Copyright © 2022 Michael A. Brown
It is always sad and disappointing when a
minister falls into moral failure, and even more so when s/he is a well-known
public figure. It not only brings shame
and embarrassment upon him/her, it leaves a trail of deeply hurt and
disillusioned people, spouses and family members in its wake. Wounds and damage that can take years to
heal, if they ever truly do. It also
feeds ready ammunition to a gleeful secular media which is all too ready to
pounce on the juicy details and trumpet them far and wide to try to pull down
and damage the church’s wider reputation in society. Furthermore, the minister’s standing and
reputation can suffer so badly that, even if they do re-enter ministry after a
period of counselling, repentance and restoration, people’s trust in them is
often so broken that their influence for God is never the same afterwards.
Samson was a uniquely anointed servant of
God. No man before or since has ever had
the quality of physical prowess and strength that he possessed when the Spirit
of the Lord came upon him. The tales
Scripture tells are the stuff of legend…
His strength, as we all know, was bound up in his life-long consecration
as a Nazirite. However, his lack of
moral restraint and his free love of Philistine women eventually led to his downfall,
and even his anointing and great strength could not prevent the tragedy that
befell him. He could conquer his enemies
almost at will, but he never managed to conquer his own heart.
So too king David. We all know the story. Allowing himself to be in a place of
vulnerability, without the necessary boundaries, and giving place to selfish
and immoral desires, led first to adultery and then, after a failed attempt to
cover up the consequences of this, to murder.
Although he repented and was forgiven by God, yet he was never able to
deal with the destructive dynamics of sin that were unleashed around him as a
result. The devil got into his family
big time, and things went downhill for David from that point onwards. Anointed by God, with a great and proven
reputation, and no doubt the envy of many other men, yet even the great can
fall very hard, and all due to an area of carnality in his heart which he
failed to address and deal with.
Integrity and spiritual
character
The lives of these men serve as examples
to us (Rom. 15:4, 1 Cor. 10:1-13), and the simple but crucial lesson that we
have to draw out and master for ourselves is that ministry is about
character as well as anointing.
Anointing, position, power, status, success, the respect of others –
these men both had each of these things – yet a basic flaw in their spiritual
character led to their downfall in both cases.
Anointing can be powerful when it is
evident and working, but, in order to last the course of doing ministry
over a lifetime, we need to develop real spiritual character. This is not something that we can afford to
simply pay lip-service to. We cannot
side-step the need for it. Anointing
is not a substitute for spiritual character. Our flesh has to be dealt with, otherwise it
simply becomes our nemesis. The greatest
enemy we will ever have lies within us.
The Holy Spirit does not come into our life to agree to live with our
sin, but to deliver us from it.
Anointing can serve us well and powerfully,
but it is spiritual character that guides us through a lifetime. Anointing without spiritual character can
give us success for a time, but failure so often follows at some point. However, if we have anointing together with
developed spiritual character, then we will invariably last the course.
In the West, personal morality is nowadays
seen as being a private issue. Apart
from misconduct in the workplace, it is generally kept separate from
professional position. So a person can
be successful in their career, but a failure away from the public eye in their
marriage, their relationships, and in their home.
However, by contrast, in ministry
our personal morality and spiritual character are inseparably bound up with
what we do. We minister out of
what we are and what we are becoming in Christ, not simply out of what we know
and what we can do, or on the basis of the position or title that we hold. To minister out of a position that we hold,
but without the parallel development of basic spiritual character qualities,
simply leads ultimately to secret sin, failure and, very often, wounded people around us. If we fail in
terms of personal morality, we have failed in ministry.
It is true that God loves us as we are,
but it is also true that he needs to cleanse and free our heart, and also shape
and form our inward character, if he is to be able to use us in significant
ways in the work of his kingdom. Sin can
be forgiven, yes, but it is freedom from sin gained and maintained that
makes us into people that can be of significant use in God’s kingdom. An emerging leader, who privately flirts with
or entertains sin in their heart, is numbering the days of their public
usefulness to God. Such as person is an
easy target for Satan to trip up and overthrow.
