There are many sad stories in this fallen world in which we live. One among them, especially sobering from the perspective of God’s people, is the moral fall of a pastor, a leader of Jesus’ “flock” (John 10:16), and a person with a specific divine calling.

1. What Is a Moral Fall?—Definition

Typically, the moral fall of a pastor is associated with an extramarital affair. However, ethical behavior is not limited to sexual morality, although this is an important part of it. Here is a suggested definition of a moral fall: a moral fall is broadly defined as behavior and/or actions which are (1) a serious offense to God’s will and His commandments as revealed in Scripture; (2) a severe violation of the rights, the well-being, the security, and trust of other people; and (3) a misdemeanor or crime.

Problematic moral behavior may happen on a large level such as on the state and government level, in various societies, and in business organizations. It may occur in the personal and interpersonal sphere—for example, among individuals and in families. Being in conflict with and opposed to biblical mandates and laws—among them the supreme love commandment (Mark 12:29–30) and Jesus’ golden rule (Matt 7:12)—as well as various biblical principles (e.g., covenant-faithfulness, stewardship), such behavior may manifest itself, among others, in:

• financial irregularities (e.g., fraud, theft, corruption, bribery, false information to the detriment of people depending on it, etc.),

• offenses in the area of human freedom and human rights (e.g., human trafficking, various forms of abuse including modern practices of slavery, murder, destruction of people’s reputation, oppression, etc.), and

• sexual violations (e.g., sexual abuse of children or spouse, rape, incest, a homosexual lifestyle, adultery, polygamy, etc.).

A pastor’s moral problems may be of a non-sexual nature; they may also be found in the area of sexuality. This statement will limit itself to sexual issues.

2. Why Do Moral Falls of Pastors Happen?

A variety of reasons may lead to a moral fall. One is poor judgment. Sometimes a pastor is seen as a perfect person who is desired as a partner by persons whose own marriage does not work well or by singles. Advances may be made. If the pastor does not take precautions and limits visits to certain places and times, a romantic affair may ensue. Extended ministry—for example, too many counseling sessions—to members of the opposite sex may have the same effect.

Hunger for power may be another reason for sexual adventures that may provide the allusion one is in control.

Constantly giving without receiving empties the “spiritual batteries,” and time may not be taken to recharge them, which makes a pastor more vulnerable to temptations. The pastor may be overworked or may be a workaholic and at times seek diversion and relaxation in various media, in pornography, or cybersex, which typically lowers sensibility and sets him/her up for various kinds of sexual misconduct. This may be aggravated through his/her own marital problems and loneliness.

When after all a moral fall occurs, rationalizations may be used to justify one’s behavior. God’s law may be bent or declared non-applicable to suit one’s own lifestyle. If an affair or another violation of God’s standard goes on for a while, the pastor may slip into a lifestyle of immorality, sexual addiction, and even predatory behavior.

While some of these reasons make it more understandable why things happen, at the end there are no real excuses. However, there may be a difference between a pastor who voluntarily confesses his/her sin not only to God, but also to his/her spouse and to church administration while the issue is not yet open knowledge, and a pastor who tries to hide his/her actions only for them to become public anyway.¹

3. Possible Negative Effects of a Moral Fall

As stated above, sexual issues causing a moral fall of a pastor are not only adultery but also rape, sexual abuse of children and spouse, homosexual behavior, incest, bestiality, and others. Typically, sexual misconduct and unfaithfulness, especially when they become public, have serious and devastating effects on the spouse, children, the larger family, church members, the church at large, society, and also the fallen pastor. The detrimental impact of such sinful behavior creates harm in any case. This may be emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, and social harm and may be long-lasting.

Negative effects include a higher risk to attract sexually transmitted diseases and increased potential to marital distress along with blaming, divorce, depression, anxiety, shame, humiliation, confusion and suicidal thoughts. Self-esteem, productivity, and creativity may be decreased, and trust may be lost.

The situation can also lead to domestic violence, increased poverty, and the loss of connections to friends and social networks. Adultery may trigger an unwanted pregnancy with further complications and moral challenges (e.g., the question of whether an abortion should be performed). Marital infidelity may affect church attendance negatively and may weaken the affected people’s relationship with God. The fallen pastor’s negative role model (cf. Phil 3:17; 1 Tim 4:12) has the potential to cause grown-up children and church members to imitate such behavior, either deliberately or inadvertently, and later justify it.

