From Ravi Zacharias to Celebrity Pastors, No One is Immune

Many of you have probably heard about the allegations of sexual abuse against Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias.

If you are like me, you have experienced multiple emotions: deep compassion for his victims, anger at Ravi and the system that apparently protected him over many years, grief for his family and those who have experienced profound loss. And, you may be asking some hard questions about the meaning of Ravi’s seemingly hidden life:

How are we to think about such evil conduct by an apparent “hero” of the faith?
How can the prominent head of a global evangelist organization who shared the gospel with millions of people engage in such egregious conduct?
How should we now view Ravi Zacharias’s teaching and apologetic reasoning?
Should his books be discarded?
How does his fall impact my faith?
How can I integrate my understanding of human depravity, God’s sovereignty, forgiveness, and justice?

I must admit, when I heard about Ravi Zacharias’s conduct I was not exactly shocked. That’s because sexual misconduct is common in the ministry (and life). From our chair as counselors, we have offered a safe and sacred place for ministry leaders to proactively address both those who have been victimized by abuse as well as the issues in their own hearts that can lead to misconduct.

Ravi Zacharias is Not an Isolated Case

Earlier in 2020, “celebrity pastor” Carl Lentz of Hillsong New York Church was fired after it was revealed he had been having an extra-marital affair. He had risen to fame and befriended and discipled celebrities such as Justin Bieber.

Why do such pastoral failures seem to happen so often? It is quite possible that leaders do great work for the Gospel on the public stage, and yet they can be isolated, indulged, and inaccessible behind-the-scenes. No matter how small or large, contemporary or traditional your ministry may be, the danger of “celebrity,” entitlement, and feeling “untouchable” always remains.

This is not a new phenomenon. The Bible records that King Uzziah’s “fame spread far and wide … But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God” (2 Chronicles 26:15-16).

Regardless of the level of success or fame achieved, moral failure can happen to any ministry leader. The reason I was not shocked when I heard the news about Ravi Zacharias is because I know how widespread, alluring, and accessible sexual temptation is. It permeates our culture and our lives. I also have seen first-hand the way that some Christian “celebrities” can create isolation and spiritual justification. This becomes an incubator for hidden sin to take root and grow into a self-sabotaging double life.

How Should We Think About Ravi Zacharias?

The exposure of Ravi Zacharias’s hidden life has sent many believers into a whirlwind of confusion and doubt. So how should we think about the revelation of this scandal? Here are a few points to consider:

First, we should remember that anyone is capable of living a double life due to the deceptive nature of sin and the human heart. I am. You are. Since the beginning of time, dating back to Adam and Eve, humans have become experts at performing--for others, ourselves; some even think they can “perform” for God. Indulging in secret sin is not a new phenomenon. Ministry leaders today are no different, and moral failure will happen, especially when accountability is lacking.

In ministry, there is often a public persona and a private reality. While maintaining the outward illusion of the “perfect leader,” many compartmentalize their lives into a public, ministry self and the private, hidden self. The greater the difference between the two, the greater the “integrity gap.”

Living in gospel integrity, however, means the gap between our public and private lives grows smaller and smaller through a pattern of transparency, genuine repentance, and Spirit-led trust in the finished work of Christ. Conversely, as we become more disintegrated, the integrity gap widens and our public persona can differ greatly from our internal, private life. As the gap widens it further isolates our “private” life which becomes a dark, quiet place where sin can grow. Along with this, the seduction of being “successful” in ministry puts great pressure on ministry leaders to exaggerate or live an outside life regardless of how inconsistent it is with the inward, isolated life.

The greater the integrity gap, the more we live out the hypocrisy of a double life. Pastor Mike Brown puts it this way: “The longer this goes on, the harder our hearts become. We become more hypocritical, more polished, more deviant. We not only compartmentalize our sin but we rationalize it. We might even justify it. ‘I’m a man of God who sacrifices much for the ministry. Surely, I’m allowed some perks along the way!’” According to some reports, Ravi Zacharias prayed with some of his victims, thanking God for the “blessing” they enjoyed.

Jesus warns us: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean” (Matthew 23:25-27).

Isolated and left to our own devices, the internal life can be extremely immoral or even dangerous. We all need to be mindful and intentional of walking in integrity and transparency before the Lord. This means we must allow others to see not just our outward behavior, but our inward thought life, temptations, and predilections.

Second, governing boards must exercise wise and firm pastoral care that creates a culture of Christ-centered transparency. We should adopt high standards of accountability for our ministries and leaders. The senior leader is often vulnerable to Satan’s attacks; leadership isolation ought to be viewed as a threat--not a goal.

That is, although it seems right and good to “protect” our senior leader from outside distractions, we also need to be very wary of putting that leader up on a pedestal or making an idol of his or her “ministry impact.” This has the potential to create a culture of untouchable indulgence and permissiveness that can be fatal to the leader and ultimately, the entire organization.

