How to Stand When Leaders Fall

Introduction: The Father's Heart in Times of Betrayal

Dear friend,

When leaders fall, it sends shockwaves through the body of Christ. You may be feeling confused, hurt, betrayed, or questioning everything you believed. Perhaps you received ministry from this leader. Maybe you made life decisions based on prophetic words they spoke or teachings they provided. You might be wondering: Was any of it real? Can I trust anyone? Where is God in all of this?

Let me speak to your heart with the gentlest truth I know: Your heavenly Father is with you in this situation in a unique way. He knows your pain. And He is not surprised, distant, or disappointed in you. He also knows exactly how He wants to be with you in this and how to use it for your highest benefit.

How God wants to be with you

The Father loves to be with you in your low places where He can overwhelm you with His love. Whatever the enemy wants to do with this situation, He wants to do the opposite. Instead of shame, He gives a double portion, instead of humiliation He gives you your inheritance (Isaiah 61). He inhabits these low places so He can call you up and turn this to your highest benefit.

He is a genius at using these situations for your upgrades and teaches you how to flourish in the midst of difficult situations. His peace can sustain you because Peace is a ruling power especially when nothing feels peaceful. You can learn to "Let the peace of Christ reign in your heart." Colossians 3:15. This situation can help you make peace permanent in your life.

This is the perfect time to ask the Lord, "Who do you want to be for me now, Father in this situation?" What does this mean? It means you get to experience a part of His nature you have never experienced before. God loves to use these bad situations (which He did not create) to take your fellowship with Him to a whole new level!

When the enemy means to sow destruction, suspicion, doubt, and distrust, God fills those spaces in your heart and does the opposite! He brings life instead of death, peace instead of anxiety, confidence in His nature to replace the doubt, and love to cast fear from your heart. This is a great opportunity to discover His heart in a fresh and beautiful way when nothing seems beautiful.

How to move forward

He settles your heart and shows you that He does not change. The sins of others do not change your standing in Him. You are in Christ and therefore so are all these circumstances.

This is a slow process and it takes time. Slow learning is kingdom learning. Be as patient with yourself as He is with you. No need to rush to make hurried judgements. Settle your heart in who God is and not in who others are not. This is not the time to change your theology or make large decisions. It is time to find rest for your soul, so take Jesus up on His offer to get just that. This is what He offered:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Think of yoke as a partnership of Him putting His arm around you and saying, "Let us pull this load together. My partnership is easy and I can make this burden light."

In this way, the process will make you rich. What was designed to bring you down will lift you up. What was meant to reduce you and make you bitter, will expand your life and set you free.

The process

This guide exists to help you process leadership failure through the lens of the Father's unchanging love and to understand how restoration works in the Kingdom. Whether you are:

• Someone who was directly harmed
• A person who received ministry that now feels tainted
• A leader processing how to respond to how to help others in their care
• Simply a member of the body trying to understand

...there is a way forward that honors both truth and grace, that protects the wounded while leaving space for genuine restoration.

Part One: How the Lord Wants to Be With You as Someone Directly Harmed

You Are Safe in His Heart

The first and most important truth: Nothing that happened to you moved your position in Christ.

Your oneness with Jesus—your identity as beloved, your standing as a new creation—was not diminished by what someone else did. The enemy wants you to believe that this leadership failure somehow reflects on God's character or your worth. It doesn't.

"Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or challenges? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us." (Romans 8:35, 37)

The Father's Posture Toward You

When Jesus encountered the woman caught in adultery, religious leaders surrounded her with stones and accusations. But Jesus' response revealed the Father's heart:

He felt so deeply for her that He did not speak immediately. He wrote in the sand, letting truth do its work while protecting her dignity. Then He said: "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more."

This is how the Father sees you right now:

• He is outraged on your behalf at what was done to you
• He protects your dignity while truth does its work
• He offers no condemnation, only invitation forward
• He sees the real you—not defined by what happened to you

What to Do With Prophetic Words You Received

If you received ministry, prophetic words, or direction from a leader who has fallen, you may be wondering: Was any of it real? Do I throw it all away?

Here's the beautiful truth: Give those words back to the Lord. This doesn't mean they were all false. It means you return them to their true Source and ask:

"Father, what was Yours in that word? What promise did You speak through imperfect vessels? I give this back to You and ask You to return to me only what is truly from Your heart."

The enemy cannot use deception to taint God's promises to you. Your Father is in the business of redemption. He can separate the wheat from the chaff. He can restore what was stolen. He can give you fresh words directly from His heart.

