PASTORAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE LIGHT OF THE RZIM SCANDAL

Posted on Feb 16, 2021 in BLOG |

The news about the serial sexual misconduct of Ravi Zacharias has exploded around the world in recent days. It is sordid, disturbing, and horribly destructive, first to the women who have been abused and then to the ministry that enabled the abuse. Our hearts go out to all the women he has victimized. You can read the horrifying details here and here. I am deeply saddened to learn that the witness of a man I respected, whose global ministry was powerfully effective for Christ’s kingdom, lies in tatters; his integrity shredded by his private sins.[1] The RZIM scandal should be a warning to all of us that we will stand before Christ one day to give an account for sins done in private (2 Cor. 5:10, 1 Cor. 4:5).

THE CULT OF PERSONALITY

One of the most important lessons we can learn is simple but needs repeating. Do not succumb to the cult of personality! Evangelical Christians, sadly, have a long history of joining personality cults in our quest for heroes to follow.[2] Gifted, charismatic, and persuasive preachers build ministries dependent on them with boards that cater to their desires. They become “too big to fail,” so organizations “circle the wagons” to protect against all accusations that might derail the ministry. The leaders become increasingly controlling and manipulative even as Christians excuse such behavior. I have written about this tendency in my book The Persuasive Preacher.[3 ] The cult of personality is always destructive in the end, so we need accountability systems that protect both ministries and preachers.

What happens on the macro scale (RZIM) also happens on the micro scale (local churches). Local church pastors can become big fish in small ponds, revered and appreciated so much that they grow beyond accountability in their ministries. We pay lip service to accountability but do not set up adequate structures to protect the church. Paul wrote:

Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. (1 Tim. 5:19-20)

A HEALTHY ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM

What would a healthy accountability system look like in a local church? How should we implement the principles of 1 Timothy 5:19-20 (cf. Matthew 18:15-20) so that we hold our leaders accountable to God’s standards of integrity? Here are some preliminary principles.

The governing board should be independent, transparent, and empowered to implement disciplinary decisions.

Family members should not occupy positions of controlling influence in the church since it creates an obvious conflict of interest. Close friends must be careful to maintain impartiality when reviewing the pastor or recuse themselves from any decisions. The pastor must not exercise undue influence by putting board members into situations where they owe him or using guilt to manipulate them. The board must be free to implement decisions without the pastor. If the pastor continues in sin, the board should rebuke the sin publicly to maintain transparency.

The pastor must willingly submit to the board’s authority to establish and implement accountability systems.

A pastor of a local church has significant influence over the church’s decisions but should openly, transparently, and willingly submit to the board’s authority when establishing pastoral accountability systems. Guidelines for counseling, finances, business activities, and relationships should be part of the system. Pastors should not have access to ministry funds not correctly handled by other church leaders and annually audited. Under no circumstances should the pastor have a “slush fund” that he can use at his discretion without review.

The leadership team, including the pastor(s), should develop a regular review process that all agree to follow in establishing an effective accountability system.

The governing board should establish guard rails for the pastor(s) that they review annually to keep them current. The guard rails should include matters of private life and financial decisions, not just church activities. The board should pay attention to the sins we tend to excuse, like pride, greed, deception, belittling others, unloving attitudes, and a domineering or controlling spirit. These sins act like warning lights on the ministry dashboard. Any concerns should be openly addressed on a regular basis. There are numerous tools for pastoral reviews available to churches today, including, if necessary, organizations that perform outside evaluations.

The board should carefully investigate accusations without seeking to discredit the accuser or protect the pastor presumptively.

One of the most common tendencies in a local church is to respond to any criticism of the pastor as an attack on the ministry. Churches naturally rally behind a pastor they love and discredit the critic without examining the issue. Accusers should be taken seriously and accusations investigated thoroughly. False accusations should be firmly but lovingly corrected. However, the board should not use silencers like “Look at all the good he is doing” or “souls will be lost” to try to dismiss the accuser. Attempts to discredit the critic by pointing out his/her flaws distract from a thoughtful investigation.

A healthy system of accountability protects both the pastor and the ministry from a shipwreck. We pastors should not fear honest accountability because we should want to be examples of integrity before the church (1 Peter 5:1-4). It is the leaders’ responsibility, including the pastor, to guard ourselves because in guarding ourselves, we guard the church (Acts 20:28). God is glorified in us when we lead with integrity because we demonstrate Christlikeness to the world.

[1] David French, “’You Are One Step Away from Complete and Total Insanity:’ The inside story of how Ravi Zacharias’s ministry concealed and enabled his abuse,” The French Press, 2/14/2021. Daniel Silliman and Kate Shellnutt, “Ravi Zacharias Hid Hundreds of Pictures of Women, Abuse During Massages, and a Rape Allegation,” Christianity Today, 2/11/2021.

[2] Richard Quebedeaux, By What Authority: The Rise of Personality Cults in American Christianity, Harper & Row, 1982.

[3] David Christensen, The Persuasive Preacher: Pastoral Influence in a Marketing World, Wipf & Stock, 2020.