Ravi Zacharias’s misconduct likely could have been discovered and curtailed much earlier had RZIM exercised due diligence in its oversight and care of Ravi. In RZIM’s open letter from the board, the board stated, “Our trust in Ravi’s denial of moral wrongdoing and in his deceptive explanations of emails and other records that became public was severely misplaced, and our failures in 2017, including our failure to commission an independent investigation at that time, allowed tremendous pain to continue to be caused … We also recognize that in situations of prolonged abuse, there often exist significant structural, policy, and cultural problems. It is imperative that where these things exist in our organization, we take focused steps to ensure they are properly diagnosed and addressed.”

No one is above accountability, and leaders ought to welcome questions, suggestions, and corrections regarding their lifestyles. Boards also need to guard against fostering a culture of “toxic loyalty” to their leaders. It is loving to hold each other accountable to wise, Biblical standards and to remember that the Lord finds Godly character and walking in integrity more important than ministry expansion and “success.”

As Jesus told the 72 after they returned from their missionary work, “don’t be enamored with the power I have given you, but rejoice that your names are written in Heaven” (Luke 10:20). Many ministry leaders have sacrificed themselves or others (especially those closest to them) on the idol of ministry success! As Dr. Diane Langberg once told me, ministry success can become the enemy of a leader.

Third, the validity of truth propositions is independent of those who proclaim that truth. The truth that Ravi Zacharias preached was not his truth, but the Lord’s. Truth is truth, no matter who presents it--it is objective and not personal. The millions of people who heard the Gospel preached from Ravi Zacharias weren’t saved by Ravi--they were saved by Jesus. We can and must trust our faithful God to keep those who are His.

Further, the truths that are in Ravi Zacharias’s books, sermons, and articles are still true today. His gracious approach to people, and his method of apologetical argumentation are valid today, and in my opinion, can and should be emulated. As we deal with an increasingly fractured and polarized culture, I believe that we need more thoughtful, winsome, passionate Christians engaging the cultural conversation with the truth of scripture. What has been revealed about Ravi Zacharias should not detract from Christian engagement in the public square for the sake of truth.

Frankly, I’m not a fan of “cancel culture.” In fact, “cancel culture” is foolish and if followed to its logical conclusion, Christians ought to discard any scriptures or biblical heroes because they were all flawed. The author of the Pentatuch, Moses, was a murderer; the author of a large part of the New Testament, the Apostle Paul, executed and falsely imprisoned believers. Peter was a liar who denied Christ. David committed adultery, abuse of authority and murder and yet wrote Psalms.

Fourth, although God uses leaders who are weak and prone to sin He calls us to a continual state of deep heart sanctification and repentance, especially as we lead others into that same repentance. No leader grows beyond repentance; no leader matures to the point of perfection. As leaders, we must not engage in self-deception, but must recognize our own weaknesses and flaws, and particularly, our specific areas of temptation.

One theme verse of my life is, “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 2:10). This gives me the freedom to recognize my areas of weakness and deep dependence on God for all things, including power in ministry. When God uses us despite our sinful inclinations and weaknesses, He gets the most glory!

But we must be clear: God doesn’t waste anything and can redemptively use what someone meant for evil in this world. This doesn’t minimize the offense or the call for justice. However, it injects powerful hope into a world torn by sin.

Finally, the revelation of this scandal presents a unique opportunity for us to humbly search our own hearts and pray for the courage to confess our sins and get help when needed. All of us, like Ravi Zacharias, have fallen short--and continue to fall short. My hope is that the allegations against Ravi serve as a sober reminder that we are all capable of living a double life; anyone can be blinded by their own self-deception and hypocrisy, and anyone can let their own ruling passions sabotage their ministry.

Ravi Zacharias’s fall ought to cause us to humbly reflect before God, to look inward and bring to light the sin in our lives. The gospel provides great hope to all of us: “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

Connect With Us for Counseling Services

ServingLeaders was created out of our experience that there are very few safe havens for pastors and ministry leaders to turn to in their darkest hour. There are few, if any, shepherds for the shepherds. Because of this, pastors are subject to very high rates of burnout, with “90% of pastors saying they feel fatigued and worn out every single week.” Burnout often weakens our moral compass and consequently can lead to moral failure (flameout).

At ServingLeaders, we intervene and do triage when necessary. However, we like to say that the best stories are the ones that never get told. In other words, the best stories are those ministry leaders who, when faced with temptation or clear issues in their lives, turn to Christ and others to get help before the fall. ServingLeaders offers a safe and sacred space for leaders to focus on the motives of their heart, understand how the nature of temptation relates to their longings, and what it means to walk humbly before the Lord.

If you know of any leaders in need of our counseling services or simply need a safe and sacred place to be cared for, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Additionally, SL Counseling, a branch of our ministry under ServingLeaders, exists to serve lay people who struggle with similar issues.