In 1961 President Kennedy sat with his advisors and decided our nation's participation in the Bay of Pigs invasion. This must be one of the darkest days in American history and it brought us to a standoff and the brink of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. And history tells us that none of the advisers saw it coming. They were so blinded by the charisma of the great man who had just bearded the Republican opponent that they felt he could do no wrong. Their blindness was made more complete by the COOKIE CUTTER EFFECT, the fact that they were all of the same background, ideas and training. As an aside, many of the advisers changed in the next two years.
FEAR OF REJECTION, FEAR OF LOSS, FEAR OF BEING WRONG
Many of those who stand near the “Great Man” fear rejection. If they present views that are too far from his desires he may reject not only the ideas but also the advisor. He may remove them from their position. The fear of loss of position and rejection often silences those who stand close to the great man. I believe the fall of Jim and Tammy Bakker was fueled primarily by this. The fear of loss of position because of the finances and prestige they brought was more than the people with them could bear. Remember, many of these people had come up through the ranks with the Bakker's. They had become affluent in and because of the ministry. Although I do not consider it wrong to do so there seems to be a hold that a ministry has on a person when this happens. If the person feels or fears that they will not be able to get another position with another ministry making the same money and with the equivalent prestige there is pressure to “keep with the program.” And the pressure of a necessary evil becomes an evil that grows more evil.
I cannot imagine the goings on that have been documented in some of the scandals could have happened in the fledging PTL, or with Jimmy Swaggert in his early days. In fact, I believe strongly they did not and could not have been. Those were the days that these people didn't know if their next paycheck could possibly be held. In those days these men had such integrity that they would have gone without to pay their staff. And the staff would have gotten GOOD paychecks or no paycheck; not one made of rubber. But there is a statement in the world that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely and to the shame of the Body of Christ, all too often it is so here. The love of power, the pride of the exposure and the love of the masses turn many. Satan offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world. Often for us, it seems like it generally takes less.
The fear of being wrong impacts in the same manner except it leads the person to remain silent rather than speak out. After all if you are wrong the aspect of rejection and loss are great.
Last week in a secular setting I had someone say to me, “Good Catch.” I thought something was wrong with a program in a review meeting but after study it was found I was wrong in what I asked about. Why would he say, “Good Catch?” Because a program had been altered that should not have been altered. This would be a major problem. But the program was not part of our project. It was there by mistake. I raised a flag for no reason. But look at the larger picture. What if a program that was part of our project had the same flaw? I had no way of knowing that the program should not be there but my expertise said it was improperly altered. I am being paid to see problems, note them and fix them or pass them off to someone who can. I found a problem, I could not fix it, I passed it to my leader, he came back, not with derision, but a pat on the back. What did he buy with this? I will continue to look, to fix and to report. He does not shoot messengers and watchmen, he rewards them, not for message content but being faithful in their charter and vocation. That charter is to watch and be vigilant. If the world does this, should the church do less?
MISPLACED LOVE
The final reason for inaction is misplaced love. It may be respect, it may be love, it may be honor, but they are intertwined to the point that it may be impossible to determine. But it is real. Many times those in authority have given of themselves for those who support them and those who follow have assigned a love, honor and respect to them. And this is right. But if that causes those who support to overlook problems when they occur the result can be a disaster. What could have been corrected and resolved becomes a stumbling block that can no longer be overlooked. This has become very obvious in the Catholic Church sex scandals.