Set your Anchor

Your primary intermediary is the Holy Spirit. He is the Comforter and the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation. You and Jesus are one. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—Three Plus Me—this is your starting place for processing everything. If your primary anchor is a leader, the impact of that leader's failure is amplified. This is a perfect time to correct that and make God your primary anchor.

Leaders do not hold a position between you and God like an old covenant priest. You are the Bride of Christ and leaders are the attendants of the Bride. They are not her lord. Think of a triangle. God on top, the Bride in one corner and the attendants in the other. The attendants equip the Bride and make her beautiful at the Bridegroom's instruction. They stand in a dangerous place when they try to insert themselves between the Bride and Jesus.

The Bride is called to make the attendants job easier by submitting to them as they submit to Christ. When they are not submitting to Christ there is nothing for the Bride to submit to. Jesus is the cornerstone, the anchor and your heavenly Bridegroom. He paid the price so that you and He can be one. You are not trying to become one with Him, you are one because He made it so.

Permission to Feel

The Father gives you permission to:

• Go through this situation in yoke with Him
• Feel the full weight of your pain without shame
• Be angry at what was done
• Question and process without losing your faith
• Take time to heal without rushing
• To discover your upgrade and let Him teach you how to flourish in difficult circumstances

But He also invites you to start the process of healing. It will take time but the process will make you rich. You will learn to the keys of freedom, here are few of them:

• Do not let yesterday's negatives cross into today - His mercies are new every morning
• Exchange your pain for His healing - ask for the opposite of the negative
• Let His goodness overwhelm your circumstances
• Find rest for your soul in His unchanging love

The Freedom He's Giving You

This situation, as painful as it is, is actually an invitation to a new level of freedom in Jesus that the Lord is offering you. The freedom of a direct relationship with Him. Everything leaders teach should lead the Bride into relational engagement and direct learning with the Lord. That is what Jesus paid for you to have. He deserves for you to have it because He paid for it.

Making the daily exchange of stress and worry for rest becomes permanent over time. Rest becomes your lifestyle not just a way to deal with immediate stress and anxiety.

You don't need a leader to validate your worth, interpret God's voice, or stand between you and the Father. You are one with Christ. This is your permanent reality, regardless of what any leader does or doesn't do. You are the beloved. You are fully accepted and fully loved.

Practical Steps for Healing

1. Start each day fresh - Don't carry yesterday's trauma into today. Practice the "new every morning" reset.
2. Ask the Father directly - "How do You see this situation? Who do You want to be for me right now?"
3. Use the Exchange Store - Bring your pain, confusion, and hurt to Him. Lay them down. Receive His peace, clarity, and healing. This is from Isaiah 61. When the enemy wants to make you feel shame, God wants to talk about double blessing. When the enemy and the world wants you to be humiliated, God is talking to you about your inheritance in Jesus. (Isaiah 61:7 - Instead of your shame, you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace, you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.")
4. Find a safe community - Connect with people who will point you to Jesus.
5. Protect your heart from the accuser - Don't take up the job of the accuser. Let truth do its work while you focus on healing. Be part of the healing process not the accusation process.
6. Give yourself permission to be overwhelmed by His goodness - If you learn to be overwhelmed by His goodness, you cannot be overwhelmed by your circumstances. This process takes time but there will be a day when you learn to no longer be overwhelmed by what happened to you because you are being overwhelmed by the goodness and kindness of the Father.

Part Two: How the Lord Moves Leaders from Repentance to Restoration

The Standard: Full Transparency and Ownership

When a leader falls into sin, there is a clear biblical pathway to restoration. But it requires something the leader must submit to: complete, transparent, public ownership of the sin.

The size of the offense determines the size of the confession. If the sin was:

• Private → Private confession and restoration
• Public → Public confession and restoration
• International and public → International and public confession and restoration

There is no shortcut. There is no "damage control" that honors the Father's heart. There is only the truth. There can be no covering up or minimizing of the sin - only full ownership, transparency, and repentance to begin the process of healing and restoration.

Call Out to Call Up

The Kingdom approach is to call someone out so you can call them up. The Kingdom key is that you can only call them up the extent that you called them out. If you only call them out 10% you can only call them up 10%. If there is a cover up there can be no calling them up into who they truly are in Christ.

The Three Types of Responses to Being Called Out

There are three types of responses when you call someone out. The Bible categorizes them as:

• The Wise Person
• The Foolish Person
• The Evil Person

Each of these have a different strategy attached to them.

