Let the light into the secret room
Starting from the Pastor Ravi Zacharias Sex Scandal
Christian apologist Pastor Ravi Zacharias (hereinafter referred to as Ravi) passed away in May 2020, but a few months later, allegations of sexual assault and other inappropriate behavior against him during his lifetime began to surface.
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), which he founded, hired the Atlanta law firm Miller & Martin PLLC to conduct a four-month independent investigation into the allegations. . On February 11, 2021, RZIM released a 12-page investigation report. The report details multiple victim accounts and many of Ravi's inappropriate behaviors, confirming that the internationally renowned pastor used his respected reputation for Christian apologetics to engage in sexual harassment or harassment in the United States and Asia for more than a decade. Sexually assaulted multiple women.
Why do leaders stumble?
While releasing the investigation report, the RZIM board of directors also publicly stated that they were "shocked and saddened by Ravi's behavior" and acknowledged that they all urgently need to repent. In addition to changing the name of the organization, the ministry will also be repositioned and its direction and content will be significantly adjusted.
Incidents of Christian leaders falling down have become common in recent years. However, after reading this 12-page investigation report in detail, I still feel inexplicably sad. Today, American college campuses are filled with anti-Christian culture. The next generation is influenced by science and post-modern thoughts and is gradually moving away from Christianity. Pastor Ravi is one of the few preachers who can enter the world's top universities and have in-depth dialogues with academic elites and students in the field of thought. My two children were deeply influenced by him in high school and college, establishing the foundation of their faith and their sharp thinking skills. It is particularly shocking and sad that Ravi's private life is so contrary to what he preaches in the public sphere.
Because of his popularity, it is even more heartbreaking to see how some unbelievers on the Internet responded to his sex scandal and attacked the church. What was wrong with him? Is it because he doesn’t believe in God’s righteous judgment? Was he deliberately deceiving the Holy Spirit? Is it because he can't resist the temptation of selfish desires again and again? Is it his excessive reputation and power that allows him to evade accountability? Or was he too proud and missed the opportunities God gave him to repent?
In fact, in 2017, a Canadian woman made a sexual harassment accusation against Ravi. Unexpectedly, Ravi took the lead and filed a lawsuit against her, claiming that except for his wife and daughter, he had never had alone contact with any woman. The case was eventually settled before trial and a confidentiality agreement was signed.
An atheist set up a website "Ravi Watch" to pay attention to Ravi's every move for a long time. This website had previously revealed that there was a problem with his doctorate degree. It was finally confirmed that Ravi had honorary doctorates from multiple universities and that he had not received a doctorate. RZIM explained that "Dr." Ravi Zacharias is an honorific title due to his honorary doctorate, but he no longer calls himself a doctor.
These warnings did not make Ravi repent, they just made him act more cautiously. He owns several mobile phones at the same time. When entering the RZIM office, he never uses his personal mobile phone to access the office network system, so that his wrongdoing can be hidden from the eyes of his family and co-workers.
Great man mentality
The Gospel Coalition has a well-written article arguing that this is because of a dangerous combination of: 1) inflated power, 2) secret life, and 3) cheap grace. We often think the problem is that Ravi is a "Christian celebrity." Reputation is indeed dangerous, but it does not necessarily lead to abuse of power. The danger is the "great man mentality" behind fame, the feeling that their sacrifices, contributions and achievements deserve special respect, power and treatment.
The 13th issue of "Love and Conflict Newsletter" (December 2020) talks about "Before a leader falls, the heart falls first." When a leader feels entitled to some special treatment, his "heart" has fallen. A fallen heart is clearly revealed under the excessive expansion of power. This is really a warning sign!
This "great man mentality" makes them feel that their abilities and identities should be fully respected and trusted, exempted from some responsibilities and constraints, and cannot be questioned. Ravi often relies on massage to treat chronic back pain, and colleagues at RZIM once "questioned" his frequent travels with a personal masseur. Unfortunately, Ravi did not listen to his co-worker’s blunt advice and instead criticized him, which damaged their relationship. The final investigation report proved that Ravi's sexual assault behavior mostly occurred around massage.
cheap grace
Ministry leaders often possess a lot of confidential information about their ministry and individuals. They become the owners and protectors of secret information, so that there is a "secret room" in their lives that only God and themselves can enter. Of course they forget that that is where the evil ones infiltrate and attack.
