SHOULD DAVID BE THE STANDARD BEARER FOR A FALLEN LEADER’S RESTORATION?

10 Responses

1. I agree with everything you said about whether David should be our standard… but I think there is another angle to this. David was anointed by Samuel to be the King over Israel. He was a warrior king. He was NOT a priest; NOT a spiritual leader of the people. He didn’t have spiritual care or authority over a flock. Pastors and Leaders in the body of Christ today, who have been given authority over the flock, should be held to a MUCH HIGHER standard than a Warrior King in the Old Testament! (I don’t think I expressed myself very well. I hope you understand my thinking.)

   1. Exactly my thoughts. Yes, David was a psalmist, he wrote many songs, loved to go the the temple, be in God’s presence and worship Him and minister to Him, but that was his heart, but he was not “ordained” as a priest; he was anointed as king.

2. I have observed several recent discussions about restoring fallen leaders. At least two things are missing. First, no more than lip service is paid to the idea of the offending leader making amends to the victim of his/her sin. Should not doing all we can to restore the person who was victimized by sin be our highest priority, not restoring a popular pastor, prophet, etc.? Second, I have not seen anyone suggest that many Charismatic churches must begin listening to men of God who are well-schooled in the written Word of God and know how to teach it. In the pursuit of spiritual experiences, too many sound Bible teachers have been shoved aside, especially those who attempt to warn about certain popular practices and beliefs. They are written off as “legalists” or being under the influence of a “spirit of religion.” The Word of God is not incompatible with spiritual experiences, but certain spiritual experiences, “revelations,” etc. are contrary to clear scriptures. The problem is systemic, and we have not seen the last of sin and corruption being exposed. Unfortunately, there is a decided lack of discernment and wisdom among many leaders of the Charismatic Church. What is needed is NOT revival as much as repentance and the restoration of the original Apostolic teachings, and the latter are ONLY found in the New Testament. If the church begins to move in great signs and wonders, revival, and the like without a solid foundation in the Word, the results will be disastrous, and deception will run rampant in our churches and fellowships (as it already is in far too many cases).

3. There is a danger that we can over-spiritualise things and overlook the basics of human behaviour. Most people are only sorry that they have been caught. “Christian leaders “ are no different – if anything it is even more likely among those who stand to lose influence, power, status and wealth.

4. Let us not forget what the New Testament says about church leaders, that the “must be above reproach”, married to one woman, and manage his family well. If this is true about TD Jakes, he committed multiple sins- he broke his covenant with his wife committing adultry, commuted sexual immorality in his homosexual relationships, lied, and did not truly repent. Tragic.

5. David did not have a born again spirit. But, of course, likely these leaders don’t either. The difference is a born again spirit was available to them. Sitting in an American church today is one of the most dangerous places you can be. See Mario Murillos blog.

6. 100% agree – David pre-Psalm 51 should never be the standard bearer to New Testament believing Christians to excuse sin, ever. David didn’t have the Prophets or the New Testament strong warnings and commands and hadn’t yet suffered the devastating consequences of his sin. Had he known the strong warnings of Scripture that what he sowed he would reap he would never, ever have repeated what he did with Bathsheba and Uriah, but be the strongest advocate to never, ever entertain such temptation in his actions and thoughts.

7. In the situation with Mike Bickle,
   I have not seen any mention of
   “When a brother fall, come alongside to restore”. Mike is still our brother. I’m currently reading his book “After God’s Heart”….Mike has done sinful things and is experiencing the consequences but he has also done very Godly things.
   There has been no mention to my
   knowledge about the woman’s role in all of this. Where were her parents,
   her spiritual leaders? Why was she
   spending alone time with a married
   man, why was she accepting favors from him? Where was Mike’s wife
   in all of this? Mike bears the lion’s
   share of the responsibility but there’s
   more to the story.
   This is also a time for each one of us
   to be falling on our faces begging God
   to search our hearts. I pray the fear of
   God be restored in the world, beginning with us.

8. Thank you Susan for your reply!

   John 8: The woman who was caught in adultery was about to be viciously stoned by her accusers the “Church/religious” leaders and Jesus “calmly” handled the situation. As her accusers insisted on a response to try and trap Him Jesus finally gave them one. He said, “He who is without sin cast the first stone.” It was quiet and “all” her accusers dropped their “stones/weapons”, and left. Then Jesus asked a question “Where are your accusers now? Did anyone of them condemn you? She said, no Lord. Then JESUS said neither do I. Go and sin no more.” Who are we to say a persons repentance isn’t enough when you can see clear change?

   Maybe the real test is the “Church/Religious” leaders response…

   I am not justifying sin because we all have committed some type of sin. Even leaders, have falling short (or sinned that no one knows about but God forgave them when they repented) of the glory of God! If “we” truly repented He forgives us.

   Restore those that want to be restored without using platforms to gossip, spread rumors and forgetting about everything they did before the accusation when we don’t know ourselves what “actually” happened.

   The way the Church responds these days is very crucial. Let truth unfold and never stop proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!

9. Keep bringing it Wanda. We all need to not just hear, but receive this; deeply, down to the roots of our being, so that any presumptuous sin is uprooted. Thank You!!!