Nearly thirty years ago, when I was only a few years into my marriage and pastoral ministry, Dr. Lehman Strauss did a week-long Bible conference at our church. I was blessed to assist Dr. Strauss by managing his book table, chauffeuring him around town, and doing whatever else he needed done. It was a real treat for me, as a young pastor to spend time with this godly man who had been serving the Lord for well over half a century.
One night Dr. Strauss was preaching on the importance of character and integrity. He said that for years he carried around a little black book with the names of preachers who had become disqualified from ministry due to moral failings. He said that they were not just ministers that he had heard about, but men whom he knew personally. Dr. Strauss said,
For years I carried that little book with me, and I prayed for each of those men every day by name. Then I prayed that my name would not be the next one on the list.
Dr. Strauss then said,
You look at me, an 84-year-old man, and you’re thinking, “What are the chances of you getting disqualified at this point?” Yet I tell you that’s the very kind of thinking that I want to avoid. I am 84 years old, and I run scared – scared that after all these years of ministry I would disqualify myself and dishonor my Lord who has been so faithful to me.
Even as I recall Dr. Strauss’ words, I can feel my eyes moisten. We live in a day when ministers are falling left and right. Just yesterday a colleague told me that his favorite evangelical leader, Ravi Zacharias, who passed away last year, exhibited a prolonged pattern of sexual misconduct. Accusations that had been made before his death and supposedly debunked, have since been substantiated based on reports by a third-party investigative team hired by his media ministry, RZIM. My colleague said that when he heard the news, he cried. He told me,
One time my wife and I asked one another, “Who is one Christian still living that you would love to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with?” I said, “Ravi Zacharias.” He was my #1 choice. I had so much respect for him. Now I still wish that I could talk to him – because I’d have some serious questions to ask him.
Those that were closest to Ravi said, “This misconduct is deeply troubling and wholly inconsistent with the man Ravi Zacharias presented both publicly and privately to so many over more than four decades of public ministry.”
It’s a good reminder to all of us that “the best of men are men at best.” Recently I preached on Hebrews 13:7: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”
The word “consider” means to think about, to contemplate. “Outcome” is the Greek word ekbasis, which can refer to the sum total of a person’s accomplishments in life. In his final letter to Timothy, Paul wrote,
You know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance.
The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim. 3:10; 4:6b-7)
The more I think about it, the more I realize the need for a healthy tension between Hebrews 13:7 and 1 Timothy 5:24-25, which says,
Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later. In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light.
That’s why I love Christian biographies. Sufficient time has elapsed to judge the true nature of a Christian leader’s life and ministry – at least so far as is humanly possible. My guess is that a biography will never be written about me, but that’s okay, so long as I hear my Lord and Savior say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. … Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:23).
With that in mind I join the chorus of those who sing from the heart that old Steve Green song:
Oh, may all who come behind us
find us faithful,
May the fire of our devotion
light their way.
May the footprints that we leave
lead them to believe,
and the lives we live
inspire them to obey.
Oh, may all who come behind us
find us faithful.
By the way, Dr. Strauss did finish well. He went home to be with the Lord at age 86, just a few years after he preached at our conference. His manner of life was consistent with the glorious gospel that he preached.
I thank the Lord that dear Dr. Strauss finished well. By God’s grace, so will I.