I’ve become convinced that Mormon radio personality Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and others are part of a moralist cabal, who drape their political goals in the language of religious revival, spiritual awakening and moral reform. I was reminded of this vividly while watching parts of Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally on the Washington Mall yesterday.

While this recent fervor has been orchestrated by a host of well-meaning Christians, Mormons and pagans of shared political views, the true “Organizer” for any campaign of societal moral improvement would be easily identified by Dana Carvey’s Church Lady.

An ongoing theme throughout C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters is the more experienced demon’s advice to his nephew to tempt his victim with the prospect of moralism, both personally and in society—all, of course, at the exclusion of and distraction from the gospel.

“We want very much to make men treat Christianity as a means; preferably, of course, as a means to their own advancement, but, failing that, as a means to anything—even to social justice,” Screwtape writes to Wormwood. “… The Enemy [God] will not be used as a convenience. Men or nations who think they can revive the Faith in order to make a good society might just as well think they can use the stairs of Heaven as a short cut to the nearest chemist’s shop.”

Some of the causes trumpeted by the conservative movement in America are noble ones and worth advancing in the political sphere. But Christians must be careful not to confuse the advancement of political conservatism with authentic spiritual renewal. This conflation of causes leads to the use of the Christian faith to advance an agenda.

At its heart, the gospel is political, but not in any sense that would be comforting to those who put their faith in democracy. After all, the gospel announces the ultimate overthrow of human government and the rise of a monarchy led by a King who does not share His power.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet people from many church traditions—from strict fundamentalists to self-proclaimed prophets and apostles and everything in between.

One of my favorite stories is when a well-known pastor (he called himself a “bishop”) explained to me that he possessed an even greater level of “genius” than T.D. Jakes, because he was born under the same astrological sign, but that his birthday was several days before that of Jakes.

Another TV evangelist explained to me that, if one could master the proper formula, he or she could possess absolutely anything they asked for in prayer. “It works like a charm,” he noted.

Someone else described how, on a trip to heaven, she had seen warehouses with aborted baby parts that were reassembled by angels and distributed to childless couples.

Several times, I’ve been asked whether I thought there is a common denominator among those who cling to religious fairy tales—and successfully convince others to believe them through their teaching.

There is. The common denominator is that these people do not accept the “authorial intent” of Scripture. In other words, they don’t believe that the text means today the same thing the author intended it to mean to his original audience. Since there is no anchor, when they “study” Scripture, virtually any meaning can be injected into the text.

Often, odd interpretations are attributed to the Holy Spirit revealing a “deeper” or “revelatory” meaning to the reader, since the plain meaning of the text is simply too mundane. Additionally, this model of hermeneutics creates a special class of interpreter who is able to mine insights from the Scriptures that are inaccessible to the average Christian.

Someone once explained to me the concept of “sympathetic magic” that they said they had observed in deliverance ministry. I questioned them as to where in Scripture they had seen this idea. This person admitted that there was no direct reference to sympathetic magic in Scripture but said, “Everything can’t be put to Scripture. It’s got to be rhema, not logos. Napoleon sailed across the water, but you can’t find that in the Word.”

I don’t think the answer to this problem is more book exposés, more theological education or more heresy hunter “ministries”. This battle is fought on a local level as pastors model good Bible study methods and these methods are reproduced in families and small groups in the church. I’m thankful for every pastor that fights this fight, laboring in the gospel by properly handling the text.

One of the attributes of God is “independence”—not one that gets preached on too much, because it cuts across the grain of human arrogance with a vengeance. The implication of God’s independence is that He doesn’t need us, that we can neither add nor take away anything from His existence. Additionally, He can carry out His plan of global redemption independent of our involvement.

How does this relate to pastors having affairs?

Consider the Orlando pastor (and father of four) who carried on a 1-year-long affair with an exotic dancer, leading his wife to divorce him and start a church of her own down the road. After a three-month period of “counseling” he was back in the pulpit. You would think the “restoration” process away from church leadership would be at least as long as the affair that led to it.

Or what about the church planter who was removed from his position after being caught carrying on an illicit relationship with his married personal assistant? Now, 11 weeks later, he and his wife are divorcing (he also has small children), but a quick perusal of his Twitter feed would indicate that the primary thing on his mind is planting another church.

Many would assume that these pastors are simply power-hungry reprobates, but I have a different theory. When I read interviews with them and posts from their blogs, I think they actually believe they are indispensable to God—that the ministry they have been called to cannot be carried out without them. Simply put, God needs them. Their motives for returning to ministry are noble: They want to reach people for Jesus, and they see themselves as possessing a unique gift for doing this—sometimes even more so after they have fallen into sin. It is the activity surrounding this “indispensable” ministry for God that gives them fulfillment, because they are convinced that they play a crucial role in God’s Kingdom.

I think it is this demonic codependency that leads to many being “called” into pastoral ministry who belong in a different field, and it leads many to stay in ministry long past the time they have disqualified themselves.

“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.” – Acts 17:24-25