The Wise Person
You know you are dealing with a wise person when they own the issue. They may even thank you for making them aware of the issue. When someone fully owns the problem, you can provide a growth strategy and call them up to who they are.

The Foolish Person
A foolish person will deflect the issue. They will point to others as the problem or outrightly deny the issue. If this is the case, the strategy is containment so they can come to the truth and come clean. If they do, you have created clear awareness of the issue and won the person over.

The Evil Person
If you are being threatened or feel unsafe, it is time for protection, call in others, lawyers or even the police.

Two Types of Restoration

It's crucial to understand that restoration happens in two phases:

1. Restoration to Fellowship

• Criteria: There is 2 sides:
  • Offender: True repentance with full ownership
  • The Offended: True forgiveness which is vital for freedom, and so that unforgiveness does not become the second offense
• Timeline: As soon as genuine repentance and reciprocal forgiveness is demonstrated
• Result: The person is welcomed back into the family of God with oversight

This should happen as quickly as possible because we don't leave sons and daughters in the wilderness. The moment someone truly repents—meaning they own the full extent of their sin without minimizing, justifying, or deflecting—we restore them to fellowship.

2. Restoration to Trust (Takes Time)

• Criteria: Demonstrated growth and clear evidence of transformation
• Timeline: Years, rarely months
• Result: The person may eventually return to ministry (or may not)

Restoration to trust is a different journey. It involves:

• Accountability structures that are real, not cosmetic
• Transparency about the process of healing and growth
• Making amends to those who were harmed
• Time for character to be proven
• Wisdom from mature leaders walking alongside

The Process of True Repentance

For a fallen leader, true repentance looks like:

1. Complete Ownership

• No minimizing ("there were a couple of missteps")
• No deflecting ("I had a bad season")
• No hiding behind vague statements
• Full acknowledgment of the specific sins and their impact

2. Transparency About Accountability

• Who are your anchors? (Names, not vague references)
• What is the process you're walking through?
• Who has permission to speak into your life?
• What does restoration look like in practical terms?

3. Making Amends

• Direct apologies to those harmed (where appropriate and safe)
• Public acknowledgment proportional to public offense
• Restitution where possible
• Changed behavior demonstrating transformation

4. Submission to Process

• Accepting that this will take years, not months
• Welcoming accountability rather than resisting it
• Being willing to step away from ministry permanently, if needed
• Prioritizing the wounded over personal platform

What the Father Requires

The Father's heart is always toward restoration. But He will not bypass the cross. He will not cover sin. He will not enable deception. For leaders who have fallen, the Father says:

"I love you with an everlasting love. Nothing you've done has changed that. I also love those you've wounded. I love My bride. I love My church. So we're going to do this the right way—with full truth, full transparency, and full transformation. This is how I redeem. This is how I restore. Not by covering up, but by bringing everything into the light."

The Role of the Body

As the body of Christ, our role is to:

• Extend genuine grace - We don't throw people to the wolves or write them off as unredeemable.
• Protect the wounded first - The victims' healing takes priority over the leader's platform.
• Create space for true transformation - We give time, accountability, and support for real change.
• Refuse to participate in cover-ups - We speak truth even when it's uncomfortable.
• Model the Father's heart - We showcase both justice and mercy, truth and grace.
• We do not join the Accuser's team but the Father's healing team.

Part Three: The Matthew 18 Process and Galatians 6 Leadership

Why We Never Cover Sins of Leaders

The body of Christ has a tragic history of protecting leaders at the expense of the wounded. This is not the Kingdom way. It is not the Father's heart. And it must stop.

We never cover sins of leaders because:

1. It harms the victims twice - First by the original sin, then by the institutional betrayal of covering it up.
2. It enables the leader to continue in deception - Without accountability, patterns don't break.
3. It damages the witness of the church - The world sees hypocrisy and loses trust in the gospel.
4. It misrepresents the Father's character - God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.
5. It creates a culture where abuse thrives - Silence protects perpetrators, not victims.

The Matthew 18 Process

Jesus gave us a clear process for dealing with sin in the body:

"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." (Matthew 18:15-17)

Key Principles:

1. Start privately - Give the person the opportunity to own their sin in a safe context.
2. Escalate appropriately - If they don't hear you, bring witnesses. If they still don't hear, make it public.
3. The criteria is being "heard" - This means the person acknowledges and owns what they've done.
4. Public sin requires public confession - The size of the circle of offense determines the size of the circle of confession.
5. There is a point of releasing - If someone refuses to repent, we acknowledge they've placed themselves outside the fellowship.

