This week I'm sharing a short podcast based on my latest blog post about how we evaluate the trustworthiness of our spiritual leaders. What if we are using the wrong criteria? Based on the many popular Christian leaders who have had scandals, we have a lot of work to do. 

Too many well-meaning leaders have been crushed by the entrepreneurial, corporate-influenced model of pastoral leadership in America. Far, far too many church attending Christians have been burned by abusive leadership systems and toxic church cultures.

If we have this many prominent names leading double lives, deceiving their congregations and readers, and perpetrating horrible abuse to the most vulnerable, it’s time to start second-guessing our judgment when it comes to our spiritual leaders in the American church.

At the very least, we need leaders who show evidence of a deep inner life of prayer, a message of dependance on God rather than working toward specific moral outcomes, a capacity to recognize their limits, and a willingness to even give up the power and influence that is so readily given to them.

When a spiritual leader’s popularity and influence increases, so should our scrutiny and our caution toward them.