Finally, the church’s witness and her influence on society and other religious groups may be reduced or eclipsed, especially in secular environments in which pastors’ shortcomings regularly appear in the news and jeopardize the church’s name and Christianity’s reputation.

4. The Resulting Responsibility of the Church

In all this turmoil, the sacredness of marriage as a divine institution must not be forgotten. Therefore, in the case of a moral fall as defined above, neither the local church nor the pastor’s employing organization can look the other way and avoid the problem. They must get involved (Matt 18:15–19; 1 Cor 5:1–6) for the sake of the fallen brother/sister and even more so for the sake of all who have been affected and have become victims. This is Jesus’ mandate and an expression of the church’s love and care.

The victims have priority; but the goal of any intervention should also be to help the respective pastor. There are at least two areas in which the pastor is affected by the moral fall: (1) His/her spiritual life in endangered, and he/she needs help to recover a true relationship with God. A moral fall of a pastor is a severe spirituality issue, a grave spiritual failure. (2) His/her ministerial career is affected; the employing institution has to release him/her from his/her pastoral duties. The first issue has priority because it may affect eternal life. The church must help the fallen pastor to see the issue from a biblical perspective, to repent of his/her sins, separate from them, find peace with God and wholeness again, and work on broken relationships with the aim to restore them if possible.

Even more so, the church must care for the pastor’s spouse and family, especially if the pastor does not show insight, and a change of attitude is not achieved. They are the immediate victims but are often forgotten or neglected. The pastor’s family may need counseling, caring friends and a support system, financial help from the church organization for a while, etc. In other words, the approach to the situation should be redemptive.

If the pastor does not repent and does not stop evil behavior, if all attempts to help him/her have been fruitless and unsatisfactory, and he/she continues to live in such sin, church discipline needs to be considered and executed. It is a kind of last resort of the church to call out to the pastor to make things right with God and others. If the pastor changes behavior and sets things right, the fellowship with believers may be restored.

5. Forgiveness Is Possible

So, not only is repentance possible, but also forgiveness. Jesus is in the business of forgiving sins, saving people, and changing them (Acts 5:31; 10:43; Eph 1:7; Col 1:13–14; 2 Cor 5:17). The paralytic was told, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven” (Matt 9:2). The sinful woman who anointed Jesus’ feet experienced forgiveness of sins (Luke 7:37–38, 47–48). Jesus did not condemn the woman caught in adultery but called her to sin no more (John 8:11). We may pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt 6:12) and rejoice in the promise: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). But forgiveness does not happen automatically, independent of the attitude of the sinner, nor can it be taken lightly. “Have mercy on me, O God . . . blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Purge me . . . wash me” (Ps 51:1–3). And while we have the promise of forgiveness, strictly speaking, we do not have the right to be forgiven. It is God’s grace.

Forgiveness has not only a divine but also a human dimension. While the victims of our sins are challenged, “If your brother . . . repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him” (Luke 17:3), the perpetrator does not have the right to demand forgiveness. Some victims may not even manage to forgive and rise above the evil experienced. Relationships may be ruined for life.

Forgiveness does not undo evil and erase it from the memory of the victim. While forgiveness may be experienced, in many cases, the effects of the sin may still be with the sinner and the victims. David lost the first child he had with Bathsheba (2 Sam 12:15–16). He had to suffer from a dysfunctional family, which no longer respected him, and from civil war among others (2 Sam 13–20). For instance, a pastor still has to take care of his/her illegitimate child. If he/she has abused a child, imprisonment may be the consequence.

Fortunately, forgiveness and peace with God are possible, although they may not solve all the problems. So, what about the restoration of pastoral privileges and duties?

