter date night” thing a bit more deeply.