When the messenger falls short of the message
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Reflections
Michael J. Brooks
It’s a beautiful song based on a verse in the Psalms about God’s word. We sang it one Sunday in morning worship. (As the late Rush Limbaugh would say, this was “a heap many moons ago.”) However, one worshiper was distraught. She reminded me later that the hymn writer had been in the news in recent weeks. The writer left her husband and married someone who had left his wife. Their notoriety made this scandalous.
I’d read about the marriage, but, honestly, didn’t connect the event with her hymn. I was working at a Christian college at the time and sought counsel from the director of the music department the following week. He was likewise surprised, and suggested that many of the great Christian hymns came from composers who lived less than godly lives.
So the question is, can an ungodly person provide godly music fit for worship?
I thought of the same principle lately when a friend informed me that the publisher is in the process of revising one of the study Bibles I own. This particular Bible includes articles about how we got our Bible, how we interpret the Bible and other matters.
One of the articles was written by a man who died in 2020. It was only after his death that the world learned he was an abuser of women. The publisher decided to remove his article in future editions.
More recently a noted Christian author stepped aside from ministry after admitting to an eight-year immorality. I’m more familiar with this author since his books and essays have been an encouragement over the years.
Another writer has study material we once considered teaching in our church, but lately he’s served a prison term after his state lifted statutes of limitation.
Oh, my. This is a difficult moral issue.
On the one hand is the matter of example. Those who handle God’s word must strive to display godly character in all matters.
On the other hand, God’s word and proper application is truth no matter the messenger. And it can be argued that every human speaker or writer lives in deficit since we all fall short of God’s plan.
One pastor began every sermon with a prayer of personal confession, calling himself a “vile and dirty sinner.” After some months a good brother rose in a business meeting and suggested the church find a pastor who wasn’t so full of sin!
Good luck in this search.
No human instrument is beyond imperfection.
It’s also true the church is commanded to restore the broken if they repent.
I don’t think this issue has a simple solution.
Christians of goodwill struggle to process and respond in a way that honors God.
Michael J. Brooks; pastor of Siluria Baptist Church in Alabaster, Ala., and former Judson College faculty member; writes a weekly column about faith and culture. Visit siluriabaptist.com.
