Some Pastoral Reflections on the Duggars

By now many reading this have heard about the scandal revolving around the Duggar family and Josh’s actions when he was 14. Since the news broke, Josh resigned his job with the Family Research Council and TLC has pulled the family’s show from the air. The opinions around this scandal have been heated. Some were shocked by the revelations about Josh’s behavior and others seemed to be thrilled the family had a secret they were hiding. In light of this scandal and some of the discussions taking place, I want to offer a few pastoral reflections.

Hold out the Hope of the Gospel

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The Lord Jesus Christ came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross as a substitute for the sins of his people, was buried in the ground, raised on the third day, ascended into heaven where he makes intercession for his people, and will come again one day. Because he died for sins once for all, God forgives the sins of those who call upon the name of Jesus. In addition he clothes us with the perfect life of Christ. The one who trusts in Jesus has experienced a great exchange, they traded their sins for the righteousness of Christ.

In the next point we will emphasize sin’s heinous nature, but in doing so we cannot forget to proclaim the reality of the Gospel. The death of Jesus covers the worst of our sins and the person who has lived in the most scandalous sin can come to Christ and be accepted by the Father. This must control the way we look at people who have taken part in scandalous sin, especially if it is in their past and shape the way we look at people involved in a lifestyle of sin now. There is great hope for any person if they will repent and believe in Christ who gave himself for them. They stand before God completely righteous and freely forgiven with no asterisks or caveats.

Avoid Minimizing the Seriousness of Sin

Unfortunately Christians often speak of forgiveness as if it provides an end run around temporal consequences for our actions. Nothing could be further from the truth. Christians who commit crimes and indecent acts experience God’s forgiveness, but still must face penalties from civil authorities and rebuilding trust with people who know about their actions. Forgiveness also does not mean a person gets restored to their place of ministry or continue to have the same platform to speak to issues.

Christians must further remember the price of our forgiveness. To make our salvation a reality the perfect Son of God had to come to earth and give his life for us. Because of this truth we cannot speak of sin as something to simply be glossed over. We can both hold out the promise of forgiveness and remember the serious nature of sin. The New Testament, particularly the book of Hebrews, sternly warns Christians against continuing in sin after coming to Christ and trampling under foot his blood.

Do Everything Possible to Protect Children and Care for Victims

Too often we hear about these types of scandals and automatically think about how it affects our standing in the culture wars. We forget about the victims of these atrocities because we get too focused on defending people on our team. During these times we must focus our efforts on providing genuine help to victims of sexual abuse and assault. God offers hope to the victimized, healing them of their shame and pain. They need a safe place to work through their pain and discover this hope in their own timing without other people imposing an artificial timeline on them.

The coverup of sexual crimes cannot be tolerated. Churches and church leaders must realize the necessity of calling the proper authorities without trying to do our own investigation first. This is not our place. We can learn what happened later and decide what disciplinary and discipleship measures may be needed in a person’s life later, but the authorities must be notified first. Paul’s words in Romans 13 mean we do not get to negotiate on this point. In addition, coverup and delay usually lead to more victims, so protection of the vulnerable necessitates our immediate action.

Look to Yourselves Lest You Fall into Sin as Well

We should be scandalized by the sexual exploitation of young girls. If hearing what happened to these young girls turned your stomach, it means you still have a conscience and this is a good thing. The temptation we face when we hear about scandalous sin is to assume we are not capable of heinous and deplorable sin as well. Every person has the capacity for horrid evil within us and the only thing restraining us is God’s grace, the resolve not to walk in a pattern of sin, lack of opportunity, and/or the fear of consequences.

The temptations you face most likely are not the same as the ones Josh Duggar faced, yet they are just as real and the moment you proclaim what you would never do becomes the moment you are most likely to fall. Remember how you too must war against sin in your own life. Remember the Gospel, spend time in God’s word, pray often for God’s help, and walk in close community with other Christians. The New Testament writers remind us we are at war with the world, the flesh, and the devil. The wise Christian remembers these enemies and wars against them everyday.

End the Cycle of Christian Celebrity

In an effort to have family entertainment options and spokespeople who reflect our values, Christians quickly thrust people into a spotlight they might not be ready for. We watch their shows, buy their books, share their status updates, and point to them as a great example, often forgetting they have feet of clay. Then they fall or say something embarrassing and we wonder why people view Christianity with increasing skepticism.

The advancement of the Gospel does not need baptized celebrities. Jesus did not say “the world will know you are my disciples if you have spokespeople with a cable show and a fat book deal.” He said, “the world will know you are my disciples if you love one another.” The Gospel advances through ordinary Christians living their ordinary lives for the glory of God as they love and serve the people around them. Your unbelieving neighbor is more likely to impacted through the witness of the Christians he encounters everyday than he is by the Christians on television. Instead of inviting our neighbors to watch a family on television, we should invite them into our daily lives where they can hear and see the Gospel in real life.

In closing we need to remember Josh Duggar is a real person and so are the people he abused. He has real sin, they have real pain, and all involved need real redemption only Jesus can give.

Related Posts:
“Your Worst and Best Days Don’t Define You”
“What Does ‘Judge Not’ Mean”

For Further Reading:
Rid of My Disgrace by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb
Is it My Fault? by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb