Perils of Power
When a prominent Christian leader falls, we are shocked and saddened. But too often, we unknowingly contribute to the fall.
Billy Graham showed a clear understanding of his enormous influence when he wrote in a TV Guide article, "In a single telecast, I preach to millions more than Christ did in His entire lifetime."
Billy Graham is, indeed, a very influential person. He meets with world leaders, writes for the most widely-read magazines, and is recognized in every country. Millions of people look to him for answers to life's greatest questions. The evangelist certainly knows the feel of power--along with its many temptations.
He is not alone. Many other religious leaders wield considerable power and influence. TV preachers beam their messages to nearly every TV set in the country. Other leaders direct worldwide parachurch and mission organizations with multi-million-dollar budgets. Some combine successful pastorates with writing and speaking ministries. And then there are politicians, authors, musicians, theologians, editors, radio personalities, psychologists, and others whose names are well-known throughout the Christian community.
We have granted these people a form of celebrity status-- some because they were celebrities while still non-Christians, others because of their accomplishments as Christians. These people provide us with spiritual models and nurture, and we respond with admiration and financial support.
There is nothing inherently wrong with this. Without authority and influence, you can't get anything done. Bill Bright once said, "I have no interest in promoting Bill Bright. But somebody has to lead every movement" (Wittenburg Door, March-April 1977).
No doubt some people--like Bill Bright--would love to escape the limelight, but realize that the work God has given them requires public exposure. It is God who places Christians in the public eye, and He does it for a reason. We need outstanding people of vision and commitment to lead Christ's work and further His Kingdom.
However, the paths of power teem with dangers and temptations.
Satan vigorously attacks our Christians leaders, and unfortunately, some succumb to his enticements. It hurts when a person who has ministered to us in music, writing, or speaking is toppled by Satan. But our heroes fall with sickening regularity.
This happens in different ways. We most commonly hear about family problems--adultery, divorce, separation. Every year, several prominent Christians fall victim to such family crises. In other cases, a person loses his sense of ministry and becomes wrapped up in the money and adulation. Others strike off on tangential, self-serving crusades. And a few, sadly, abandon the faith altogether. We are left with our mouths agape, wondering, "How could this happen to such a dedicated Christian?"
This can happen to any Christian leader. Spirituality is not something you attain and keep for the rest of your life. Rather, it must be maintained through constant struggle--battling temptation, enduring hardship, striving constantly in prayer, studying the Word, and maintaining close communion with the Father. Godliness doesn't come naturally for anybody.
A TV preacher can give up the fight as easily as an unknown factory worker. However, there is a difference. The factory worker, with nothing to lose, can openly admit, "I've lost touch with God. I need to get right with Him." But the TV preacher--or author, pastor, parachurch leader, etc.--must continue acting like the spiritual conqueror he may have been in earlier days. He must maintain the respect--and thereby the financial support--of his followers.
Such was the case with Patti Roberts, former daughter-in-law of evangelist Oral Roberts. In her forthright biography Ashes to Gold, she describes herself and her former husband as "two spoiled, willful, prideful people." They were one of Christendom's foremost musical duos at the heart of a huge ministry. Yet, she said they never read the Bible or prayed at home--only on TV. The public saw them as a happily married couple, but privately, they couldn't stand each other.
Patti says she is sometimes contacted by famous Christians living the same contradiction. Their spiritual lives and marriages may be in shambles, but they can't admit any weakness because it might hurt their ministry. They can't escape for a few months to reset spiritual priorities and rediscover communion with the Father. The schedule won't allow it--speaking engagements, interviews, crusades, books, conventions. So they fake it, and find ways to cope with the guilt of hypocrisy.
Richard Foster aches for these people. Deep down, they want to be genuine, but they've sunk into a pit and don't know how to climb out. And so they go on living a lie. In Celebration of Discipline, Foster says, "It is a frustrating, almost desperate quagmire to be in a position of authority and to know that your roots are not deep enough into the divine life to command spiritual authority....I know the inward pain and suffering that must be endured to live in such contradiction."
Often, we prematurely thrust new Christians into the limelight. This is one of the greatest injustices of modern Christianity.
Spiritual maturity comes gradually. However, in our haste to produce celebrities, we try to accelerate the process. We force young Christians to act more mature than they really are by casting them into leadership roles, when they need to sit back and follow for a few years. It worked with the Apostle Paul. It worked with Charles Colson. But too many are rushed to prominence, and we shouldn't be surprised when they become spiritual casualties.
