I was in my early twenties.
- A Bible College student.
- Starry-eyed with dreams of being a missionary or children’s pastor.
The leaders at the school seemed like superheroes to me. I was in awe.
Then came Valentine’s day.
“Hey,” someone yelled during break time, “Valentine’s candy.”
Couldn’t pass that up. I loved sweets. But, I didn’t have a boyfriend to buy me any. I had no way to get to town.
So, I ran outside and joined the students jostling around a fancy oversized box of chocolates. After agonizing over which one to choose, I grabbed a nut filled blob and walked over to my friends.
“Isn’t this great?” I said.
My friends just stared at me. Then, one by one, they tossed their chocolates in a nearby pond.
“Throw yours in too,” they demanded.
I refused.
“We know who the candy is really for,” one of them announced. Her explanation was not pleasant.
One of my class mates had received this very box of candy from
- a Christian leader.
- a married man.
- Someone I respected very much.
Earlier, this young woman had shown my friends the accompanying card. The leader’s signature scrawled on a sticky note inside.
Was it true?
To this day, I am not certain. But, I had heard things in the month previous. I had seen situations involving the leader and this young lady that seemed a bit odd. Up to this point I ignored my suspicions. Hoped I was just imagining things.
Not long after that Valentine’s Day, it became public. The inappropriate behavior of this leader.
People were stunned. Some even devastated.
To many of them , this guy had not only been their leader, he had been their
- Conscience.
- Emotional road map.
- High priest to God Himself.
Me?
I was one of the devastated ones.
It took a while for me to recover. To take responsibility. Not for the leader’s mess, but for my own reaction. I had to face what I had done –
- Shut my brain off upon coming to Bible College.
- Abdicated the responsibility of my spiritual growth to another human being.
Not a good thing to do.
God gave us the intellect to question. The spiritual ability to discern.
Bottom line – We Christians need to grow up. Grasp truth for ourselves. Understand it. Use it wisely to
- make important decisions.
- support leaders with integrity and wisdom.
Be assured, a godly leader will not feel threatened we take responsibility for our own spiritual lives. He will rejoice that his followers are finally growing up.
