God’s Bad Press

This is hard for me to write, because the man who I’m about to talk about is someone whose books I have on my bookshelf. I’ve listened to hours of his speeches and have learned so much from him over the years.

A few weeks ago, Christianity Today released a report entitled, “Ravi Zacharias’s Ministry Investigates Claims of Sexual Misconduct at Spas.” It’s unfortunate that Ravi died earlier this year and can’t comment on the allegations, but his ministry said they are cooperating with the ongoing investigation, which I’m glad to hear. I hope there’s some kind of indisputable evidence that overturns the allegations, but I’ve been around long enough to know how these things go. Usually, where there’s smoke there’s fire.

I am still processing and trying to figure out what I do with this information. I feel like a 5-year-old who just saw Santa Claus drive his Cadillac over a reindeer. This man I received so much from failed so incredibly hard.

Part of me wonders if I should say anything because it’s not someone I knew or interacted with. I don’t normally speak against a person, but I’ll try to speak against an idea that a person may hold. But Ravi was literally a world-renowned teacher who was welcomed into countless churches and universities. We held him in high esteem, and he willingly stepped into a public space for decades. I personally feel closer to this story because of the impact he had on my life. Therefore, I feel it’s worth speaking about, and I think these women involved deserve to be heard. I’m not here to unjustly condemn anyone, but this provides an opportunity for self-examination and to consider what we can learn from it and how we can better move forward.

Furthermore, God doesn’t need me to cover up a scandal in his church. In fact, the Bible says, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them . . . Everything exposed by the light becomes visible — and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” (Ephesians 5:11;13)

So God doesn’t need us to sweep under the rug all of the sexual misconduct, abuses of power, and the failings of public leaders. Christians will often try to hide what God himself is exposing because they are afraid of losing their power or losing what they have built. However, their efforts just delay the inevitable, and trying to hide it will end up damaging beyond repair what could have once been saved if it had been properly addressed.

We can have compassion for sinners, as we all are sinners, but we cannot justify the sin. We lose all credibility when we defend “our side” and “our people” because it would look bad for us. I believe in offering mercy, but there has to come a point where we break away and call it out. If not, we sound like those parents on the news talking about their criminal kid like, “I know he’s burning down houses, but he’s a sweet boy! He always helps with the dishes.”

This goes for churches, organizations, and political parties. If your side is so fragile that you can’t call out the issues, it’s a house built on sand and just a matter of time before it collapses.

There are moments where I feel like giving up on Christianity when I see these kinds of failures, or when I see the Bible misused to defend the misdeeds of a politician. But then I have to remember that Jesus went toe-to-toe with the Pharisees who exploited the Scriptures for their own gain. He flipped over tables in righteous anger when he witnessed injustices and abuses of power. It’s clear to me that Jesus was not afraid of getting some bad press. He knew that not exposing it would lead people into further darkness.

God doesn’t need you to defend sin. God doesn’t need you to act like you have it together when you don’t. God doesn’t need a church of manipulators and magicians. He can handle the bad press. We don’t have to air everyone’s dirty laundry, but we misrepresent God when we make excuses for those who deserve to be held accountable. And not everyone deserves to be put back on a stage.

The issues with Ravi are illustrative of all our lives. He wouldn’t be the first to fail in this way, or to say one thing while doing another. Fortunately, God’s grace can handle the worst of sinners. I know this because I’ve experienced his grace more times than I could ever count.

But grace has to be coupled with accountability. It requires hard conversations that address hard truths. We shine brighter when we let God’s grace refine us and free us from what we’ve tried too long to hide. He’s so good that he can take our worst moments and turn them into something that brings value, not just for our own lives, but even to others.

“Everything exposed by the light becomes visible — and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.”