Ask Tgc: What Do We Do With Helpful Resources From Harmful People?

Editors’ note: We received the following questions from a reader:

What should we do when we’ve been influenced by pastors (or others) who have become discredited and are no longer fit for ministry? What do we do about the resources they created that have proven helpful? Is it ever wise to recommend those resources to others?

In the early 1990s, I fell in love with apologetics after listening to a weekly radio program called Let My People Think and the daily show Just Thinking. The apologist’s thoughtful engagement with cultural questions and his winsome defense of the faith shaped my understanding of how Christians should engage the world. Ten years later, I became enamored with NOOMA, a series of short videos by a pastor that “explore our world from a perspective of Jesus.” The pastor’s creative approach to communicating biblical truth felt fresh and compelling in an era when many churches seemed culturally tone-deaf.

Two decades later, the legacy of the apologist—the late Ravi Zacharias—was tarred by accusations of abuse and sexual misconduct. And the pastor—Rob Bell—is an Oprah-approved apostate who embraces same-sex marriage and denies the biblical view of hell.

What do I do with such influences?

Unfortunately, we must consider that question with what feels like increasing frequency. Whether it’s a pastor caught in moral failure, a Christian author who abandons orthodoxy, or a ministry leader whose private life contradicts his or her public teaching, we’re left wrestling with what to do about the resources, insights, and influences that once proved genuinely helpful in our spiritual formation. Their fall doesn’t erase the good those teachers once did, but it complicates how we should think about their ongoing influence in our lives and whether we should recommend their resources to others.

Over the years, I’ve developed an approach to dealing with this problem. While everyone has to follow his or her conscience on this matter, here are four principles I’ve found helpful.

1. Plunder the (Fallen) Egyptians

Augustine famously argued that Christians could benefit from pagan authors because truth belongs to God regardless of who communicates it. Drawing on the metaphor of the Israelites taking gold from Egypt, he suggested that “every good and true Christian [should] understand that wherever truth may be found, it belongs to his Master.” Calvin similarly encouraged believers to recognize that the Holy Spirit is the source of all truth, even when it comes through “heathen authors.”

This principle applies directly to our situation. Fallen ministers are either still believers struggling with sin or have become non-Christians entirely. In either case, we can benefit from their past insights because of common grace. Because God’s goodness extends to all humanity, even fallen people can perceive and communicate some truth.

Because God’s goodness extends to all humanity, even fallen people can perceive and communicate some truth.

The key, of course, is discernment. We likely shouldn’t consider someone credible if the resource is directly related to the person’s area of moral failure. For example, we should probably avoid a marriage book by someone who committed adultery or domestic abuse or parenting advice from someone who neglected their children. Their failure directly undermines their credibility in these specific areas, and their advice may have been influenced by the very sins they were privately committing.

In contrast, a Greek grammar by a pastor who later had an affair or a systematic theology by someone who struggled with pride may still contain valuable insights. While character always matters—even in technical works—the disconnect between the failure and the content creates more room for consideration.

Truth doesn’t become false simply because it was spoken by someone who later fell into error or sin. Yet other considerations aside from helpfulness must be considered. Conscience and wise discernment should drive our judgment on this issue.

2. But Seek Alternatives When Possible

Wisdom suggests we should rely primarily on authors and pastors who haven’t fallen or stepped away from the faith. The church has been blessed with countless faithful teachers throughout history and in our present moment. Why drink from a tainted well when clean water is readily available?

This doesn’t mean we must immediately purge our libraries or pretend these influences never existed. Rather, we should gradually shift our attention and recommendations toward those who have proven themselves faithful over time. We can always find excellent alternatives from people whose character and doctrine remain sound.

This approach also models wisdom for other Christians. By intentionally choosing to highlight faithful teachers, we demonstrate that character matters in ministry and that the church has other voices worth hearing. It’s a way of saying that while God can use flawed vessels, we need not rely on them when better options exist.

3. Make Recommendations Carefully

Sometimes, though, a resource is too valuable to discard. That’s how I feel about my favorite book on preaching, coauthored by a pastor who had to resign because of a church scandal. If asked, it’s the one I’d most like to pass along. But recommending resources from discredited figures requires prudence and consideration of context.

I’ve found it’s done best in settings where you can clearly explain your qualifications and hesitations, such as one-on-one conversations or small-group discussions where misunderstanding and misrepresentation of your view are less likely to occur.

(Also, if you’re a pastor, consider removing such resources from your office bookshelf where people you counsel can see them. Church members may assume you recommend them without understanding your reservations. The mere presence of these books can communicate endorsement even when none is intended.)

In more public settings, especially on social media, it’s best not to recommend them at all. Social media tends to ignore context, making it nearly impossible to be heard when you try to explain that recommending the resource isn’t endorsing the person. A post praising a particular insight from a fallen teacher will likely be interpreted as broader approval, regardless of any disclaimers you add.

We also want to avoid seeming to side against those the person may have hurt in the past. When we publicly recommend resources from abusive or doctrinally compromised leaders, we risk appearing insensitive to their victims or dismissive of their pain. This doesn’t mean we must never acknowledge any good that came from these teachers, but it does mean we should be extraordinarily careful about how and when we do so.

4. Pray for Them and Those They’ve Hurt

When we stumble on such influences—whether through old books on our shelves, memories of helpful sermons, or social media reminders of their existence—we can use it as a prompt to pray for them. This includes praying for their repentance if they’re still living, for their families who bear the burden of their failures, and for the victims of their abuse or theological errors.

Recommending resources from discredited figures requires prudence and consideration of context.

We can also thank God for the way he’s used fallen people and other sinners (which includes all of us) in teaching about him. This prayer doesn’t minimize the seriousness of their failures, but it acknowledges God’s sovereignty in using imperfect people to accomplish his purposes.

Prayer also keeps us humble, reminding us that we too are capable of failure and in need of God’s grace. The same sins that brought down these leaders lurk in our hearts. As we pray for them, we’re reminded of our need for accountability, humility, and dependence on God’s sustaining grace.

Living with Complexity

There are no easy answers to these questions, and faithful Christians will sometimes reach different conclusions about how to handle resources from discredited teachers. Some will feel compelled to remove all such materials from their libraries; others will continue to benefit from them while maintaining appropriate reservations. Both approaches can be faithful depending on the person’s circumstances and conscience.

What matters most is that we approach these situations with wisdom, humility, and love—for the truth, for those who have been hurt, and even for those who have fallen. The goal isn’t to be unnecessarily harsh or prematurely gracious; it’s to honor God in how we handle the complex legacy of those who once served him faithfully but have now brought reproach on his name.

In the end, these painful experiences remind us that our ultimate hope rests not in human teachers but in Christ himself, who alone will never disappoint us or lead us astray. While we thank God for the many faithful teachers he’s given his church, we must hold them all with open hands, ready to let go when necessary while holding fast to the truth they helped us discover.