Serial The Anointed: 11. The Downfall Begins

A silhouette of a man lifting his hands in worship against a backdrop of an evening sky. Next to this man are the words: "The Anointed - a faith-based serial." — Follow along with this thrilling serial about the highs and lows of Pastor John.

It’s 2019. John’s father passes away, and shortly after, John begins an affair. How will Abigail react? And the congregation of Joy Church?

In the year John turns 48, his father dies. John hasn’t had contact with his parents for years, not since he ousted his father as pastor 24 years ago. His father tried for years with letters, cards, and phone calls, but John avoided all contact. Now his father is dead. The man he had wanted to prove himself to all those years, and whom he had banished from his life, is no more. Later, John will tell me that this moment was a turning point in his life. As he put it: the deterioration had begun.

In the congregation, John increasingly feels the pressure from Eric, the young worship leader. Eric has just completed two years of training in their parent church in Colorado and has become a protégé of senior pastor Michael. Every time John looks at Eric, he sees his boundless ambition to become senior pastor himself. John would prefer to expel Eric from the congregation, but he fears the reaction of pastor Michael. Abigail, on the other hand, really likes Eric. John begins to feel powerless and insecure.

‘Abigail catches John behind the stage with Daisy, one of the blonde worship leaders.’

Half a year later, John has his first affair with Ava, a 19-year-old girl from the church. The affair doesn’t remain a secret for long. John denies everything. Abigail and the elders stand by him. Ava has to confess her guilt in front of the entire congregation on a Sunday morning, claiming she unjustly slandered Pastor John. After this, Ava is forced to leave the church. She moves away from her parents, who are also in the church and don’t believe her, and moves in with a non-Christian boyfriend, wanting nothing more to do with the church or God.

Four months later, it happens again. This time it’s Emma, one of the blonde worship leaders. Emma is 22 and has been secretly in love with Pastor John for a number of years. Their affair is soon discovered by Abigail, who catches them behind the stage. The affair is kept quiet. John must confess his guilt internally to the elders. Emma has to sign a NDA, receives a sum of money and is allowed to attend a four-year Bible school in South Africa. John promises it will never happen again.

‘The likelihood of men like John ending well is unfortunately very small.’

The likelihood of men like John ending well is unfortunately very small. Often, they end in one of the following three ways:

They embezzle too much and for too long, until even the most loyal elder board has had enough and they are fired for financial mismanagement.
Someone with greater ambition for power comes along. A struggle ensues and for the first time, they lose this game, losing everything. Just like John did with his father.
They are fired for sexual escapades that can no longer be swept under the rug or covered with the cloak of love. This is what happens to John.

‘Mia becomes pregnant. The elders must act now. John is immediately dismissed and given a year’s salary on condition that he leaves his own congregation immediately and never returns.’

For a year, things go well. Then John starts his last affair with a young woman from the congregation. Mia is pregnant with John’s child within two months. This was not what John expected. Mia is not someone who quietly goes away. She demands that John acknowledge the child. The whole church finds out. The elders must act. Under the leadership of Abigail, John is immediately dismissed as pastor. He is given a year’s salary on the condition that he leaves his own congregation immediately and never returns.

Abigail is elected as the new senior pastor and promotes Eric to co-pastor. She also starts an accelerated divorce process. She buys out John’s share of the villa, and within two months, John is a divorced man on the street with a large sum of money. Rich, but at the same time completely destitute.

‘Special forum sites are started where these victims dissect John to the bone.’

John’s fall reverberates through the evangelical and charismatic world. It even makes the national news for a while. Many of his victims feel justified in his downfall. Harsh, mocking, destructive words, perhaps written out of pain, come to my screen. John is now wounded prey. Both many ex-members of the Joy Church and the current members feel betrayed and wounded by him. This is a large group of victims. Special forum sites are started where these victims dissect John to the bone. Often there is nothing Christian about it. Although the language offends me, I must admit that I follow it all intensively, wondering how he is doing.

‘John is stalked and bombarded with hate mail. I decide to visit him in Baltimore.’

Some ex-members even seem to be stalking him on the internet. Within two weeks, his new address is already known on a site. Several sites call for bombarding him with hate mail. I also see his new address. It’s in a reasonable neighborhood in Baltimore. I search for a phone number on the internet, but can’t find it. Surely secret. I can’t find a working email address for him either. How is he doing? The only way to find out is to go to Baltimore. There’s a good chance he won’t be there, but I’m willing to take that risk.

On the train to Baltimore, my thoughts go back to a conversation last night with my wife Jessie: “Why are you going to Baltimore? You have nothing to do with him. He never looked out for you. I know that story about your summer, but how long ago was that? It’s a waste of your day. Can’t you let him go?”

‘Why are you going to Baltimore? It’s a waste of your day. Can’t you let him go?’

“I can’t let John go. We have something between us that I can’t explain. I feel responsible for him. If you ask me ‘why?’, I don’t know. But it’s there. Maybe it’s something from God, maybe not. My heart says I have to go…” I can still feel the stroke on my cheek. “Then you should go. I know you; you have to follow your heart. I don’t always understand you, but I believe in you…”

In a few minutes, I’ll arrive at Penn Station. I’ve set aside the whole day for this. I have a good book with me; if he’s not there this morning, I’ll just sit in a café. Then I’ll try again this afternoon and this evening. I feel nervous. I don’t know how he is. Maybe he doesn’t want to see me at all.

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Read some background articles on why Evangelical leaders fall:

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Matt Vlaardingerbroek, a former seasoned church planter and pastor in Holland’s inner cities, brings Bible stories to life through ventriloquism and magic. He’s authored three books, and founded www.creativekidswork.com, providing over 1,500 innovative Sunday school activities worldwide.