I’ve recently come across something in the Evangelical world that really gets under my skin. I’ve heard about churches in which the leadership has removed a pastor, but has refused to tell the congregation why. Three recent instances come to mind. The elders of a church fired an associate pastor, saying that it was because of a moral failure. But they told the church that they would not say what the moral failure was, and they warned the congregation not to discuss it. If they did, they would be doing the work of Satan.

The pastor of another church stepped down to repent of a sin committed years ago. The congregation was informed that it was not a legal issue, and that no further information would be provided. The pastor needed time to repent, with no timeline given for a possible return. 

On the particular Sunday that I was visiting another church, it was announced that the main pastor would be leaving immediately. The congregation was informed that the issue was not theological or moral, but that they would not be told the reason. 

What do you think of these developments? The elders in these churches might think they have good reasons for not disclosing why they acted as they did. Perhaps someone is threatening a lawsuit, and church attorneys have advised against publicly discussing the details. Maybe children are involved, and the leadership wants to protect them. Perhaps they believe that if the details are revealed, it will negatively impact attendance. Perhaps they think people are simply nosy and have no right to this information. It is a polite way to say, “Mind your own business!” I am sure the leaders in each of these churches think they are doing what is best. 

I disagree. The leaders in situations like these are not being transparent. They definitely look like they’re hiding things. If I were a member of one of these churches, their refusal to give pertinent details sure wouldn’t stop me from gossiping. I don’t doubt that rumors were flying in each case. I’m sure that the rumors, in some instances, were worse than the sin involved. I know that the unbelieving world accused each church of being full of hypocrites and had a good laugh at the perceived gullibility of the people in those congregations. 

The NT does not teach us to avoid transparency. When someone is removed from the church, the issue is to be taken up by the whole congregation (Matt 18:15-17). Paul informs the church at Corinth that a man would be excommunicated for sleeping with his stepmother (1 Cor 5:1). Similarly, the Lord disciplined Ananias and Sapphira in front of the whole church for lying (Acts 5:1-11). Paul openly denounces by name men who are teaching theological error  (2 Tim 2:17-18). 

Don’t such moral failures and theological errors offer teaching opportunities for the church? Don’t they serve as a warning? If those removed from their positions are repentant, why would they not want their sins known? Don’t the people who have paid their salaries for whatever number of years have a right to know why their Bible teachers are being disciplined? Were their children in danger in the past? When we are not transparent, the world rightly accuses us of having a double standard. 

I suppose people will say I don’t understand. There are legal issues that need to be taken into consideration. Innocent people might be involved, so we need to keep things secret. 

If innocent people are involved, we don’t need to bring them into the discussion. If children are involved, we certainly would not name them. If a church is worried about a possible lawsuit, it should remember the exhortation of Hebrews: We are not to fear what men can do to us (Heb 13:6) 

I am confident that some would remind me that those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Maybe they’d say I feel the way I do because I haven’t fallen as these other men have, or at least my moral failures have been kept hidden. Maybe they’d say that I can talk big because I’ve never been threatened with a lawsuit. Maybe one day, some dark secret of mine will come to light. Maybe. If it happens to me, I may not want anyone to know what I did. I may threaten a lawsuit if somebody exposes what I did.

If I do, I would be a hypocrite. Whether I would be or not isn’t the point. 

We should do the right thing. The right thing is to be transparent before our fellow believers and the world.