The fall of another pastor means the agony of another church, as yet another community of Christians grapples with the fallout of their pastor’s great sin. The fall of another husband means the agony of another wife, as she bears the weight of her husband’s immorality. The fall of another leader means the disquiet of another group of admirers, as they deal with the fall of a man they looked up to.

Acouple of weeks ago we received the news that another—yet another—well-known and highly-admired pastor had been removed from ministry after his elders learned he was involved in an extra-marital affair. Such incidents are all too common, though I suspect the frequency is related as much to the shrinking of the world as any great explosion of immorality. The internet allows us to find affinity with a greater number of people and, in the same way, allows us knowledge of a greater number of sinners, hypocrites, and imposters.

The fall of another pastor means the agony of another church, as yet another community of Christians grapples with the fallout of their pastor’s great sin. The fall of another husband means the agony of another wife, as she bears the weight of her husband’s immorality. The fall of another leader means the disquiet of another group of admirers, as they deal with the fall of a man they looked up to. If he was involved in such immorality, what did all his preaching really mean? If he was committing such sin, how much did his love really mean? If he was hiding such hypocrisy, what did his leadership really mean? The collapse of a minister and his ministry creates a great shockwave of destruction.

There’s a harsh reality behind the regular collapse of so many ministers: though many have been found out and caught in their sin, we know there are many more who have not yet been. There are many who are knee-deep in disqualifying transgressions, but their day of reckoning has not yet come. Not quite. But perhaps they would do well to reflect on the words of Moses in Numbers 32: “Be sure your sin will find you out.” Sin has a way of being found out. We can hide it for a while, but eventually, inevitably, it is made public. Really, sin wants to be found out because sin wants to have the last laugh! Sin is content to dwell in the darkness for a while, but its end goal is to be known so it can bring reproach upon the gospel.

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