When Pastors Fall: Art Azurdia, The Most Recent

**UPDATE:  Here is a link to a response from Art Azurdia after this blog post was written. 

The news hit this morning and another pastor has admitted to falling into the immoral and sexual sin of adultery. Sadly, it isn’t an unusual circumstance in modern day evangelicalism when pastors fall into sin. Pastors fall, giants fall, and they fall hard!

When I read the name, my heart sank.  I was sick.  I was devastated.  The sounds of the old tune, “Another One Bites The Dust” rang in my head.  These were all feelings that I immediately felt when I heard the news about Pastor Art Azurdia of Trinity Church in Portland, Oregon. I am not writing this to discuss the details of the sin.  Honestly, there aren’t many details to discuss at this time, and those that are available can be read here.

Azurdia is certainly what you would call a high profile pastor. What I mean by that is

that he is well known as an author and has been a speaker at various national and international conferences. He’s also associate professor of Pastoral Theology and director of Pastoral Mentoring at Western Seminary in Portland. He is married and has two children. 

Another pastor falls. Another high ‘celebrity status’ pastor goes down in flames.  Azurdia is well known for his preaching and teaching.  His book, “Spirit Empowered Preaching” is widely used in the training of pastors.  He has been featured on Wretched Radio segments and has been a keynote speaker at many conferences such as the True Church Conference held annually in Muscle Shoals, Alabama at Grace Life Church of the Shoals.  Why mention these establishments?  Because they are solid and credible which makes this entire issue sting all the more. 

How Are We To Respond?

As a Christian what am I to think when pastors fall?  What do unbelievers think when they see pastors fall?  In fact I had a friend, who is not a Christian, say to me, “See, this is what makes it hard to believe in the church.  Everyone is a hypocrite. Especially the leaders.” 

This pains me when pastors fall.  This angers me when pastors fall.  How do I respond to my unbelieving friend?  How do I respond to my brothers and sisters within my local church?

Yes, we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Yes we all continue to sin but the mark of Christianity isn’t that we do not sin.  The mark of true Christianity is that we repent and are not in habitual sin.

“How can we who died to sin still live in it?” ~Romans 6:2b

“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has not been born of God” ~1 John 3:9

Yes we sin, but the Spirit convicts us and thus we repent.  Christians are continually repenting of sin.  Let me make it clear that Christians are not continually repenting of the same sin over and over.  Habitual sin is a sign of non-conversion regardless of the profession of faith by the individual.

Sadly, the issue with a well known pastor caught in adultery is not new to the evangelical world.  Tullian Tchvidian was in the not so bright ‘spotlight’ in 2016.  He was dismissed from the church he led.  He divorced his wife and then showed back up on the preaching circuit with a new wife and ‘new life.’

Qualifications For Pastors

So the question arises.  When a pastor falls in to the sin of adultery can they repent and continue in ministry?  In order to answer this question we will be Bereans (Acts 17:11) and search the Scripture to find the answer.  We will go to 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 where we find the qualifications for Overseers of the church.  Overseers being an elder or pastor.

“The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” ~1 Timothy 3:1.

The qualifications then are listed beginning in verse 2 (starting in verse 6 in Titus 1). “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach…” 

“Above reproach.”  Stop right there! We haven’t even gotten past the very first qualification and have found that this sort of sin committed by a shepherd of a flock eliminates him from the ministry as an overseer. 

Can that man repent and be restored to his local church and his family?  Certainly. But he fails to meet this biblical qualification for a pastor.  he no longer is ‘above reproach.’   Pastors must meet all of the qualifications. Not 50, 75, or 90%.  Here is a list of the remaining qualifications as laid out in Scripture:

1. Above reproach
2. The husband of one wife 
3. Sober minded
4. Self controlled
5. Respectable
6. Hospitable
7. Able to teach
8. Not a drunkard
9. Not violent but gentle
10. Not quarrelsome
11. Not a lover of money
12. Must manage his household well
13. He must not be a recent convert
14. Must be well thought of by outsiders

Numbers 4 and 5 would also be disqualifiers for a pastor that has fallen into adulterous sin. 

The Right Thing To Do When Pastors Fall

I commend the elders at Trinity church for doing what was undoubtedly the toughest discipline they have ever had to enforce. This commonly does not happen and congregations allow their pastors to continue in the ministry despite not being qualified to do so.  I understand the concept of Grace. And we are to give grace to those who repent.  However, God has placed His qualifications for leaders in His Word for a reason.  We do not have the option to simply ignore them or change them based on our emotions and our love of a pastor. It’s not easy. I get it. 

My hope is that Art Azurdia does reconcile with his wife and repent of this heinous sin that has left a black eye on the evangelical world and certainly to Trinity Church. This would be a perfect example of true Biblical reconciliation.  What is sad is that a once very respectable pastor, teacher, and leader can never truly Biblically shepherd a local church again.  Let us guard our own hearts and pray that the Lord will keep us from falling into habitual sin. 

By: Shawn Waugh

**Shawn (AKA Dr. Luke) is the host of the “Word For America” program that can be heard weekly on www.graceliferadio.com 

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