My friend Rich passed on this fascinating article about a man who murdered a woman in cold blood in 1975, was converted in prison, served eight years of a sentence and now pastors an Assemblies of God megachurch in the Nashville area. Biblical accounts of redeemed murderers like Paul and David notwithstanding, here are a few of my questions about this story:

Just because Jesus says “case closed”, does this mean an offender no longer owes a debt before God to society or to his/her victims? A man may be forgiven by God for abandoning his wife and children and marrying his girlfriend, but he still must pay child support and alimony. A woman may be forgiven by God for driving the getaway car in a bank robbery that claims the life of a teller, but she will spend time in prison for colluding in the crime.

On the flip side, just because a court says “case closed,” does that mean the biblical demands of justice have been met? We must consider the possibility that God’s demands of justice may not be equivalent to that of our legal system, which often metes out justice based on money, class and race, with little regard for God. A court may have a statute of limitations on when a victim of rape may no longer accuse her attacker, but a rapist is still accountable to God for his actions. A court may call someone “married”, but this doesn’t necessarily make them wed in God’s sight, and a secular court’s writ of divorce does not mean the covenant a couple made before God is no longer in effect. While we’re on the topic, just because a court says a fetus is not a human being does not mean this is true.

I don’t think there’s any easy answer to these questions, except to say that the church often uncritically accepts our secular society’s views of justice and accountability without considering that God’s standards may be even higher. It is also true that biblical reconciliation, forgiveness and restoration are sometimes viewed as scandalously liberal from the viewpoint of modern society. Although biblical grace is radical in its demands both for the sinner and the victim, someone recently described the current Christian conception of grace as closer to someone robbing a bank, saying they’re sorry and getting to keep the money.

One ironic note on the Nashville story: Within his denomination’s restrictions (until they were changed several years ago), this pastor would have been unconditionally disqualified for ministry if he had divorced his wife and married another woman—instead of murdering someone—before becoming a believer.

The Gnostic: He possesses secret knowledge that God has supernaturally revealed to him because of his access to levels of spirituality unattainable to the common layperson. When he preaches, he prefaces his remarks with comments such as, “You’ve never heard this before, but …” or “The Lord revealed to me a new way of reading this passage …” His phraseology and convoluted explanations turn the simple complex as he transforms the plain teaching of scripture into mystical codes that may only be unlocked by one person: himself.

The Tycoon: He envisions the ministry as a bottomless source of personal enrichment, using his spiritual influence to sell products and build a business empire. The gospel—if it is ever preached—is subsumed under layers of business-speak and assurances that financial and professional advancement are the inevitable fruit of godliness. The tycoon fashions himself as the model of the benefits that come with following Jesus, but the only one reaping any benefits from his corrupt brand of religion is himself.

The Politician: Because his preaching is empty of any transformative power, the politician must resort to leveraging the forces of public policy to transform society. The pulpit becomes a mouthpiece for partisan invectives—both left and right—as the preacher seeks the affirmation and recognition of government leaders and policy makers. He envisions himself as a catalyst for cultural change, but ends up serving as a pawn in the hands of political opportunists looking to legitimize their self-serving agendas with his clerical endorsement.

The Moralist: His motives could not be more pure, as he strives to give you the tools to live a more productive, moral, unselfish life. His sermons are laced with nuggets of truth and maxims of self-improvement. From child-rearing and handling your finances to setting goals and getting along with your co-workers, the practicality of the moralist’s sermons is undeniable, but they are empty of the gospel. The moralist—whether the fundamentalist pulpit-pounder or the sensitive, liberal sociologist—is an expert in human nature, but ignores the only solution for transforming it.

The Comic: He genuinely believes that God is most glorified in you when you are most entertained by him. He can hold an audience in the palm of his hand with jokes about insightful babies and drunken Baptists. But these are merely a distraction from the real task that he cannot bring himself to perform: feeding his flock with solid meat.

“Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.” – 1 Timothy 4:16

I was recently talking to a friend who is walking through some deep waters in his marriage and family. As we were unpacking some of the issues he is facing and I was recommending some resources for him, we became mutually aware of a disturbing reality.

He has been a believer for many years and has been a part of “gospel-preaching” churches—some that even add the word “full” to their gospel. He has heard multiple sermons on tithing, on the importance of bringing your family to church, getting involved in “ministry”, supporting the vision of the pastor. But he has never been exposed to any substantive, biblical teaching on the role of the father as a shepherd and pastor to his own family.

As the lights went on, my friend became angry, as he realized that many of the things he had been taught in church had not been for the purpose of empowering him to fulfill the primary role God had given him. Instead, he was being systematically programmed to orient his life and his family’s life to support and to become dependent on a religious institution and to subcontract his God-given responsibility to professional clergy.

Two types of people will one day be held accountable for this travesty: first, the pastors who encouraged it for the sake of increasing their egos and ensuring the security of their careers; and second, the lazy and cowardly fathers and husbands who farmed out their responsibilities.