The Sins that We Overlook
A number of years ago, Jerry Bridges wrote a book titled Respectable Sins. In it, he explains that Christians view certain sins as taboo while overlooking others. For example, everyone knows that theft is bad, but sins such as bitterness, gossip, slander, and lack of self-control are often overlooked. Recently Steve Lawson was removed from ministry because of a five-year relationship with a woman a third his age. Pastors and Christians were understandably outraged hearing the news that Lawson was living a double life while pastoring and carrying out numerous ministries. But it has occurred to me that there is a particularly serious sin in pastoral ministry in America right now, but it’s become a “respectable one.” Pastors hold down their positions and preach week after week, but there is no life in their ministry. They carry on a form of religion but deny its power (2 Timothy 3:5). They remain in their positions, but they are truly disqualified men.
Corruption in Pastoral Ministry
So, what is this heinous respectable sin? This cancer found in churches all over America is corrupt pastors. America is flooded with such pastors, but they are in no danger of losing their positions. They are trained to look like real pastors. They know the Christian lingo. Many of them know the intricate ins and outs of theology. Many of them are good public speakers and do expository preaching. These men are great at sounding credible and humble. They are professionals. They are career men and know how to perform the job. Unfortunately, many congregants are not discerning enough to understand their pastor’s corruption.
The Corrupt Ministry of David Platt
This common scenario has been shown recently in the documentary, The Real David Platt. At one time, Platt was able to fool just about everyone. As a Christian in my mid-twenties moving toward ministry, I looked up to Platt. He was a rising star in the reformed world of American evangelicalism. I attended a Desiring God Conference in Minneapolis in 2011 where he preached a strong sermon titled, The Glory of God, the Lostness of Man, and the Gospel of Christ. My twenty-four-year-old self could not have dreamed that this man was a fraud as irrefutably shown in this documentary. Platt took over a vibrant church in northern Virginia where the Lord used Pastor Lon Solomon to grow a small body into a church of thirteen thousand. Platt took over in September 2017, and as one church member stated, his ministry was/is best described as “carnage.” This vibrant church of thirteen thousand lost over half its people during his tenure.
Platt the Hireling
The people at Maclean Bible Church desired a shepherd, but what they got was a hireling. Jesus describes the hireling in John’s gospel,
He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. (John 10:12-13).
The hireling is in the ministry for all the wrong reasons. One of the church members said that he wanted to speak with Platt and could not even get five minutes. He then asked if Platt did any shepherding and the response he received was that “he teaches.” This was the culture that Platt built – one where the people saw their pastor preach on Sunday but were distant from him during the rest of the week. This is not what a biblical shepherd is, but rather, as Jesus explains,
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:14-15).
True shepherds reflect the chief shepherd, Jesus. They know their sheep, and their sheep feel safe and comfortable with them. The sheep know that their shepherds are willing to put themselves on the line for them. But what Jesus described was not the case with David Platt and the men he brought in to be pastors alongside him. The people at McLean longed for shepherds but were neglected.
Platt the False Teacher
The evidence in this film shows that Platt wanted to turn this strongly conservative church into a progressive one through the implementation of a gospel of Social Justice. As false gospels always do, this teaching brought serious problems to the church. If anyone desires to see what Social Justice does to a church, then they need look no further than Platt’s tenure at McLean Bible Church. The congregants shared that they were being accused of being racist even though there was no evidence to suggest this was true (which is what typically those influenced by CRT do). One lady said that she was confused about the gospel because of the teaching on corporate guilt. Scripture warned that men like this would rise up in the church, “speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:30).
What the people heard from the pulpit was far different from the faithful ministry of Lon Solomon. They were hearing a different gospel and were greatly troubled. The film shows the congregants courageously standing up to the false teaching of Social Justice. This is what faithful lay people are to do. They are to hold corrupt pastors accountable, even calling for their resignation, as some of the congregation did. The result of this false leadership and false gospel is a great multitude of the sheep scattering.
Platt the Deceiver
Not only did Platt fail to shepherd his people and push Social Justice, but the evidence shows that he deviously planned for McLean Bible to become a Southern Baptist Church even though the church’s constitution stated that it would always remain unaffiliated. It’s also clear that Platt was involved in the transfer of several million dollars between McLean and the Southern Baptist Convention. All of this happened without the congregation’s knowledge or even much of the elder board. In modern business lingo, this is called, “cooking the books.” In my younger years, I used to appreciate Platt, but it is clear now that he has been involved in corruption at the highest level.
Corrupt Pastors Given a Pass in the Church
But here is my primary question: Why is the American church outraged at the Steve Lawson scandal, but most of American evangelicalism will look the other way when it comes to Platt’s nefarious activities? With the release of this documentary, what’s going to happen is predictable. Many pastors will write this production off as disgruntled former church members seeking revenge on Platt, and they will not look at the evidence though there is a mountain of evidence waiting for the one who wants to see. Why is this? Because corruption in the American church is indeed a “respectable sin.” Pastors who pushed Social Justice years ago are still in their pulpits with no threat of removal. Those same pastors and institutional leaders, who have been exposed by true shepherds and concerned laymen have not come clean. Their response shows that their corruption is predictable. When exposed they deny it, saying they are being misrepresented, but fail to give any specifics. The one bringing the concerns is seen as one who stirs up division and people should have nothing more to do with that person (Titus 3:10-11).
In summary, these false shepherds push false teaching (or take part in some other shameful activity), are caught by the discerning, and when caught, they are unrepentant. To protect themselves they slander the person raising concerns. In American Christianity, this has been done over and over again by men who have no business being pastors. Some of these are wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15), while others have been influenced by wolves and therefore have wolf-like behavior. They are in the ministry not to feed and protect the flock (Titus 1:9) but to hold onto a career with monetary benefits, power, and status within the pastoral club of American evangelicalism. The people whom they deem as the biggest threats are faithful shepherds and concerned laymen who hold them to the unchanging standard of Scripture. Frankly, such pastors resemble the corrupt Jewish leaders who silenced the true prophets to hold onto their positions (Matthew 23:37). They may not be stoning the faithful, but they are bent on silencing them, which a multitude of the faithful can attest to in this climate of corruption.
The Need for True Shepherds
But many more Christians realize these are not real shepherds. The outrage at Steve Lawson’s disqualifying sin is absolutely appropriate, but where is the outrage at pastors who have no business shepherding God’s people? They are the wolves (Matthew 7:15) and hirelings (John 10:12-13) that Scripture warns of. Is there sin less than Steve Lawson’s? One could argue theirs is more severe. But what is the difference? Lawson’s sin of adultery is taboo, but in this culture of corruption, these pastor’s sins are respectable.
As I pastor, here is my prayer: May the Lord rid the American church of corrupt pastors, and may they be replaced by those who know their sheep and will willingly lay down their lives for them (John 10:14-15).
