First, the best thing that is coming out of the Mars Hill debacle is a discussion about accountability. If Christians require accountability within the church, pastors require at least a double measure of accountability. Genuine accountability is not found in para-church structures or corporate-style boards. Elders need to be accountable to one another in the church, and elderships need to be accountable to other elderships in ecclesiastical structures modeled on the New Testament.

No one could ever question his giftedness. From the very first he combined an incisive mind, brilliant communicative abilities, and a dynamic personality. Yet he was no pragmatist. He genuinely cared about right doctrine, and he energetically pursued both its study and its dissemination. As a young man he could have been the model for Bunyan’s young hero: Mr. Valiant-for-Truth.

As he preached, his evident talent quickly gained him a hearing, and at an early age he began a rise to prominence. In fact, it wasn’t long until others wanted to learn from him. Young men aspiring to the pulpit not only wanted to learn from him, they wanted to become him. His tics and mannerisms were copied, and soon his strengths and his weaknesses were reproduced in many churches. He became more than a pastor; he was the focal point of a new approach to ministry.

As his influence grew, the unique polity of American Independency could no longer govern him. As it became evident that his church’s reputation and standing depended on his personality, it was increasingly impossible for other officers in his church to exercise any counterweight to his influence. Eventually new polity was written to justify his prominence. Meanwhile, his church was not so much part of a denomination as it was the center of a movement. Membership in that movement was dependent on his own personal goodwill. Both church and movement were growing, so few could see the inherent cancer in their midst. But underneath the success there was a problem. If neither the church nor the movement could hold him accountable, who could?

Meanwhile, he was a Christian like every other Christian: a sinner redeemed but yet imperfect, being sanctified but not yet glorified. In the absence of accountability, sins run unchecked. Fellow leaders and even church members who differed with him were battered and discarded. Rumors of abuse began to percolate, and in time the swelling chorus of accusation. He responded with predictable anger. Sermons about ‘enemies’ and ‘gossip’ began to appear, then disappear as media teams attempted to squelch the uglier output of the ministry.

In time, some of his fellow officers could no longer stomach the abuse and the anger. They began to leave, sometimes voluntarily, other times kicked to the curb. But growth and progress made their departure easy to explain; they were branded as jealous, or bitter, or perhaps just unfit for office. New people were being added: new members and new officers. New churches were coming into the orbit. A narrative of success overwhelmed the voices calling for repentance.

But it couldn’t last. Eventually unsubstantiated rumor gave way to credible reports of ungodly conduct. Scandals multiplied, as scandals are wont to do. A growing number of concerned persons – some from within the church, some from the broader movement, and even some outside the movement – all recognized that something was terribly wrong. And yet no corrective action was taken.

He himself was unused to being corrected; from his youth he had been respected as a pastor of pastors. The officers around him now resided in a system in which his word was the polity of the church. They could support him or leave, and leaving meant abandoning exciting growth and energy. Meanwhile, those in the wider movement whose entire pastoral identity was based on being just like him could hardly bring themselves to oppose him. So nothing happened for a long time.

But of course scandal can’t be kept quiet forever.

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