If God is there in the "secret room" of the heart, why do you still dare to do things that displease God, or even offend God and hurt others? Perhaps behind the over-expansion of power and "secret rooms" is the copycat belief of "cheap grace." This is why so many Christian leaders sink deeper and deeper into the abyss after their "hearts" fall, unable to stand up.
German theologian Bonhoeffer said in his book "Following Christ":
"Cheap grace is grace as a doctrine, a principle, and a system. ⋯⋯Cheap grace is being forgiven without repentance, being baptized without observing church discipline, and receiving Holy Communion without confessing sins. , receive forgiveness without the need for personal repentance. Cheap grace is grace that does not require the cost of discipleship, grace that does not require the carrying of a cross, and grace that does not require the incarnation and eternal life of Christ Jesus.”
Cheap grace diminishes priceless grace, and cheap grace denies priceless grace. Isn’t it a common phenomenon in the church today that although it denies cheap grace in words, it accepts cheap grace in action? It emphasizes love and grace but does not talk about sin and repentance?
In conflicts, we are all like single-eyed cameras that only look at each other and not ourselves. They also unknowingly built a "secret room" for themselves and kept their unknown sins tightly in the "secret room". They never took them out, spread them out under the cross, received the gospel, and let them be washed away by the precious blood of Christ. This is tantamount to rejecting the promise of God’s grace: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) If you deny your sins, how can your sins be forgiven? If a person insists on staying in a secret room, how can he expect to emerge from darkness into light?
How Christians Can Respond
Pastor Mai Zhongtang of the "Love and Conflict Reconciliation Ministry" pointed out that Christians should provide the greatest assistance and sympathy to those sexual victims and Pastor Ravi's family, protect their personal privacy, and should not discriminate against or discriminate against Ravi because of the scandal. Treat them unfairly. At the same time, we must also affirm the sincerity and courage of our colleagues at RZIM. After the incident broke out, we were willing to hire a team of lawyers to conduct a fair and independent investigation into the alleged incident, make the truth public, give society a fair explanation, and sincerely express our sincerity to all victims. Apologize.
Pastor Mai also reminded that one should separate one’s personality from one’s writings. Indeed, if the contents of Ravi's writings during his lifetime are correct, there is no need to generalize with this incident. Jesus taught this: "Observe and do everything the scribes and Pharisees commanded you, who sit on the seat of Moses. But do not imitate their deeds, for they can speak but cannot do. They make things difficult for them. Burdens were bound and laid on men's shoulders, but they themselves would not move a finger." (Matthew 23:2-4) Are the scribes and Pharisees worthy of sitting in Moses' position? Of course not! But what they teach is correct, so "you must observe and do everything they command you."
Martin Luther also had some anti-Semitic remarks in his writings at that time. When Christianity's nearly two thousand years of discrimination and unfair treatment against the Jews was conclusively proven in 1965, the church publicly apologized to the Jews, but did not remove Martin Luther's books from the shelves or prohibit reading of his works.
However, we should also be careful not to overestimate his academic achievements while underestimating the harm he caused. However, when quoting discussions and opinions, you should not only be considerate of the victims and not rub salt into the wounds; you should also be careful not to stumble unbelievers or new believers and affect their pursuit of faith.
Mai Zhongtang further pointed out that after the leader's sex scandal, in addition to condemning the denunciation, the church community should have a deep introspection and propose measures against the "big fox" that corrupts the spiritual life of Christians and even leaders - the pornographic media. Countermeasures.
The investigative report into Ravi's case noted that he collected hundreds of photos of young women, some of them nude. According to statistics from Barna Research Group, 68% Christians admit that they regularly visit pornographic websites, and even 50% preachers admit that they regularly browse pornographic websites.
If some church leaders are fed pornographic images and videos for a long time, how much harm will it cause to them personally and to the physical, mental and spiritual souls of the believers they shepherd? Our outward behavior reflects our inner true beliefs. Who is sitting on the throne in our hearts? What do we feed our souls with?
Judas, who betrayed Jesus, and Peter, who denied Jesus, both regretted their falls, but only Peter turned around and was accepted by the Lord. Should you and I do the same to repentant pastors?
