"Priority #1: We Must Listen - I'm assuming that the reader understands that I'm not lumping everything into the same category. A leader who abuses children is handled much differently than a leader who stepped down due to anger and a controlling attitude. When there are victims involved, we must listen carefully and prioritize their issue. That's obvious, but what might not be so obvious is that we often become cold, callous, and overly critical in our zeal for justice.
We must provide a safe, non-threatening environment for victims to come forward, but also avoid the spirit of accusation behind some of these so-called "ministries" who love pulling others down. They can be right in their reasoning yet wrong in their heart. That's what I'm addressing in this article. The Spirit of Accusation Kills Humility - I've personally seen false accusations hurt good, godly people " a grandma is accused of something because the daughter-in-law doesn't want her seeing the kids, a manipulating spouse turns on her partner with false accusations, or a church member falsely accuses leadership because they've been hurt. Again, I'm not minimizing abuse " it must be dealt with swiftly " but we must be careful that arrogance and the spirit of accusation don't kill discernment." - Shane Idleman
There are always victims of any false teacher Shane. Always. They may not be as obvious as actual victims of sexual abuse for example but they are victims nonetheless. If a pastor is controlling and angry they have multiple victims Shane and they should not be minimized. Trying to smear discernment ministries is not going to work either. Correctly reporting what someone has done, is not a "spirit of accusation." That is ridiculous. You know you are in trouble when you have to swear you are not doing something you are obviously doing! Shane is obviously minimizing abuse because he pretends that "dealing with it swiftly" somehow must be tempered. No one is speaking about false accusations. I would be just as much against accusing someone falsely. Facts have to be established. Do you know who is zealous for justice Shane? God is. Read the key verses. God hates our religiosity when we act without zeal for justice. The false teacher is not the victim Shane. The fallen leader is not the victim. The sheep are. Save us the noise of your songs and bovine excrement justifications. Let justice flow down water.
"One particular ministry comes to mind as I'm writing this: Years ago, a pastor had to step down because of his aggressive leadership style, but some Christian outlets still bash him without looking into the possibility that he's been humbled and broken by God. Where's the compassion? Where's erring on the side of grace? Unless we have evidence proving otherwise, why aren't we rejoicing that God has done great work in his heart? Has the spirit of accusation and the lack of humility and brokenness crept into your own heart? I've been guilty of this myself. When we recognize this, we must repent." - Shane Idleman
Now, I hate when these faux-leaders pretend to stand against something but are being deceitful. It is of no use to vaguely reference someone real but not identify them. This time however, I think it is 95% obvious that Shane Idleman is talking about his good buddy and dominionist friend, Mark Driscoll. The only example recently of a pastor stepping down due to "aggressive leadership style" was Driscoll. That of course is a whitewashing of what actually happened. Mark Driscoll stole $200,000 in tithes to hire a marketing firm to cheat the New York Times Best Seller List so he could market himself as a "NY Times Top Ten Author." Additionally, his "aggressive" style resulted in him boasting about running over many people with the Mars Hill bus he was driving and hoping that by the time he was done the bodies would amount to a mountain. He was not deemed aggressive Shane. He was deemed abusive. He was so abusive that his own handpicked board was going to have to discipline him when he packed his family up in the middle of the night and ran away from Seattle, leaving his sheep scattered across the state of Washington, spiritually bleeding from the wounds he inflicted. Mark Driscoll was ENTIRELY disqualified from ministry. Where is the erring on the side of grace for his victims Shane? Where is your compassion for them? Why do you only have grace for the wolves? You think Mark Driscoll has been humbled by God Shane? You think God has done a great work in his heart? Are you serious? Have you been paying attention at all? Did you see how he abused local officials in Arizona and broke their local laws recently to try and sell more copies of his latest trash book pretending he knows who Jkesus would vote for? My heart breaks for his current victims and the people he drove away from Jesus Christ in Seattle. That is who my heart breaks for.
"We MUST Do Better - One thing is certain: Leaders need to be more forthright and admit their sins. People would respect them a lot more, and it would set a good example. Leaders not only lead by example with integrity but also with repentance. We must provide a safe haven for those with issues and instill an open-door policy where members can go to any of the elders if they have concerns with leadership. The Pain of Pride - Each side tends to be biased: We guard friends but assault enemies. Conservatives are quick to point out fallen charismatics but say nothing about fallen conservatives, and charismatics can be guilty of the same. The enemy of our soul doesn't care what denomination we belong to; he is set on destroying us if left unchecked.
We should never be excited about accusing our brothers and sisters. Exposure must flow from a broken, humble heart that is focused on restoration and repentance rather than chastisement and banishment." - Shane Idleman
No, no, a thousand times no. What part of biblical qualifications does Shane not understand? The problem often is that these people are not pastors. They are hirelings. Pastoring is a job to them and as such they think, why can't I return to my job? Because God said you disqualified yourself! It is not about you! It is about the sheep and the cause of Jesus Christ. The focus of the NAR churchianity machine is always restoration because that is how the money generator gets back in business. The problem is that focus is solely on the perpetrator and not on the victims. The focus should be on healing victims and restoring doctrine. The banishment of the perpetrators is for the collective good of the body of Christ and is only relevant to their service. If someone genuinely repents and wishes to return to the congregation, I do not think any would seriously object but their days in leadership are OVER. If they had any humility or decency, they would realize that. Let us not lose sight of what we are talking about here. We are not talking about a minor sin issue. No one is suggesting excommunication for a genuine struggle that someone seeks help and forgiveness for. We are talking about grievous sin that has damaged people.
"Both Will be Held Accountable - Let me be clear: To adequately assess situations, the critic contending for the truth must be filled with the Spirit to display the fruit of the Spirit. Sadly, that's not the case with many of these so-called discernment ministries that are fueled by pride and motivated by revenue. It's very hard to speak with clarity and precision when we only have snapshots of a story. Some of these outlets even do a lot of dirty work behind the scenes, baiting people for evidence that might not even be valid " looking for exposure rather than truth. Take heed: Not only will fallen leaders be held accountable but so will heresy hunters who are operating from a wrong spirit." - Shane Idleman