Galatians 6: Spiritual Leaders Bear the Burden

"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:1-2)

This passage teaches us:

1. Spiritual maturity is required - Not everyone should be involved in restoration. It requires people who walk in the Spirit.
2. The goal is restoration - We approach with gentleness, not harshness. We want to see people restored.
3. Humility is essential - "Keep watch on yourself" - we recognize we're all capable of falling.
4. We bear one another's burdens - We don't abandon people. We walk with them through the process.

But this does NOT mean:

• We minimize the sin
• We rush the process
• We protect the leader's reputation over the victims' healing
• We enable continued deception

The Role of Anchors

For a fallen leader, having genuine "anchors" is crucial. But what makes an anchor real?

When a leader says "I have anchors," the appropriate response is: "That's wonderful. Who are they? What is the process they're walking you through? Can we connect with them to understand how we can support this restoration?"

If a leader cannot or will not answer these questions, they don't actually have anchors—they have a shield to hide behind.

Part Four: How We Stand Differently

The Brilliant Movement Response

As a community, we are committed to:

1. Never covering for each other - Even if it's uncomfortable, we choose truth over reputation.
2. Standing with, not standing for - We stand with people in their process of restoration, but we don't defend sin or enable deception.
3. Protecting the wounded first - Victims' healing takes priority over leaders' platforms.
4. Pointing people to Jesus - We don't create dependency on leaders; we connect people directly to their Lord. We disciple them to Jesus not to our movement.
5. Modeling Kingdom process - We show what biblical restoration actually looks like.
6. Speaking prophetically - We declare who God is and how He moves in these situations.
7. We show people how to be confident in the Father's heart, find comfort from the Comforter, partner with the Redeemer not with the accuser.

The Clarity We're Being Given

This situation is exposing poor governmental structures in the body of Christ—structures where:

• Leaders sit as priests between people and God
• Questioning leadership is seen as rebellion
• Victims are silenced to protect institutions
• Cover-ups are normalized in the name of "grace"

The Lord is giving us clarity about the truth of direct access to Him through Christ.

You don't need a leader to:

• Validate your worth
• Interpret God's voice for you
• Stand between you and the Father
• Give you permission to grow
• Determine your spiritual maturity

You are one with Christ. This is your permanent reality. Bad leadership doesn't change it. Good leadership celebrates it.

What We're Teaching Our Community

In response to leadership failure, we're helping people understand:

1. What the prophetic actually is (and isn't)

• It's not data mining or cold reading
• It's hearing God's heart and speaking His perspective
• It's meant to confirm what God is already saying, not replace personal relationship
• It's subject to testing and accountability

2. How to process when leaders fall

• Start in your oneness with Jesus
• Start the forgiveness process so you can walk freely
• Give prophetic words back to the Lord
• Let Him redeem what was stolen
• Don't let this shake your foundation (which is Christ, not leaders)

3. How to stand in truth

• We can acknowledge egregious sin without becoming accusers
• We can want restoration without enabling deception
• We can protect victims without losing compassion for perpetrators
• We can hold high standards while extending genuine grace

4. He is a redeemer - He will turn what the enemy meant for evil for good - He has a gift to give you...

• He is not surprised or distant
• He sees what's missing (not what's wrong) in us
• He provides what we need for healing and growth
• His goodness is designed to overwhelm every fear
• He is fully present and with us as we grow through this difficulty
• He gives hope and expectation beyond the pain of the present

Part Five: Finding Freedom Through Forgiveness

When a leader falls, the enemy offers his weapons so he can make people in his image. God offers powerful weapons that are not carnal but mighty in God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) like taking negative thoughts captive and forgiving those who have hurt and offended you.

When a leader's failure causes deep personal pain, the focus naturally falls on the path of repentance and restoration for the one who offended. However, the Kingdom holds a reciprocal journey for those who have been wounded—an invitation not into a heavy obligation, but into profound freedom. This is the path of forgiveness.

This may be the most difficult part of the process, yet it is essential. Forgiveness is not primarily for the benefit of the person who hurt you; it is the key to your own liberty and continued growth. It is the process by which you refuse to allow someone else's past actions to define your present and future. Without it, the offense becomes a spiritual toxin, tethering you to a Present-Past reality of pain and preventing you from stepping into the fullness of who God is for you now.

The High Cost of Unforgiveness

Unforgiveness is more than just a feeling; it is a posture of the heart that holds another person in a state of debt. From this earth-bound perspective, the offense is given power it was never meant to have.

