Pastor Kris:

“I don’t know how you found me. I pastored a wonderful church for 10 years. It was Camelot, but then the devil hit hard and strong and took out my marriage. And when I reached out for help, everyone— I mean everyone—turned their back on me and kicked me to the side of the road and left me for dead. It was the most devastating experience a human being could go through. My wife left me and took our four children. I resigned from my pastoring because I was too devastated to lead my congregation, even though I loved them with all my heart. When I went to minister friends I thought I could trust, and poured my heart out to them, they all walked away because they didn’t want to be associated with someone who was having a “failure experience” because it might tint their “success” appearance. I went into a spiral of depression and total shock to the point of attempted suicide twice, and there was NO ONE there. It was, and is, amazing to me that as ministers, we are on the front lines of battle. Yet when the enemy is able to hit us and wound us, our “fellow soldiers,” instead of reaching out to help us in our wounded condition, turn instead and aim their weapons at us and seemingly “finish the job.” I was amazed that the devil wounded me, but it was my brothers in Christ that finished me off. It is interesting that there is an organization that is reaching out to our wounded veterans coming home from war named “Wounded Warriors,” yet we don’t do anything for our “wounded warriors?” When they tell the stories how they were hit with a roadside bomb and it blew their legs or arms off. I have sat with tears down my face saying to myself, "I know what that is like," only my wounds were unseen, but just as painful and life-changing. God Bless your ministry. (You can read the entire testimony at www.healyourservant.com)

Pastor Mike:

“I have pastored for 15 years. I have never been unfaithful to my wife before. The pressures of ministry had placed a great division between my wife and me. We were both so busy with the work of God that we had neglected each other. I met a woman online. This relationship had developed slowly and we had made the decision to meet in the Caribbean for the sole purpose of consummating our adulterous affair. I told my wife I was going on a ministry trip. I called in to Heal Your Servant several times and I just talked. I didn’t call them back for two weeks. When I finally called again I was asked, what was going on? My response was, "Well, I did go to the Caribbean, but instead of taking the other woman, I took my wife. I told her everything. She then admitted to me that she had been in an emotional relationship with another man. We asked for each other’s forgiveness, forgave each other and then had an amazing honeymoon in the Caribbean. Thank you so much for saving my marriage and my ministry."

These are just two lives directly touched by the ministry of Heal Your Servant. Yet, the ripple effect of their transformation will perpetuate indefinitely.

Out of the many exposés we receive through our four weekly conference calls, we are finding that our ministers are constantly attacked on just a few basic fronts—primarily internet pornography and people met on the Internet. We are still hearing many stories of affairs with church congregants. Some have admitted to misappropriation of funds. A few have confessed spousal abuse. I have heard many men profess that they have developed secret identities with which they conduct their trysts.

The uniqueness of Heal Your Servant’s ministry is in the fact that we have chosen to provide the vehicle that enables us to be the first responders in the body of Christ. The reason that we choose to listen so intently is to understand how the enemy is attacking our spiritual leaders for the specific purpose of exposing the adversary’s plan. Secrecy empowers sin. In the light, sin is powerless. Your sin is what you did, and not who you are.

Though many grace-oriented ministers and counselors have attempted to take on a task such as this, they have always lacked the single most significant element, the ability to shake the trees and get these ministers to want to walk out of the dark places, without fear of retribution.

We say we believe the gospel of forgiveness until someone actually sins. Our ministry simply chooses to believe what the gospel says about forgiveness.

Before anyone responds with condemnation, I have one question for everyone reading this article: If your worst moment were made public, would you still be in the ministry?

If we, as the body of Christ, will accept this challenge and allow these matters to be handled through the perspective of the love of Christ, beginning with honest conversation, and implementing these truths, we can glorify God by changing the course of the church, our nation, and the world.

Please visit our site and if you have or are ever tempted to cross that line, we invite you to please call and speak with us.

David Vigil is CEO and Founder of Healyourservant.com. His life focus is to serve those who have been called of God, and see to it that they are free to be exactly what they have been designed to be. His ministry is based out of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Tex. Under the tender of Randy Frazee and Max Lucado, he serves to restore ministers across the globe.

Get Spirit-filled content delivered right to your inbox! Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Dr. Mark Rutland's

National Institute of Christian Leadership (NICL)

The NICL is one of the top leadership training programs in the U.S. taught by Dr. Mark Rutland. If you're the type of leader that likes to have total control over every aspect of your ministry and your future success, the NICL is right for you!

FREE NICL MINI-COURSE - Enroll for 3-hours of training from Dr. Rutland's full leadership course. Experience the NICL and decide if this training is right for you and your team.

The NICL Online is an option for any leader with time or schedule constraints. It's also for leaders who want to expedite their training to receive advanced standing for Master Level credit hours. Work through Dr. Rutland's full training from the comfort of your home or ministry at your pace. Learn more about NICL Online. Learn more about NICL Online.