I promise you I haven’t suddenly gone mad. Sad as it may sound, considering the state of Christianity across Africa, this is a question that undoubtedly some Christians are already grappling with and which more of us may one day have to consider. When should you report your pastor to the police? Can you?
For many reporting a pastor to the police would be the height of sin.
Some readers may assume this is an easy to answer question. Surely the answer must be an emphatic ‘No!’ After all, didn’t Paul rebuke Christians who were taking internal church issues to external parties (1 Corinthians 6:2-6)? Didn’t he call for Christians to oversee such issues (1 Corinthians 6:1)? In fact, he went as far as saying it’s better to suffer wrong than to have lawsuits against each other (1 Corinthians 6:7). For many, therefore, reporting a pastor to the police would be the height of disobedience and sin.
Added to that, the idea that one must never touch the Lord’s anointed is prominent in Africa. Surely then this article is a non-starter, unnecessary and naive. Unfortunately, things are not that simple.
Should We Make Internal Matters External?
Yes, Paul wanted the Corinthians to manage their conflicts internally (1 Corinthians 6:1). But he was talking about disagreements on relatively simple matters that involved one believer defrauding another (1 Corinthians 6:8). Elsewhere, in matters of serious sin, Paul rebuked the Corinthians for handling such matters too lightly. He even went as far as commanding them to excommunicate egregious sinners from the church (1 Corinthians 5:13). It’s hard to imagine that this doesn’t extend to the pastor, as if he isn’t accountable in the same way as everyone else.
Every church should ask itself difficult questions about how it treats allegations against its leaders.
Therefore, when a pastor commits a serious sin two actions should be considered. Possibly both. Firstly, if it’s a serious moral failure then the pastor must be disciplined. That process may very well end up in excommunication. Secondly, however, when a pastor commits a criminal offence, breaking the law of the country, he should be reported to the police. It’s unlikely Paul would consider this an internal matter to be settled privately among church members.
Handling the Serious Sins of a Pastor
How then should the church handle cases of a serious moral failure by a pastor that breaks the law of the land? I would argue that the church should handle such matters the same way they would handle a case of church discipline, for any other church member; that is: seriously, biblically and honourably.
1. Treat Allegations Seriously
The church must handle sin seriously. Too often, churches don’t have the mechanisms that allow people that have been sinned against by their pastors to report them. This deters victims from bringing their stories forward. Then, when victims do find the courage to share their stories to church members or leaders, sadly the matter is often treated lightly. Every church should ask itself difficult questions about how it treats allegations against its leaders, especially weighty matters.
2. Follow God’s Directives for Discipline
Next, churches need to manage sins by leaders the same way they manage the sins of any other member; that is, biblically. Jesus gives us a step-by-step process in Matthew 18:15-20 for managing sin. Those directives must be merged with 1 Timothy 5:19-21, which deals with accusations against pastors. We see in both cases that the church must be deal with sin firmly.
The Bible doesn’t allow us to have double standards in dealing with sin.
Jesus insists that in the case of unrepentant sin the person must be excommunicated. Let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector (Matthew 18:17). Paul warns Timothy that in dealing with pastors, he must keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality (1 Timothy 5:21). Surely this is because of the temptation for leaders to want to soft-pedal on discipline when other leaders are involved. The Bible doesn’t allow us to have double standards in dealing with sin.
3. Prioritise God’s Glory and the Good of the Church
Finally, churches should manage these matters honourably. By this I mean that the focus should be not on preserving the honour of any pastor. Rather our focus should be on preserving the glory of Christ and the honour of his church. That was Paul’s focus when writing to the Corinthians. He reminded them that the reputation of the church is at stake whenever they refused to deal with public sin. “Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?” (1 Corinthians 5:12b). Christ isn’t glorified when we hide sin; he is glorified when we expose it and cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump (1 Corinthians 5:7).
The focus should be not on preserving the honour of any pastor.
To summarise these three points: the church must treat pastoral sin seriously. The Puritan writer John Owen famously warned Christians: “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.” This moral dictum is as applicable for corporate sin as it is for personal sin. The church cannot afford any hint of moral compromise with sin.
When to Report Your Pastor to the Police
So when is it appropriate for a church to report a pastor to the police or other public authorities? It is when the church has done its own internal investigation and evaluated that a crime has been committed. A crime is a moral failure that the law of the land prohibits.
Just as leaders aren’t above God’s law they aren’t above the country’s.
For example, if a pastor commits adultery, that is a sin for the church to deal with. However, in most countries adultery isn’t a crime. Thus the state won’t prosecute him. However, if a pastor sexually exploits a minor that is both a terrible moral outrage and also a crime. Thus both institutions (church and state) have jurisdiction. In such cases the moral responsibility of the church extends beyond discipline, even excommunication. Any and all crimes committed by a pastor must be reported to the relevant authorities. Just as leaders aren’t above God’s law we shouldn’t treat them as though they’re above the country’s.
Now, you might ask, what about the life and honour of the accused pastor? Shouldn’t the church have compassion? Should the church really throw a pastor under the bus? This is an important question that should be considered.
The Place of Repentance
If the pastor is repentant, the church should have a reconciliation mechanism to receive him back in fellowship. However, there must be clear evidence of repentance. Repentance and reconciliation is a separate process from state prosecution. Indeed, one sign of true repentance is that the person is willing to pay the price for his crime.
The glory of God is more important than the honour of any man.
And what if the pastor is unrepentant? This makes the case for reporting the crime even stronger. Paul tells the Corinthians that excommunication not only helps the church, it is also an opportunity to help the sinner. “You are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 5:5). What is Paul’s logic? It is that the removal of the protection of the church would mean the sinner is left to the cruel hands of Satan for punishment. Often this is the means by which God saves a person, bringing them back to their senses. Many sinners have had to eat swine husks before they returned in repentance to their father’s house.
Brothers and sisters, my prayer is that you are never in this difficult position; that you never have to consider reporting your pastor to the police. However, if you have do have to wrestle with this question, please remember that the glory of God is more important than the honour of any man. May God be with you as you do the difficult but right thing.