Given our social media age of instant information and the speed at which tragic news concerning Christian leaders is gleefully propagated through the media, many of you are probably aware that Steve Lawson is no longer associated with any of the several ministries he had partnered with or lead. The details are scant, but the gossip, accusations, and assumptions are flowing freely—and I do not intend to add to that fire nor seek to defend Dr. Lawson. In fact, he is just the latest in a number of high-profile Christian leaders to have a public failure of conscience that cost them their reputations and leadership positions. This disturbing trend needs to be addressed by Christ’s church, but that is not what I want to discuss in this article.

What I want to address is the alarming tendency I have seen within some Christian circles, and especially among Reformed brethren, to memory hole anyone who has a moral failure—deleting their books and podcasts, erasing their name even from the history pages of the ministries these men helped to found, and behaving as if everything that person ever said or wrote is now somehow poisoned. Justin Peters has publicly stated that “none of Dr. Lawson’s teaching materials, books, sermons – anything – should ever be used again.” In the name of moral purity, we initiate a level of ruthless cancel culture that would make even George Orwell blush. Show me a single scripture that says anything like this. Removed from leadership, absolutely—but this is the modern version of stoning the man to death, maybe worse.

I understand the desire as a company or a ministry to make it clear, as I want to make clear here on behalf of both myself personally and Grace & Truth Books, that we in no way condone or excuse the sins that have been committed. Sin has consequences, and those consequences are significant for someone in the role of spiritual leadership. However, this is the province of the local church, not the internet.

I want to be equally clear that a moral failure today, or even one that was hidden for some time and only now is coming to light, does not necessarily mean that a man’s entire life of service, study, and writing is now rendered worthless, sinful in itself, and only fit to be tossed out and burned.

I would venture to say that two weeks ago, you could find hundreds of pastors who had attended a OnePassion Conference or read one of Steve Lawson’s books, and if asked if they had been helped in their ministry in some way by the material, would reply with a chorus of enthusiastic affirmative answers. Two weeks ago, dozens of Steve Lawson’s books were proudly displayed on the websites of many Reformed publishers—companies I very much appreciate and respect—but now you will be hard-pressed to find a single Steve Lawson title (unless it was co-authored by someone else) on their pages.

Have the past week’s revelations changed any of the content contained in those books? Is Steven Lawson’s biography on Martyn Lloyd-Jones in the Long Line of Godly Men series, a book first published in 2016, now suddenly tainted? Looking at these sites, you would have to conclude that they are.

Should every pastor and elder who has books by Steve Lawson sitting on the shelves of their personal libraries (and I know many of you do!), books they have used over the years for reference or for personal edification, throw those books away? Many, like Justin Peters, seem to think so. But to do so would be to say that what was written in these books was never helpful or fruitful for the Lord, and could not possibly be fruitful in the future, which would be absurd. And should Dr. Lawson show true repentance, and should he be restored to fellowship (which I pray he will, for his sake, the sake of his family, and the sake of the name of Christ)—will those books suddenly be transformed back into useful works worthy of publication without a single word being changed, or is he forever a pariah without hope for redemption? Which scenario sounds more like the gospel—seeking the redemption of those who have stumbled, or stoning the man to death in our social media feeds?

If there is true repentance on the part of the person who sinned, should there not also be true forgiveness and restoration? Perhaps not restoration to a leadership position (I’m not arguing for that), but calling for the complete cancellation of an author’s books from his publisher’s websites indicates a lack of love and forgiveness. Some, like Peters, are focusing on verses like Matthew 18:7 (completely out of context) and pointing accusatory fingers at others while completely missing how their lack of compassion, concern, and desire for restoration brings just as much reproach upon the name of Christ. Should not the Word be our guide in this? We are encouraged to be peacemakers, not witch hunters; to restore rather than destroy. John 8:7 has been tagged in many of the posts I have seen, and I wonder how many truly appreciate the words of Christ that silenced and shamed the Pharisees: “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone.”

That said, the question of whether you should read the works of men who have had a public disgrace is a question of conscience and a decision each individual must make for themselves. I would never seek to bind the conscience of another brother or sister. But I would ask a serious question of my friends in the book industry: Is this purging of Dr. Lawson’s works the result of a strong conviction of conscience that carrying his works somehow expresses a lack of concern for sin, or could it be because of a fear of man? Is it fear that the modern-day Pharisees and the rampant cancel culture that has invaded the church will turn on us and cancel us for not pretending these books never existed?

Maybe it will.

I may get angry notes from folks who think Grace & Truth Books has compromised, and folks may choose not to purchase anything from our company because we refuse to bow to the pressure of social media. That is a matter of conscience too.

But I stand where I have always stood—I look at the works of men like Lawson, Tony Evans, Justin Peters, and John MacArthur in the same light as I look at every book in our store that is not labeled The Holy Bible. They are all works of men. Men with flaws, sins, and struggles—some public and revealed, others private and known only to God—but none perfect. So, I read their books in that light, not making idols or spiritual gurus out of them, and most importantly, not using them as replacements for my local pastor. Neither these books nor their authors hold any spiritual authority over me. So I can read their work, disagree with some parts of it, be inspired, encouraged, and challenged by other parts, and then put it down, all without needing to know if the author is a sinner—he is. I will not knowingly buy a book that promotes sin or heresy, but if I require every author to be without sin, then my library will have one book: the Bible.

Therefore, since I am not afraid to have these books in my own library, it would be hypocritical for the store we own not to make them available to others as well. In the end, let your own conscience be your guide.

In closing, I would exhort you to keep all these men and their families, and the families of those impacted by their fall, in your prayers. Pray for repentance, restoration, and for the name of Christ to be glorified, not in the sins committed but in the love shown by those who recognize they have been forgiven much.

I would also encourage you to keep your own pastors in prayer. Temptation is not the province of the celebrity pastor alone, and sexual temptation is not the only place men fall. And for those of us with a love of conferences and big-name preachers and podcasts, may the Lord impress upon us the importance of supporting, loving, praying for, and learning from the shepherd the Lord has given your local church—he is the only one that the Scriptures say is watching over your soul.

Perhaps if we don’t build the pedestals so high, fewer men will fall from them.

– Rick