Mega Problem

The board of a large, multi-site church with thousands of members, led by a charismatic pastor, announces that, after much prayer and many difficult conversations, they have asked the pastor to take a leave of absence while charges against him are reviewed by a special committee.

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

Early on Wednesday the elders of Harvest Bible Chapel, the suburban Chicago multi-site megachurch founded and led by the well-known and popular James MacDonald, announced that they had fired MacDonald after "a lengthy season of review, reflection, and prayerful discussion" of his conduct as pastor. The specific issues have to do with his mismanagement of church finances, no holds barred attacks on those who criticized him, and general lack of character unbefitting a Christian leader. Audio recordings leaked on Tuesday of MacDonald crassly attacking his critics certainly played a role in the timing of the board's decision.

And while the initial reaction to news like this is generally surprise, shock, and anger, the sad truth is that headlines like these have become far too common for those who love the church to be surprised by them anymore. Yesterday it was James MacDonald, but just a few months before it was another Chicago-land pastor, Bill Hybels. Before him in Seattle it was megachurch pastor and Christian celebrity Marc Driscoll. And these are just the most recent and well-known scandals. For every scandal big enough to be reported by Christianity Today or even CNN, there are dozens, even hundreds that don't go reported, or, even worse, remain hidden while those abusing their power continue to do so in the guise of "ministry".

Don't get me wrong: there are amazing, life changing things happening at megachurches every day, and there are many staff members and volunteers at these churches serving faithfully and sacrificially. But while not taking anything away from those positives, the truth is those who love the church need to recognize that the problem isn't simply letting a few bad apples get behind a pulpit. Should we hold MacDonald accountable? Of course. But it is we who should be held accountable if we don't recognize that there's something about the very structure of not only megachurches, but many smaller churches as well, that leads to the empowerment of toxic leaders.

I plan to sketch out in more detail exactly what it is about the structure of most churches that not only allows but encourages toxic leadership, but the short answer is lack of true accountability, often in the name of "achieving excellence" or "expanding the kingdom" or something along those lines. As more and more troubling stories have come out regarding MacDonald's misguidance of the various ministries under his control, a telling one about how he reorganized his board of directors highlights this fact. Soon after MacDonald came under fire some members of his board of directors began to review the allegations against him. MacDonald was incensed, and soon moved to reduce the power of the board to hold him accountable.

What's really fascinating is the way he stripped the board of its power to reign him in. Instead of outright disbanding the board, he instead expanded its size, creating a 30 person board. This reduced the power of each board member, and enabled MacDonald to form coalitions that were loyal to him and that could be mobilized against his opponents, even if those opponents were also board members. Indeed it wasn't long before the board, guided by MacDonald, excommunicated his opponents, announcing to thousands of congregants that these people that they had served with, shared meals with, whose kids went to school and summer camp together, were under Satanic influence.

All this to say, none of this would have happened if the church didn't allow it to happen. Every step along the way, decisions were made that put more and more power and autonomy into the hands of one man. We who love the church and are the church need to hold tightly to this truth: no amount of growth, no promise of greater influence on the community or culture around us will ever be worth going against our better judgment and crowning a charismatic leader king or queen. Jesus didn't appoint a successor. He said that we would all be a priesthood, and that his Holy Spirit would be with each one of us, not just a select few.

The church is bigger than all of us, and the church IS each one of us.