When Your Pastor Fails Morally

In this five-minute roundtable, Tim Keller, John Piper, and Don Carson answer a hard and sobering question: What would you say to a congregation that has lost its pastor due to moral failure?

For Keller (TGC vice president and pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan), a good starting point is encouraging congregations not to become disillusioned about leadership or institutions. Instead, they should first look to the fallen nature we all share as human beings. Carson (TGC president and research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) reminds us that while sin should always horrify us, it should never surprise us—even when it’s Christian leaders falling into it. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn famously wrote, “The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.” To that end, Carson also reminds congregations of their calling to confront sin and seek restoration through the practice of church discipline. Piper (teacher at Desiring God and chancellor at Bethlehem College and Seminary) speaks about his own experience with this issue and pushes churches to patiently endure God’s hand in purifying his people.

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John Piper (BA, Wheaton College; BD, Fuller Theological Seminary; ThD, University of Munich) serves as founder and lead teacher at Desiring God and is chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, Piper served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, and he is a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He has authored more than 50 books, and more than 30 years of his preaching and writing are available free of charge at desiringGod.org.

Tim Keller (MDiv, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; DMin, Westminster Theological Seminary) was founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Manhattan, chairman of Redeemer City to City, and co-founder of The Gospel Coalition. He wrote numerous books, including The Reason for God. He and his wife, Kathy, had three children.

Don Carson (BS, McGill University, MDiv, Central Baptist Seminary, Toronto, PhD, University of Cambridge) is emeritus professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and cofounder and theologian-at-large of The Gospel Coalition. He has edited and authored numerous books. He and his wife, Joy, have two children.