For the last twenty years or so, I have been given an assignment from the Lord, an assignment I did not expect to receive. It’s an assignment to encourage fallen leaders.

Those in public ministry upon whom people hang expectations and hopes can take hits of punishing judgment when they fail, from people who have never learned the heart of God. These punishers think they are speaking for God when they choose to kick someone who is down. The words and actions of these self-appointed judges reveal a loveless religious spirit that has not learned the power of redemption. 

When a leader repents and submits to a process of restoration they can feel alone living under a dark blanket of shame and condemnation. The backslapping from their previous followers is gone. What used to be words of affirmation have turned into hammers of judgment.

The life of David has taught me something about this issue. The Lord said David was a man after His own heart. Through all the failures of David’s life, his experience with Bathsheba being the most flagrant, the Lord never recalled His proclamation about David. The Lord still considered him a man after his own heart.

When I reach out to fallen leaders, I want to pour waters of hope upon them to wash away the blinding effects of judgment to help them gather their spiritual and emotional senses and see a way forward toward restoration. This is not only something I do with fallen leaders; I’ve done this with people who are not publicly known who would never expect to hear from me.  I wanted them to know I see them in their suffering. Most importantly, I wanted them to know God sees them. 

Restoration is the essence of our spiritual family. It is something we struggle to do well. The hope of restoration is a gift we give to the fallen. The giving of that gift is motivated by our love, acceptance, and forgiveness of each other, especially when the actions of those we trusted took a dark turn that led them to a place of failure.