Christians certainly did Larry Flynt a disservice when, less than a week after his conversion, he was put in the pulpit to give a testimony to 1900 churchgoers. He wasn't ready for that. What probably began as a sincere commitment to Christ disintegrated beneath all the hype. Today, Larry Flynt publishes some of the most vile, heretical material available anywhere. Might this have been prevented if he had been shepherded along slowly?
Similarly, we exploit other well-known people who receive Christ as Savior. For instance, if a professional athlete becomes a Christian, we'll invite him to appear on religious radio and TV programs, splash his picture on the cover of our magazines, and send him on a speaking tour. A Christian publisher will release his autobiography, often ghost-written by someone who knows the Christian lingo and can make a newborn Christian sound far more mature than he actually is.
We seem to delight in knowing that popular, beautiful people are Christians just like us ordinary folk. Even though such a person is new to the faith, we'll eagerly regard him as a spiritual authority. Unfortunately, too many can't handle the attention. Some plateau at a low level of spirituality, while others drop out altogether.
In the Christian music industry, we sometimes seem to be mass-producing celebrities. We rocket talented singers--some barely out of their teens, others newly-converted from secular music careers--to Christian stardom. If someone can pack out an auditorium and tell a heart-warming testimony, we assume God has placed him there. But this tends to confuse musical talent with spiritual authority. Some musicians do, indeed, possess spiritual depth equal to their on-stage image. But not all, and perhaps not even most.
Christians need time to mature before assuming positions of leadership. Salvation is a gift bestowed immediately, but discipleship is a process requiring much patience and perseverance. We must give people time to mature.
In Ashes to Gold, Patti Roberts describes a "superculture" of popular pastors, evangelists, broadcasters, authors, and musicians who have been accorded celebrity status--a group of which she was once a part. She says we've given these people enormous amounts of money and power, and don't expect them to be accountable for it.
We tend to blindly follow our leaders, refusing to believe anything negative about them and ignoring their excesses. This does them a great disservice. We must never let them forget their own limitations. Leaders need some scrutiny--for their own good.
Ever since Watergate, politicians and other public figures have been subjected to intense scrutiny. They can't get away with anything, it seems. If they do something questionable, they are investigated.
We need a similar, though more trusting, accountability among Christian leaders. If we give leaders the freedom too behave any way they choose, then some will behave wrongly. Some do.
There are no easy formulas for determining if a person's public image matches his heart. Only God truly knows the heart. But a wary, discerning Christian can do some checking.
To whom is this leader accountable--if anyone?
Does he exercise good stewardship with the money raised to support his ministry? Most major parachurch groups will, upon request, send you their latest audited financial statement, plus other information about them.
Is he closely tied with other Christian leaders, or is he a "lone wolf"? Many leaders check up on each other, helping each other through spiritual problems and confronting wrong practices. You can learn a lot about a Christian leader's genuineness by discovering who is friends are.
This type of wariness is necessary. We must not deprive our leaders of the accountability they desperately need--and which the wise desperately want.
Patti Roberts says most people in the Christian superculture are sincere, but that many have lost their perspective, being seduced by the privileges of success. It happened to her, and very gradually. She didn't pursue wealth, pride, power, or popularity. They just slipped up on her.
Nobody has ever possessed more power than Christ. And yet, he rejected it, preferring instead to be a powerless sheep among wolves. The disciples wanted to know which of them was the greatest, and He answered by washing their feet, a task normally reserved for the least. How many members of the Christian superculture would follow that example?
In displaying humility, Christ stressed what may be the greatest indication of spiritual authority. The greatest person acts like the least, the master becomes the servant.
Thomas A'Kempis said, "If you want to learn something worthwhile, learn how to be a nobody." In another part of his classic The Imitation of Christ, he wrote, "Lord, we are blind and insanely vain. Unless I am willing to be totally unrecognized, I will never be at one with you."
Look for humility, and you may discover greatness. Success, personality, influence, popularity, talent--those exist in abundance and are easily contrived. But humility is a rare jewel.
Mike Yaconelli of the Wittenburg Door prefaced a 1974 interview with Billy Graham by writing, "He is candid, personable, and possesses a quality I have not seen in any other evangelist I have known--humility."
Can you think of a greater compliment?
This article originally appeared in the November 1993 issue of The United Brethren magazine. It won 3rd place in the General Article category of the Evangelical Press Association's annual awards contest.