While many have expressed sympathy for the fallen former church leaders, I believe that the Lord is much more concerned for the sheep who have been harmed by their former shepherds’ abandonment of Christ and His church. Woe to such false shepherds (Ezek. 34:2), who fed themselves by soaking up the adulation of the crowds and making a great deal of money with their high salaries, book sales, and honorariums (Ezek. 34:2-3, 8).

Many of us have been shaken by former church leaders who have fallen away, most recently Joshua Harris. Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp has been the “go-to” book to warn pastors and seminarians against living a double life which can lead to spiritual shipwreck. Yet three of the five men whose endorsements appear on the back cover have failed in their ministries in recent years. They were not heretics but were the evangelical/reformed superstars who were plenary speakers at our mega-conferences.  We bought, endorsed, and gave away their books. They powerfully and accurately preached the gospel. How could such a thing happen?

There are also less-publicized cases of professing Christians falling away. For example, the seemingly perfect home-school mom with seven children who abandons her marriage, her church, her faith, and even her children as she runs off to live with another woman. What caused her to turn away so radically?

Thankfully, God’s all-sufficient Word helps us to understand these tragic situations and warns us concerning ourselves and those we love.

1. It is possible for a false professor to rise to the top.

Some of the saddest accounts in Scripture are also the most helpful as we deal with hard situations. For example, Christians who have struggled with sexual sin find hope in David’s restoration after his fall (2 Sam. 11-12; Psalm 32; 51). For cases of apostasy, we have the tragic example of Judas. Judas was not merely one of the multitudes who followed Jesus or even merely one of the seventy whom Jesus sent out (Luke 10). He was one of the few chosen twelve apostles. Most likely, he preached and worked miracles when he was sent out with the others (Luke 9). When Jesus warned that one of them would betray Him, apparently the other apostles didn’t suspect him, saying to themselves, “Of course it must be Judas.”

In the same way, the fallen evangelical leaders preached and wrote powerfully. They rose above ordinary pastors to become plenary speakers and best-selling authors whose books were endorsed by the other “big names” in reformed evangelicalism.[1] Men can rise to the top and even be used of God while still being lost themselves. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practices lawlessness’” (Matt. 7:22-23).

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