6. The Special Case of a Pastor

A. Spiritual Leaders in Old Testament and New Testament

Pastors are only mentioned once in the New Testament (Eph 4:11; pastor-teachers) and seem to be a special group of elders. The question of whether a pastor or spiritual leader can be restored to his/her office after a sexual fall is not directly discussed in Scripture. But Scripture does not leave us completely in the dark in this case. For instance, the New Testament indicates that leaders such as teachers have higher responsibilities than other believers, especially as they speak and proclaim the gospel with their tongue, which is very difficult to control (Jas 3:1; see also Luke 12:48). Also, their lives must be congruent with their teaching. “Greater responsibility brings greater judgment.”²

The Bible contains some narratives dealing with leadership and moral issues as well as the question of restoration or non-restoration. There were other than sexual cases in which people could keep their office or were restored to it: for instance, Gentiles such as Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 4:34–36) and Herod Antipas (Matt 14:3–4), as well as believers such as Aaron after the issue with the golden calf and his rebellion against Moses (Exod 32; Num 12) and Peter after disowning Jesus (John 21:15–22). Furthermore, not only did Peter fail, but so did all twelve disciples. These were to become the prime leaders of the church, but Jesus was still physically present, and their extended responsibilities may have begun only with Jesus’ ascension. On the other hand, ten of the twelve spies, leaders sent out by Moses to explore the promised land, died by a plague and were not restored to their responsibilities (Num 13:1–2; 14:37–38).

Obviously, sexual issues are somewhat different from other transgressions. Paul indicates that sexual immorality is a category of sin by itself. It involves the totality of the human being, and its results are extremely far-reaching by even destroying the union with Christ (1 Cor 6:18).³

According to the Old Testament, Samson was involved in immoral sexual behavior that led to his death (Judg 14–16). It was a time when “there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judg 21:25). While David, not directly being a spiritual leader, was able to continue as king after his adultery with Bathsheba—however, under great distress and with his life falling apart—the sons of the high priest Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, did not survive their sexual escapades. “Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did unto all Israel, and how that they lay with the women that did service at the door of the tent of meeting. And he said unto them, ‘ . . . Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make Jehovah’s people to transgress’” (1 Sam 2:22–24). The prediction that they would die on one and the same day came true (1 Sam 2:34; 4:11). These narratives are descriptive and not prescriptive, but still enlightening.

The New Testament does not contain a record on spiritual leaders of the early church being involved in sexual immorality. Therefore, the issue of restoration does not come up directly. However, the help one gets on this subject may be found in the lists of qualifications for bishops/elders in 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:5–6: The bishop/elder must be “husband of one wife.” Obviously, this refers to marital faithfulness. It would exclude from the office of elder persons who have not been or who are not faithful. This text also confronts pastors today. Since “the teacher has the possibility of greater damage and claims to have a more perfect understanding of doctrine and ethics,”⁴ his/her negative influence is more detrimental than that of others.

B. Personal Ethics and Professional Ethics

The issue of a moral fall of a pastor has also a larger ethical perspective. Pastors are not only church members like all others, but are at the same time professionals such as physicians and medical personnel, lawyers, accountants, and other licensed professions. Not only personal ethics but also professional ethics apply to these groups. This fact may coincide with the New Testament emphasis on teachers having greater responsibilities and having to undergo greater scrutiny. Professionals have obligations and privileges that other people do not have to the same extent. For instance, pastors have the duty to keep information secret that was entrusted to them under the provision of confidentiality, and they have the right to do so even in court—at least in some countries.

A moral fall affects professionals not only privately, but also in their professional career. Their license may be withdrawn permanently—for example, in the case of an accountant involved in monetary embezzlement. They have broken the code of ethics of their profession and can no longer be trusted. This is also true for pastors. A moral fall brings a fundamental dishonor on the ministerial profession. In addition, who knows if a person once involved in sexual immorality and having become a menace to others will not fall back into previous behavior if restored to the original position. “No one can be certain how much damage has been or is being done, nor how long and how complete the recovery will be.”⁵

Thus, the issue is that while a pastor after repentance may be restored as church member, this does not mean he/she can maintain his/her professional status or be restored to it immediately, after a period of time, or at all. Personal forgiveness and professional restoration are two different issues, which are not necessarily connected.

