A significant threat to any government, and for leaders within the Church, is secrecy and the failure of a leader to disclose the whole truth about their ministry when it comes to personal enrichment.

In our government, people are asking, “When will the full and unredacted reports on the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK, and now, the Epstein Files, be released without redaction? Redactions have been used to shield the killers and the groups who were behind the killings. Most of us are tired of hearing the phrase, “We can’t tell you – It’s Classified.” It limits our ability to trust those in authority, especially when they repeatedly tell us, “There’s nothing to see here – move on.”

The Church is not exempt from this kind of examination. Churches and ministries that tell us they require a private jet, multiple luxurious homes, and a pay scale that rivals a C-suite corporate executive can only survive when the full amount of their remuneration remains a secret. What’s bad for a nation is also bad for the Church and her image in culture..

I have always told the people in the congregations where we served that our books are always open to an inquirer. I am proud to say that the leadership team that took over the leadership of the last Church we pastored has done the same today.

I am always suspicious of a government that says, “We can’t tell you because it is classified.” I feel the same way about leaders in the Church who have redacted their finances, hiding them behind a phrase like “Don’t mess with God’s anointed,” using that misinterpretation to mask their hidden wealth and the other sins it brings, labeling someone who wants to see the books as a divider or a spiritual conspiracy theorist.

The greatest works of darkness happen in secrecy. Those who want an open and transparent form of leadership will open the books and reveal what needs to be revealed to an inquirer. Those who live in secrecy, who use that secrecy to enrich themselves, and those who conspire with them to help that deception continue undetected, will always lead us to places where evil, not good, will flourish. Most concerning of all is that the name of our Lord will be dishonored when the deception is finally revealed.

This kind of secrecy happens because someone has grown indifferent to the voice of God and has become dulled to what it means to truly serve others and not the ministry as a means of personal enrichment.

The writer of Hebrews addressed this: “Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance” (Hebrews 6:11-12).