Who you are
Yesterday SUPERMARKETMONKEY mentioned Mike Warnke. I had no idea that Mike had a scandal and was exposed for telling lies.When I first became a Christian (1991), my best friend took me to see Mike in 'concert'. He was appearing in a town close to ours.
I remember clearly the event. He was a "Christian comedian" (maybe he still is?) and he was very funny, but he was also very serious. I remember the Bible passage that he spoke on. I remember that he gave the impression to me that God and reading your Bible was serious things and important things.
I did a lot of reading on the web about Mike last night. I read the article that exposed all the lies. I read that at the time that he gave the concert in 1991 he was on his 4th wife. That he had problems with fidelity. That he had problems with telling lies. That he made fraudulent use of people's money.
I think the article led to him closing the ministry in 1992.
He had some character flaws (don't we all?). When you are in ministry should you have less character flaws? Should people be allowed to judge you more if you are in the public eye? If you are a role model for kids, do you have more responsibility? If God gave him the ministry, should a flawed character cause him to close it? Was it wrong for him to say that he was a satanist if he was using it as a 'gimmick' to get people to his concerts? Does the end justify the means?
posted by Aphra @ 8/23/2008 11:41:00 AM
1 Comments:
I've given a lot of thought to those questions down through the years as I have seen a number of folks whose ministries were brought down by scandal of one sort or another. If there is one thing I have learned of Christian leadership, it is that there are very few Christian leaders who are "above reproach" - at least in the way I would assume the scripture means.
I have had the privilege to see some very respected leaders close up and it strikes me that the more popular/powerful the leader, the wackier they appear in their private lives. I like to believe that Billy Graham is a blessed exception to that rule but I expect that, at some point, there will be some big expose regarding some big flaw in his life.
I look at these things from two perspectives. I don't think that a Christian leader can ever rationalize his sins. I think he has a responsibility to live up to the high calling he has received. Nor do I think we leaders will be excused for our sins. James is pretty harsh: "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly."
On the other hand, the scripture seems to make it pretty clear that the gospel is powerful in itself - in spite of the preacher! Paul talked about this with the Philippians: "It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice."
I guess that is the amazing thing: folks have been brought to Christ through the power of the gospel even when preached from some of the most unholy vessels around! (Unholy, at least from a human perspective. In the end, someone else will determine who is holy and who is not.)
Mike Warnke was pretty funny. I am grateful to God for his amazing sense of humour - flawed or not!
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