The evangelical world was recently shaken by news of a moral scandal that took down a prominent preacher. This news hit like a bomb and came with great heartache and grief. How could this happen? How could this man do such a thing? Why did no one see it coming?

Sadly, it is a story as old as the Christian church. In truth, it’s even older – just think of King David. It happens because sin happens. As the Apostle Paul explained, sin will seize the opportunity (Romans 7:11). It happens because someone let it happen.

I recently spoke at a meeting of pastors where Pastor Crawford Loritts rightly offered the warning that any pastor or Christian leader is at all times less than “thirty
seconds from stupid.” You bet we are. But the reality is that we are also thirty seconds from grievous sin and public scandal. That scandal will shake the foundations and hurt the faithful. As the New Testament makes clear, such a scandal brings disrepute upon the Gospel, the church, and the Christian ministry.

The world will make much of such a scandal, and it is often handed to them on a silver platter. Christians grieve and are confused. I had a quick conversation with two Boyce College students on the campus and they told me of their shared grief. I was asked by Southern Seminary students how we should respond to such troubling news. I was called by pastors and Christian leaders, some of whom has worked closely with this pastor and they often asked the same question: “Did you see this coming?” I was tempted to turn the question back on them: “Did you see this coming?” I didn’t see it coming and, to be honest, I am still in shock.

The correct Christian view seems to tell us that we should be shocked, for such sin is simply shocking and horrifying. On the other hand, the Bible clearly presents the reality of sin’s snares and the power of temptation and the awful fact that leaders sometimes sin and fall. The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, standing on Gospel and Scripture, knows that sin will happen and that the faithful church must confront sin for what it is.

Why do I take this painful subject as the substance for my letter in this issue of the Southern Seminary Magazine? It is because such a moral fall reminds us of what is expected of us as a Christian institution, those who lead here, those who teach here, those who serve here, those who study here, and those who go out from
here to serve in the church and in the world. It also underlines the necessity of combining our deep concern for Christian conviction with an equal concern for Christian character. These dual concerns must undergird our leadership, our teaching, our life together, and our callings. All this serves to remind me of the massive and
unavoidable stakes in this stewardship. Boyce College and Southern Seminary must seek in every way possible to produce men who, by God’s grace, are worthy of the
pulpit. And we must do everything within our power to raise up a generation of men and women who will serve out their callings with conviction and character conjoined. Anything less is disaster. Look at how much is entrusted to us. Pray that we will be faithful to this trust in this generation and produce a generation who will perpetuate that faithfulness. Thank you for joining us in that stewardship. Let’s work even harder and pray even more fervently—for each other and for Christ’s church, in this generation and until our Lord returns. Even so Lord, come quickly.