Mal Fletcher
A pastor friend of mine had claimed to be battling a deadly form of cancer. He has now confessed that these claims were untrue. Even his mother and father - close personal friends of my wife and I - were unaware of the truth of the situation.
I have known the pastor in question since he was a little boy and have always loved him - I still do. Our hearts, of course, go out to those closest to him.
His music gift and speaking talent, along with his very winning, charismatic personality, have made a major impact on many young lives, in a number of nations.
I write because the issues here are bigger than this individual case. From time to time, Christian ministers and leaders will fall. People of faith must be able to face the inevitable question: 'How can this happen - and how should we respond?'
We must learn what we can lessons from these situations, for our own sakes and for the sake of the wonderful message of hope that we represent.
Perhaps the first thing we must take from the fall of a leader is the fact that the frailty of the messenger does not negate the authority or truth of the message.
Every faithful believer and church leader should continue to share the Christian message without fear or cant. Though God's messengers may sometimes fail (and haven't we all, though perhaps in less public ways?) the message remains as hopeful, reliable, trustworthy and life-enhancing as ever.
In fact, it is often only when we see the scale of human frailty laid bare before us that we can appreciate the true power of redemption.
And the failure of a particular key figure should not taint our picture of all Christian leaders. (In fact, I know personally that some of the people closest to the pastor in question are among the finest Christian leaders you will ever meet.)
As Billy Graham poignantly noted some years ago, in reference to the moral problems of certain American televangelists, thousands of aircraft land safely at the world's airports every day - but the only time the media will take an interest is when one crashes.
Secondly, we need to remind ourselves of the importance of keeping a close circle of friends and counsellors; people who know us well enough to spot trouble before it arrives.
Of course, this won't necessarily prevent us from hiding our problems - human beings have a special talent for that.
But if we build around us an inner circle of wise and responsible friends, to whom we've given the right to speak honestly at all times, we can be open without losing our sense of dignity.
