It was a strange tweet to see yesterday morning.
“Welcome to the valley of the shadow of death….thank God grace reigns here”
I assumed that he or someone close to him had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and so I promptly tweeted a reply that sympathised and sought prayer for him. And then I read that Billy Graham’s grandson, Tullian Tchividjian, had resigned as the pastor of a Florida megachurch after admitting an adulterous relationship.
It was distressing news to wake up to. Tullian is the latest high-profile pastor in the US to fall from grace and find himself on the front pages for all the wrong reasons.
Tullian issued a statement saying that his wife had had an affair and that while he had taken a sabbatical to heal his marriage he had “sought comfort in a friend” and developed “an inappropriate relationship” himself. Kim, his wife, issued her own statement saying that her husband’s reflected his own views, not hers, and asked for respect for their family’s privacy.
It is a desperately sad situation, in many ways – not just for the family and all that is involved in the breakup of a marriage with three children, but also the collateral damage to the church and to the reputation of the gospel. “Oh no, not another one” is a common despairing reaction.
Tullian is the fourth megachurch pastor to resign in recent years in Florida alone, for what is usually called ‘an inappropriate relationship’ but biblically is just called ‘adultery’. Of course, many in the secular media and wider public love this kind of scandal – it allows them to luxuriate in sexual titillation and at the same time rejoice in charges of Christian hypocrisy.
The trouble is that Christians can fall into the temptation of schadenfreude too. I had had an interesting exchange with Tullian and his ‘Liberate’ ministry last year. Without really being aware of who he was, I had written a review of his book, One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World. It wasn’t entirely uncritical. Little did I know what it was like to step into the murky world of the American mega-church pastor. The congratulations from those who seemed to want to hang Tullian out to dry were matched only by the cries of those who saw me as some kind of right-wing legalist who had no idea of grace. To be fair, there were many who did not fit into either category but who were glad to get an outsider’s perspective. Sadly, the popularity of that article only served to indicate the truth of the truism that the best way to draw a crowd is to start a fight.
So you might expect a degree of schadenfreude from me. In that case you will be disappointed. I feel gutted and saddened at the whole situation. My critique of the book is not proved true by Tullian’s fall, any more than it would have been proven false by his continued ministry. Surely sorrow, discouragement and prayer can be the only appropriate responses for the Tchividjian family?
There are, however, surely some lessons that we can learn from the never-ending stream of failed ministries in the megachurches and Christian media circuit. It’s not enough just to repeat the usual talk about privacy, redemption and forgiveness and then to move on without having learned any lessons. If the fruit of the Spirit includes faithfulness, we need to ask why so many preachers of faith don’t show that and why so many advocates of grace end up denying the very grace that bought them.
One major concern is the way that the Church has come to reflect the culture – not just in matters of divorce, adultery and abuse, but also in other areas. There are honourable exceptions to this, but it seems that the American megachurch tends to reflect the American corporation, rather than the biblical concept of the church. Corporate churches tend to be run like corporations, with corporate boards, corporate facilities, consumer mentalities and corporate leaders with corporate salaries.
There is also the danger of trying to develop a brand mentality, finding a unique selling point that can then be marketed and sold. I’m sure that this is often done with the best of motivations, a genuine love for Christ and a desire to communicate the gospel, but it will always end up in disaster. I remember with horror being handed a glossy leaflet (also in Florida) with the word ‘Sonship’ having the copyright symbol after it. You can’t copyright sonship. You can’t brand and sell grace.
The trouble with the corporate model of church is that it leaves the CEOs (otherwise known as ‘senior pastors’) as a combination of business manager, advertising guru and celebrity personality. And that is a very lonely and isolating position. Maybe a return to a more biblical pattern of church, with elders and preachers as ‘under shepherds’ and answerable to the wider church, rather than the stakeholders (shareholders?) of the local corporate church entity, might provide a better context for accountable ministry.
I found it intriguing that although Coral Ridge is a Presbyterian Church of America congregation, it was reported that Paul Tripp, a well-known Christian author, was the man flown in to deal with the situation. Why? Why can’t local church elders and the local church presbytery not deal with the situation according to the normal rules and procedures they have? Celebrity discipline doesn’t really work. Are networks really better than ordinary churches?
Leaders will always have clay feet. But maybe churches should be real biblical churches, exercising church discipline and not just aping the corporate structures and celebrity leadership styles of the world around. Meanwhile let those who think they stand, beware in case they fall.
This article first appeared on The Christian Today website and can be read in full here
My earlier articles on Tullian can be read here:
And here –
https://theweeflea.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/an-open-letter-to-tullian-tchividjian-and-liberate/
Excellent posting David and unlike so many others a balanced one.
I wholeheartedly agree with what you say about the love of sexual titillation and Christian hypocrisy.
Just this week I have been reading Lutzers “Hitler’s Cross”. In it he considers the church in the time of the third riech by way of what can be learned about the church today, claiming that there is something within Christian culture in the USA where being a Christian means doing what feels good. Of course every culture is less than perfect, is not without sin.
Lutzer talks of the swastika being displayed alongside the cross initially and then the cross being replaced with the swastika, The bible being replaced with “Mein Kampf”, Christ being replaced with Hitler.
So – it would seem would it not that unless lessons are learned, what’s to stop the contemporary church form being lured int the elixir of celebrity culture and sidelining Christ and the bible? Plus ca change plus c’est la meme chose – the more things change the more they stay the same.
I’m increasingly of the awareness of times where society (including church culture) and following Christ with authenticity cannot co-exist without difficulty.
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
I confess myself ignorant of the American Megachurch culture in that I have never visited one or experienced it for myself although I have appreciated the written and recorded ministry of Alastair Begg and Tim Keller, but I do wonder if common sense alone doesn’t suggest considering sensible limits to the functional size of a local Church? E.g. Once a Church membership has reached more than 250 (say) can everyone really be participating in meaningful ways? Can a family and friendly atmosphere really be maintained? Can the members know each other well? In which case wouldn’t it be wise to consider planting another local Church instead of just growing a Megachurch with the risk of carrying lots of passengers and creating celebrities and ‘stars’? I just wonder…..
Tullian’s fall is a tragedy but the real tragedy is when fallen leaders are reinstated within a year or less without a blush.
That sounds most unwise to me. I’d have thought adultery in ministry was disqualification from future ministry. I understand, of course, that forgiveness is accessible and possible but surely credibility is lost and forgiveness doesn’t remove the consequences of folly. E.g. King David. Am I being legalistic?
Hi, I agree. Certainly disqualification for a very long time. I did not intend to write comment as a reply to your comment. Sorry.
Reblogged this on Christian Heritage News & Commentary.
This is the sad part of American Evangelical Mega-Church Celebrity Pastor Culture…sigh.