Cain admitted his failures, stepped down from ministry and initially agreed to submit to a regimen of accountability prescribed by a group of men who knew him. But a few weeks later Cain announced that he was moving to California to find restoration from a different group—a church that Bickle, Joyner and Deere knew nothing about.

 

Then, 12 months later, voila! The church in California announced that Cain was “restored” and ready to preach again.

 

Bickle, Joyner and Deere did the right thing by releasing a statement on Jan. 21, which said, in part: “We cannot say with confidence that this is a genuine restoration that is according to the principles of God’s Word. It will be harmful to [Cain] and others if he is released prematurely and then relapses into his past failures.”

 

Thank God someone was bold enough to demand a higher standard—at a time when so many Christians have gone squishy and spineless on biblical morality. It is time for leaders in our movement to show some tough love and adopt some stringent policies about biblical restoration.

 

Cain’s situation is an opportunity for us to examine our movement’s credibility crisis. We need clearer guidelines on how to handle a leader’s moral failure. Here are four:

 

1. Forgiveness is immediate. God’s mercy is amazing, and He is quick to forgive a fallen leader who repents. God does not require us to wallow in shame or self-pity. We can eagerly embrace the redemption that Christ purchased for us.

 

2. Personal restoration is a process. Repentance is not just feeling sorry for making a mistake. A leader must have heartfelt humility and a genuine sense of brokenness for the way his or her sin hurt others. If the leader is in denial about his failures, true friends must confront his deeply rooted pride and deception.

 

3. Restoration to ministry should never be fast-tracked. Many experts suggest that a fallen leader should step down for a minimum of three years in order to find full healing in his or her own life as well as in marriage (especially in the case of sexual sin). Some denominations only require two years of rehabilitation, but those of us in independent churches have required even less time. As a result of our hurry, there are many unhealed, unhealthy leaders in the pulpit today—as well as congregations that feel exploited by spiritual traitors.

 

4. Restoration should involve people who know the fallen leader. If a leader fails morally, he will be tempted to run across the country and find a new set of friends who are wowed by his charisma but don’t see his dark side. But true restoration must include reconciliation with the people hurt by his or her actions.

 

I know some will complain that I am being “judgmental.” The truth is that I know several ministers who fell morally and then returned to their pulpits in God’s time, not theirs. Restoration is possible and it should be our goal.

 

I will stand with the apostle Paul, who drew unpopular lines in the sand, demanded character of church leaders and warned early Christians to avoid the self-restored Lone Rangers of that era. If we don’t draw some lines today, the flaky prophets and carnal con artists will bring all of us down to their level.