Like ripples in a pond, an offense held by unforgiveness radiates outward. It can metastasize into bitterness, a loss of trust in all leadership, and even offense toward God Himself for allowing the situation to happen. It gives the enemy a legal foothold to keep you in a cycle of pain, accusation, and unrest.

The consequences are severe:

• It keeps you trapped in the past, forcing you to relive the wound and rehearse the pain.
• It hinders your relationship with the Father, as it is impossible to live fully in the grace He gives you while refusing to extend it to others (Matthew 6:14-15).
• It blocks your own growth and healing, anchoring you to the identity of a victim rather than allowing you to step into your true identity as a victorious New Man in Christ.
• It blocks the path to restored fellowship. Restoration is a two-part process. While true repentance opens the door on the offender's side, unforgiveness keeps the door firmly shut on yours, stalling the beautiful process of Kingdom reconciliation.

A Kingdom Perspective on Forgiveness

In the Kingdom, forgiveness is not about pretending the offense didn't happen. It is a profound expression of our true identity, where we partner with God to respond in the opposite spirit to the wound, releasing life where there was pain.

We are not striving toward a place where we can forgive; we are empowered to forgive because we are living from our reality as people who have been extravagantly forgiven. Grace is the empowering Presence of God that enables you to do what He is asking, and He is asking you to align your heart with His.

The fruit of this process is not just the absence of bitterness, but the presence of something far greater:

• Freedom: You are released from the burden of carrying someone else's debt.
• Peace: You reclaim Rest as a Weapon, disarming the anxiety and turmoil the enemy intended for you.
• Growth: The process makes you rich. Walking through forgiveness with the Father develops a maturity and a depth of intimacy with Him that could not be gained any other way. You truly love the learning that comes from even the most painful experiences.
• Authority: You move from being defined by the offense to defining the spiritual atmosphere around you. You move from victim to victor.
• Restored Vision: Forgiveness provides the Lens Change that lifts your focus from the ashes of the offense, allowing you to again see as He sees and receive His exchange of beauty instead.

Practical Steps to Walk in Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a decision before it is an emotion. It is a deliberate transaction made with God. Here are some practical steps to walk through this process with Him.

1. Start with Gratitude: Root Yourself in His Forgiveness

Before looking at the wound done to you, take time to thank the Father for the immeasurable debt He has already forgiven you in Christ. Meditate on the truth that you are fully and freely forgiven. This roots and grounds you in His love and reframes the process in humility. (Matthew 18:21-35).

2. Agree with God About Unforgiveness

Unforgiveness is a weight He never intended for you to carry. In a simple prayer, tell Him you agree that holding onto this offense is harming you and that you want His way instead. This isn't about shame; it's about aligning your will with His loving intention for your freedom.

3. Make the Exchange: Transfer the Debt to Jesus

This is the central transaction. The offense created a debt. That person owes you. Now, you deliberately choose to release them from that debt and hand it to Jesus, who already paid for it on the cross. Speak it out loud:

"Father, in the name of Jesus, I choose to forgive [Person's Name] for [Specific Offense]. I release them from the debt they owe me. I give the pain and the cost of this offense to You."

4. Respond in the Opposite Spirit: Release a Blessing

This is a powerful act that breaks the enemy's power. Ask the Father to bless the person who wounded you (Luke 6:28). You don't have to feel it to do it. You can pray:

"Father, I ask You to bless them. Encounter them with Your goodness. I release them into Your hands."

This aligns your heart with God's redemptive purposes and uses the Exchange Store principle to turn a curse into a blessing.

5. Choose a New Focus: Reframe Your Memory

Forgiveness does not mean amnesia. The memory may remain, but you can remove your right to rehearse it. When the memory returns, see it as a signal to reaffirm your decision and thank God for your freedom. Practice a Lens Change: "I have already forgiven that. I choose to focus on what the Lord is doing in my life now. I choose my Present-Future with Him."

By engaging in this process, you are not letting the offender "off the hook." You are taking yourself off their hook and placing them firmly on God's. You are choosing to stand not as a victim of a leader's failure, but as a beloved child of God, walking in the freedom, peace, and Elevated Perspective that is your inheritance in Christ.

Conclusion: Moving Forward

This is how we stand when leaders fall: Rooted in Christ. Anchored in truth. Flowing in grace. Protecting the wounded. Pointing to Jesus.

May the Father's heart be showcased in how we respond. May His wisdom guide our steps. May His love heal every wound. And may this painful moment become a catalyst for deeper intimacy with Him and greater maturity in the body.

With the gentlest love and the firmest truth,
In the heart of the Father

Team Brilliant