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The first time a Christian leader let me down, I was just a little girl. I clung to my faith voraciously. I was hungry to serve the Lord with my whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. But their betrayal in the Church caught me off guard. Quickly, I learned that even the best Christians aren’t God. And learning to rebuild trust in God after they let us down can be tricky.
Today, leaders fail us all the time. In Christian circles, this is no exception. It seems that week after week, an artist denounces his faith, an author says they’re deconstructing, and major leaders confess affairs, abuse, and horrible crimes. These accusations and confessions catch us off guard. These were people we trusted. Admired. Steadied our faith on, even perhaps. But sadly, their failures aren’t uncommon.
The hard truth is that leaders letting us down will impact us and continue to impact us for the rest of our lives. There will never be a day that a Pastor, celebrity, teacher, friend, or family member won’t let us down in some way, shape, or form this side of Heaven. While some are more serious than others, this is a reminder that when our trust collapses, it’s time to evaluate and potentially reevaluate our allegiance. Because when leadership failures hit us spiritually, it’s less about what they did and how we can respond as the body of Christ.
Why Disillusionment Hurts So Deeply
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons these disillusionments hurt so deeply is because of the attachment, authority, and placement of our spiritual identity. Don’t get me wrong: It’s good and healthy to trust and admire spiritual leaders. We weren’t created to do life alone. But our allegiance belongs to Jesus Christ alone.
Your attachment belongs to Jesus Christ and His Word.
Your authority belongs to Jesus Christ and His Word.
Your spiritual identity needs to be rooted in Jesus Christ and His Word.
All of these things need to be rooted in Jesus and His Word, not the leaders who tell you about Him. Because while they may play a role in your spiritual journey, it’s Jesus who saves and redeems us. Leaders can lead well and help disciple us, but only Jesus will never fail or forsake you.
When we have a healthy relationship with attachment, authority, and spiritual identity, then we can remember that God is our ultimate place of security. As Catholic Bible Press notes, “Whenever people let us down, we can remember that we have a Lord who will never do the same. Our God is unfailing, unwavering, unchanging—and in that, we can always take peace.”
Second, when these leaders do let us down, we can choose to put our hope in Jesus. Human leaders will continue to disappoint us, and some may even try to lead us astray (even if not on purpose). As Sojourners adds, “politicians will turn out not to be who they claimed to be; bosses will try to build themselves up at your expense; small group leaders will be unfortunately oblivious; pastors will let you down. Christ will not. Trust in him as Lord, as your leader, to walk with you in whatever you’re going through, to lead you through this journey of life. Trust in him as your healer, to bind up the wounds, to soothe the scars, to heal the trauma. Trust in him as your restorer, the one who sought the lost and never gave up on the wandering.”