A Double Life

Message / Question

as a pastor do you come across people who live a double life at church, eg someone who is respected by the church, but has done something in the past that if others knew about would cause the church to fall apart? does it make a difference if youre a pastor or lay leader? do these people have a responsibility to tell the church about their past? a deeper question, for you yourself, do you yourself not tell your church some things about your past?

Response

I guess the idea about a “double life” is that people don’t know about both sides, so there may be people who live this way without my knowledge. Where I have met people in a church environment who fit into this category, I would certainly challenge them to live consistently and live according to the standards that God has laid down. As for things in the past, that’s a whole different issue. Many people have had lives of which they are not proud. When someone comes to Christ, they are made new, the past is forgiven by God. We live in a society where certain actions in our past, may have consequences that affect our present - e.g. someone who once abused children would never be allowed (by law) to work with children in the church. Where that is the case, then the church, as well as the individual, must understand that reality and accept that it may limit the role that an individual may play in the life of the church. However, where a person’s past has been dealt with by God and where they have no legal consequence that restricts them in the present, then their past should not limit what they can do now. The history of the church is filled with people with all sorts of sordid pasts who have become great servants of God. John Newton (writer of Amazing Grace) was one such a case, and I know of quite a few people who have been criminals or prostitutes, drug dealers etc who serve God in the life of the church in very positive ways. In fact, if you look at Jesus' own disciples, there would be some whose lives up until they met Jesus, were not very pure and lovely! And no, it doesn’t make any difference if the person is a pastor or “lay leader”, the standard is the same for everyone. Once they have been in public ministry for a while, they probably have little (if anything) in their past that hasn’t been combed through either by those outside the church who seek to damage it or by those who have given them counsel and guidance in their life and ministry!