When a pastor falls, everyone looks to assign blame so it doesn’t fall onto them. However, when a pastor falls, we are all to blame. The pastor first and foremost shoulders the blame as it is their sin that ultimately caused their fall. Second, leadership both within the church and the denomination, as rarely does something come out of the blue. There are warning signs, there maybe even have been some knowledge through other people. Instead of looking into the issue, a “protect the pastor” attitude takes place which either looks to sweep the allegation under the rug or to discredit and/or silence the one who brings forth the allegation, which allows the pastor to continue in their sin unimpeded.

“He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.” – Proverbs 17:15

Lastly the congregation is to blame, because as we all know, rarely does anything that happens in a church stay hidden. This is probably part of the problem, as there is so much gossip in a church that when something serious arises, people brush it off as gossip. However, there are often warning signs, or complaints by people. Instead of looking to investigate, we bury our heads in the sand, or use the proverbial “I don’t know, I don’t want to know.” When we do this we withhold good to a victim, the good being, hearing them and caring about them by taking some sort of action.

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.” – Proverbs 3:27

As you can see whenever a pastor falls, we should not look to assign blame, we should look to see how we played a part in it and what we could have done better in order to hopefully prevent it from happening again, because when a pastor falls, no one wins.