C. The Problem With Sexual Misconduct in Society and Church

Several societies have become quite strict on sexual misconduct. While in some of them homosexual conduct and incest among consenting adults are more or less legalized, sex with minors and sexual abuse are criminal offenses. Sexual abuse of children must be reported to the authorities in the United States. Sexual assault and harassment are reportable and may lead to lawsuits. Greater publicity of sexual assault has come, for instance, through the #MeToo Movement as a social justice movement against sexual abuse and harassment. It has empowered people to publicize their allegations of sexual assaults and has led to court cases for offenses dating back even decades. In the meantime, there is also a #ChurchToo movement that led to the resignation of pastors. “Many have argued that the current issue of reported child sexual abuse in the Catholic church is one of the biggest crises in the church's history.”⁶

Thus, even if the church would lay aside all biblical and ethical concerns, restoring a fallen pastor through keeping the person in his/her position or rehiring him/her could, due to the public sexual abuse debate, still become a major problem for the pastor and for church administration, especially if years later a lawsuit would ensue. Even if a pastor would not be sued for child molestation or being involved with child pornography, it may still be possible to argue that his/her sexual involvement with a person of the other sex was possible due to his/her position of power. This would make adultery a form of sexual assault and abuse. A worst-case scenario would be if sexual immorality would be repeated, and the pastor would exhibit predatory behavior. Also, it may not be wise to make a major difference between child abuse, sex with minors, and other forms of sexual immorality such as adultery, incest, and homosexual conduct, some being punished by authorities even with imprisonment. All of them are sinful and some are very much under the scrutiny of society these days with legal implication ensuing.

While the church has the option to keep a pastor who has experienced a moral fall or assign to him/her other work than pastoral responsibilities, the safest course and probably the wisest is to terminate the fallen pastor permanently and help his/her family and him/her to recover spiritually with the possibility that the local church may use his/her voluntary service in areas of no concern.⁷ This is also the position of the World Church as found in the General Conference Working Policy.⁸

7. Implications

With a moral fall, the issue is typically open sin, not sin hidden to the public. The church does not police its workforce but needs to put in place—and has at least partially done so—and adhere to a clear code of ethics to be accepted by all employees with stipulations of what will happen in the case of a violation.

In order to avoid as much as possible moral falls among pastors, it should be mandatory for educational institutions, which train future pastors, to address this problem and teach students how to set boundaries.

Students need help to develop a biblical worldview that does not focus on deserving what a person needs—for example, “I take from another person what I do not get from my spouse”—but on God’s good will for us and our relationship with Him. Not ignoring our needs, Jesus still highlighted that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). Moral falls are deep spiritual crises, as seen in Joseph’s refusal to get involved in sexual sin: “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Gen 39:9).

The church needs to have a procedure of how to deal with moral falls of pastors that applies to all, no matter if they are local pastors, theology teachers, departmental leaders, or administrators.

The church may also want to consider establishing a worldwide process of how to serve and help those affected by a moral fall of a pastor.

Church administration is encouraged to have regular seminars for pastoral workers on sexual misconduct and moral falls and/or have presentations on the issue during workers’ meetings once a year.

It is better to address the topic of sexual temptation and misconduct regularly and attempt to prevent difficult cases than have to lay off ministerial workers.

Conclusion

The moral fall of a pastor is an enormous tragedy for himself/herself, the pastoral family, and the church. It creates pain, anger, despair and has other manifold effects on the pastor and others. Yet, the pastor does not need to be seen as a victim because humans have a choice of what they think, occupy themselves with, and do. Nevertheless, in addition to his/her family and the church he/she needs attention and help.

Forgiveness is crucial. The fallen pastor should seek divine forgiveness and forgiveness by all people affected. These are also challenges to extending forgiveness to the pastor. But forgiveness does not necessarily mean restoration in all respects and return to all functions exercised before the moral fall. In many cases, we must live with the consequences of bad choices. Pastoral ministry is not an entitlement, but a privilege given on condition.

Fortunately, we have a heavenly Father, “the God of all grace, who has called [us] to His eternal glory in Christ.” He is willing to “restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish [us]” (1 Pet 5:10).

“Consecrate yourselves wholly to the work of God. He is your strength, and he will be at your right hand, helping you to carry out his merciful designs.”

Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, March 24, 1904