No pastor or church leader is perfect. It’s not a matter of if but when a minister will err in a way that wounds others. While missteps and sin on a leadership level may be inevitable, they are not beyond God’s ability to redeem.
Take, for example, the story of the cunning Gibeonites in Joshua chapter nine. Fresh off their victory at Ai, Joshua and the Israelite leaders were confronted by what appeared to be a peace-seeking caravan from a distant land. Instead of asking for the counsel of the Lord, Joshua and his team covenanted with the Gibeonites, unaware that they were being deceived. The ragtag caravan was really from a nearby Canaanite city!
Three days later, the truth came out. When it did, there was immediate backlash: “And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders” (Josh 9:18). If you, as a church leader, ever made a decision that was poorly received by your congregation, you know the heat Joshua faced.
As a result, trust, that most precious commodity between leaders and followers, broke. In response, Joshua devised a plan to restore trust, which you can read about in a previous post. But to see how God redeemed Joshua’s misstep, we must look at the next chapter.
The Bullseye
However, before we go there, I want to be clear. The bullseye the enemy is aiming at in your ministry is broken trust. Satan does not care which deception proves effective. It is simply a means to an end. A leader’s moral failure, abuse, or embezzlement serves just as well as not seeking the Lord about an important decison. The resulting broken trust with one’s congregaton is what the enemy is after.
Why? Because a ministry suffering from unhealed broken trust is effectively sidelined from the Great Commission. Until the trust wound is healed, such a congregation will hem and haw instead of following their leaders. Sometimes they even rebel against and replace subsequent leaders who dare to prod them to embrace their vision. As a sad result, their fruitfulness for the Kingdom dries up.
The Blessing
Now, having said that, and noting Joshua’s previous efforts to restore trust, we see in chapter ten how God redeemed Joshua’s blunder. When five surrounding Canaanite cities heard of the Gibeonites’ covenant with Israel, they formed a coalition to attack Gibeon.
In response, the Gibeonites cried out to Israel for protection. Israel (and God) took up their cause. It began with laser-guided hailstones that took out most of the enemy. Following that, we read about the longest recorded day in history. In response to Joshua’s prayer, God literally prolonged the day! The Bible reports, “And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day” (Josh. 10:10).
When that longest of days was over, the Amorites were finished.
Let’s reverse engineer the miraculous outcome. What was the occasion for the victory? Five Amorite kings attacked Gibeon. Why did they do that? Because Gibeon made a treaty with Israel. How was the treaty made? Through a ruse Joshua failed to see through. Why did he fail to see through it? He and the rest of the leadership neglected to seek the Lord! That was the leadership blunder that led to God’s merciful redemption of their misstep. One that demonstrated His awesome supernatural power.
The Takeaways
- Joshua went from self-reliance to Divine dependence. Just because you, as a ministry leader, may have acted in immaturity, impulse, or with a lack of discernment, it does not mean God is done with you. The Bible says of Joshua’s faith in chapter ten, “There was no day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel” (Josh. 10:14). Don’t let how you feel about yourself in times of failure shape how you view your future. God knows your weaknesses and may yet fill your heart with faith, using you as he did Joshua, moving forward.
- There is a corporate component to how God redeemed Joshua’s misstep. Israel’s trust ultimately needed to be in God, not in their fallible leaders. The way God came through, providing a miraculous victory, communicated that He was fighting for them. Now Joshua had some work to do first, healing the broken trust in the camp. Again, you can read about that in a previous post. Joshua’s actions to restore trust, paved the way for God’s miraculous victory over the Amorites. You may have to do the same with your congregation, if you too want to see victory.
- We should not overlook the most obvious application: What leadership decision are you facing? Is your knee-jerk reaction to take matters into your own hands? Slow down! Take time to discern the Spirit’s leading with your team. (He is more than willing to give you wisdom! See James 1:5) Broken trust occurs in a flash, but the impact on your ministry (unless healed) can be long-lasting. Worse still, it can potentially sideline your church from effectively fulfilling the Great Commission.
Mark Barnard serves with Blessing Point Ministries which works to heal churches with painful histories. He is the author of several books related to corporate health in churches, including the recently released: Diagnosing the Heart of Your Church Revised Edition available on Amazon. To learn more visit blessingpoint.org.