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With the invention of social media and instantaneous, worldwide communication, the floodgates were opened for the gospel to spread to all parts of the world in a way that had never been possible.
It also brought with it snares for Christians to fall into and give in to the temptations of the flesh.
Faith leaders have always fought the battle of taming their tongue. By maturing the discipline of being slow to anger and slow to speak (James 1:19), Christian leadership set the example on not telling their congregations just how they felt about them at times.
But some Christian leaders have taken to a worldly approach to venting their frustrations, anger and shortcomings: by creating fake secondary accounts and saying what is on their minds.
These are not just isolated incidents either, but as cultures around the world continue to move away from the truth of God’s Word, so too do the actions of those not rooted in the Word stray from biblical principles.
This is what happened to the former headmaster of Sequitur Classical Academy, located in Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
As reported by The Roys Report, Thomas Achord, who is also a Christian author and podcaster, was caught posting racist, anti-Semitic and misogynist statements online.
At first, Achord denied that it was him behind the account named “Tulius Aadland,” but later admitted to running the account in a released statement.
However, within the lengthy statement, Achord admitted it was an old account of his, but still tried to deflect responsibility for “some tweets” posted from his account.
“There are some tweets in the account that clearly only could have come from myself,” Achord wrote. “However, if we are to follow the truth, there are also some posts that contradict connection to me.
“I maintain that I have trouble recollecting tweets (and the entire account) in this period.”
In a separate, yet similar, instance, the Lutheran Church – Canada announced the resignation of Todd Guggenmos after it completed an investigation into his online activities as well.
The LCC self-reported the findings of the investigation:
- That Guggenmos had, through the use of an anonymous Twitter account he created, posted thousands of tweets, many of which belittled, mocked and devalued others and involved the use of foul and demeaning language.
- That he targeted specific people repeatedly over a nearly two-year period of time.
- That, while targeting both men and women, he used language that was specifically demeaning to women.
These actions demonstrate the lack of rooting within God’s Word that some in leadership positions have today, and the necessity of accountability within the church.
No one person is impervious to temptation, but with proper biblical safety nets put into place, the church can prevent these and even worse events from unfolding and tarnishing the name of the Lord.
With these public failings of leadership, it also sheds light on the issue of leaders within the Christian faith not being mature and rooted in the Word of God.
By spending the necessary time in the Bible and growing in their relationship with the Lord, they would know that these deeds would eventually be exposed (Eph. 5:11; John 3:20). For acts such as these, hidden in the darkness of anonymity, are not the actions of one who is living in the light, but of one hiding in the darkness because they know what they are doing is evil (John 3:19).
God will not be mocked, and will expose these acts before the world and tear down those who scheme in the shadows while professing Jesus to the public because the Lord hates hypocrisy (1 John 4:20; James 1:26; Matt. 15:7-9). {eoa}
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James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.
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