So s/he who thinks they stand should always be vigilant and take heed
lest they fall (cf. 1 Cor. 10:12 AV). Purity
of heart is a mark of commendation in a servant of God (2 Cor. 6:6 and cf.
Matt. 5:8, 1 Tim. 5:2). Holiness
and purity of heart, as well as anointing, are essential building blocks for a
lifetime of ministry.
Most failures in ministry can be traced
back to a lack of integrity at some point.
Integrity is bound up in what we are and what we do. John Stott defines it as there being no dichotomy
between our public and private lives, between what we profess and what we
practise, and between our words and our deeds.[1],[2] So we live and act out of our inward
convictions, which are being shaped by biblical values. Integrity is basic to the growth of spiritual
character, and it is an essential quality which is always sought for in those
who would aspire to any form of Christian leadership.
Consistency between inner convictions
about biblical values on the one hand, and outward behaviour on the other, is a
quality that we simply must develop in our life, if we are to be able to
influence people in a God-ward direction.
People need to be able to see integrity demonstrated in our life. It is the basis of creating trust between
leaders and followers, and therefore of developing the capacity to influence
people. Leaders who display
integrity of character will be trusted by those whom they lead. However, lack of integrity, whether moral or
financial, can bring about public failure and consequent exit from ministry.
Furthermore, when a minister falls into
moral failure, research has shown that, in most cases, s/he had been struggling for a while to have a daily time of personal Bible reading and prayer. Lack of self-discipline and consistency in
basic spiritual practices is very often a key contributory factor to events
which lead ultimately to outward moral failure.
The crucial importance of integrity and
spiritual character is one of the major lessons that we learn from Joseph’s
life. He succeeded on the very point
where Samson and king David both failed (cf. Gen. 39:6-20). Faced with the pressure of repeated and
manipulative temptation, he eventually fled the scene (and later suffered the
unjust consequences of his wise choice).
However, the heart of Joseph’s response in overcoming this temptation is
found in his words, ‘How could I do such a thing and sin against God?’
(Gen. 39:9). For him, the issue was not
simply whether or not he should betray Potiphar’s trust and have an illicit
sexual relationship with his wife, but whether he should still choose to honour
God and so do the right thing, regardless of the temptation he faced. Joseph chose to not compromise. He did not give in to temptation and enjoy
sin, because he wanted to honour and please God. He won his internal battle over his moral
integrity and, although the immediate consequences of this situation were
unjust, yet, in the providence of God, this inner spiritual victory ultimately
proved to be a stepping-stone on his path towards later becoming Pharaoh’s
right-hand man in a time of national crisis in Egypt.
A minister’s long-term influence for
good over people is rooted in the development and growth of integrity and
spiritual character in their life, rather than simply in their position and
their skills in ministry. It is
the all-round example of a life lived out consistently before them which
believers respect and follow, and which they willingly allow to influence their
life. However, although we can gain or
be given a position in one day, spiritual character is built up only over time,
so the development of this needs to be the longer-term aim of a minister.
The integration of four
developing factors
The growth of the capacity to influence
people is rooted in the integration of several developing factors in a
minister’s life. If believers are to
willingly place themselves under the influence of a minister, then the
following factors need to be growing and developing in his/her life:
1. Walking
in integrity of heart
The minister lives out in practice what
they believe a Christian should be.
Their outward behaviour and actions are consistent with their internal
convictions. They keep their word, they
live a pure life, and they are honest and accountable when it comes to
financial dealings. They have proven
themselves to be trustworthy, and they lead by example.
2. Growing
spiritual character
They have a life of regular and consistent
intimacy with God, which is producing the fruit of the Spirit in their
character. They walk in the Spirit,
rather than in carnality, and they model a godly lifestyle.
3. An
experiential knowledge of God
They know God and walk closely with
him. They have an experiential knowledge
of God, rather than a knowledge of him which is merely theoretical. They have sometimes had deep personal
experiences and encounters with God.
4. Competency
in ministry
They have a proven track record of
faithfulness to their call, and they demonstrate a growing capacity to bear the
spiritual burdens of God’s work. They
have developed a genuine heart of care towards God’s people. People perceive that God is with them and
recognise the call and anointing of God on their life. Their spiritual gifting and ministry skills
are producing lasting fruit.[3]
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