Serve leaders in their weaknesses
In fact, if we are not alert, each of us may fall. Maybe you and I don’t have Ravi’s popularity and influence, so we won’t attract too many people’s attention. But if one person falls, he will still trip up the people around him, causing grief and enmity. You and I may not have committed such a big sin and hurt so many people, but we can still make mistakes and hurt people without knowing it. In addition to being vigilant on weekdays, what is more important is your own attitude and the response of the Christians around you after you fall or commit a sin.
The two fallen disciples of Jesus were Judas, who betrayed Jesus, and Peter, who denied the Lord three times. They are all the right-hand men and important co-workers of Jesus Christ. However, Judas fell and hanged himself, and Peter cried and repented after his fall, and finally became an important servant of God and a pillar of the church.
When church leaders fall, we often focus on the event of the fall and condemn, cut, punish, or even drive them out of the house. Even if they feel sad and repentant afterwards, confess their sins and repent, it will be difficult for them to be accepted and continue to gain a foothold in the church where they originally served. This is a pity.
We need to pray more for the pastors and leaders of the church. Especially the leaders with bigger "secret rooms" need more prayers. In the secret room, if they walk closely with God, they can bring huge influence; however, if they are alone and fight alone, they can easily become the prey of the evil ones.
I once heard a pastor say that a pastor’s transparency and openness in sharing his or her weaknesses is a double-edged sword. It can kill the enemy and prevent it from attacking you in the dark, but it can also be seen by co-workers and church brothers and sisters. Your weakness is used to attack you, causing you to be bruised and bruised. Therefore, many leaders would rather wrap up their imperfections, lock them tightly in a secret room, and fight alone. Such a dilemma makes people reluctant to let go, and you can understand the struggle involved. But God gives leaders a more difficult challenge: Would you rather fall in darkness and be attacked by the evil one? Or admit your weakness? Although the latter may be attacked by co-workers, this is not necessarily the case. What is certain is that in the light, they can triumph in front of Satan by relying on the power of Christ.
For believers, how to deal with the weaknesses of leaders is a very important exercise in life. If we expect leaders to have zero shortcomings and see their shortcomings as stains and unacceptable, the other party can only hide their shortcomings in the darkness and fight alone against the evil beast, never to recover. If we see his weaknesses as areas that require support and prayer, so that the other person's shortcomings are not controlled by the evil one in the dark, he may become a better leader.
Isn’t this the gospel? Isn't this redemption?
God is just and merciful. Those who are bullied in the dark can still see the light of righteousness.
Only God deserves to be honored
God allows the fall of a man with such a high reputation like Ravi to be exposed, allowing people to see who is the real ruler, the king of judgment. Calvin said: "The human heart is a factory for making idols." Human sinfulness makes people worship visible idols, including God's important servants. They sit on the throne of the kingdom they established. Because of their rich understanding of the Bible and theology, their messages carry spiritual authority, making it easy for people to regard them as gods. And they also regard themselves as gods and are happy to accept the worship of others.
God allows these scandals to be exposed, exposing sins, even at the expense of bringing shame to the church, so that people can see that only God is the real Lord. God can raise up kings and destroy kings; He can raise up Ravi and destroy the work of his hands. This is really scary! The Lord we worship is not to be mocked. Where no one sees, in the inner sanctum of man, the great and terrible God is there. How do you and I view service? Who exactly are we serving? Is it to serve your own desires? The satisfaction of serving yourself? Or serve the God who calls us? How will our service attitude be different when we truly understand this great and awesome God?
And this God is also the King of righteousness. Those who were bullied in the dark can now see the light of righteousness.
I hope that the fall of Pastor Ravi Zacharias, a master of apologetics, can awaken us to a greater understanding of God’s authority, our own weaknesses, and a deeper understanding of the redemption accomplished by the grace of the cross of Christ. of desire.
Further reading:
1. 〈領袖跌倒前〉，劉哲沛，《愛與衝突通訊》第13期。
2. 〈Find the lost shepherd〉，林敏雯，《神國》雜誌27期。
Wang Lanxin, holds a master's degree in "Conflict Management", and founded the "Love and Conflict Harmony Ministry" with her husband, lawyer Liu Zhepei, and jointly leads couples' harmony camps, as well as conflict management training and lectures. For ministry details, please seehttps://www.loveandconflict.org/.