When a leader falls, is their past teaching still valid?”

This was the title of Tom Forryan’s article in Evangelicals Now, part of a series of articles on Jude. Disappointingly, the article doesn’t answer the question, although it poses it in the text as well as the headline.  Maybe that is due to the crucial section got cut in editing.

The article’s focus is more in the relationship between a preacher/teacher’s conduct and current teaching than it is about their past teaching. For this reason, Tom rightly encourages us to prioritise teaching in the local church.  However, this doesn’t tell us what to do about the preacher’s past sermons that we can remember or are still downloaded onto our computers or the books and recordings that we possess from authors and Bible teachers with a wider ministry.  Nor does Tom deal with the question about whether or not the books, articles and talks should continue to be circulated.

So, here are some quick thoughts.  In terms of what we remember and how specific things were applied, then the objective validity of the teaching itself is not changed by the fact that the preacher has fallen, especially where their deeds were inconsistent with their words.  We don’t need to lose confidence in what we were taught, it was the preacher who was living a lie not the faithful hearer.  God is able to speak through fallen, sinful human beings, he even spoke through a donkey once. We may want to double check though whether we got the message fully and accurately if we did not see it properly lived out. Were we really able to apply it truly or was it distorted.

However, what about those books and talks.  I wonder, if we are tempted to hold onto old books and talks, it raises the question about what we are holding onto.  You see, good teaching is not original, it is faithful to God’s Word. The content of the message is often just as available from alternative authors.    What we often appreciate most about a person is their speaking  or writing style.  I don’t think this is about mere celebrity though it can be.  We do relate to some styles better than others. However, this may be a warning not to become too dependent on the one style.

I also would argue that the books, articles and talks should not continue to be distributed if the sin disqualifies from ministry.  Proper church discipline means that the fallen leader should not continue to benefit from this kind of work.