Episode 79: Too Big to Fall (Part II): the Celebrity Christian Halo Principle & the love of kings

We've been through this before. So many times. Is there anything left to learn, or are we just unwilling to learn it? Perhaps a recent study holds the answers. Mike Pilavachi is the latest 'celebrity Christian' whos eministry has been tainted by scandal. In Part 2 of Beer Christianity's look at our icons with cracked halos, we ask why, with all the information we have gained over decades of scandal, we never seem to be able to prevent good ministries from hiding bad behaviours or protecting bad people.  One possible answer is out desire to shirk moral responsibility in favour of loyalty and obedience to a strong leader. Another is a little more complex and we examine it in a little detail in this episode. The NGO Halo Effect tracks how moral superiority, moral justification and moral naivity in the third sector can lead to good organisations doing bad things. If we apply it loosely to churches, religious movements and para-church organisations from charities to events, we start to recognise a lot of ways in which the Mike Pilavachi, Ravi Zacharias and other Christian celebrity falls from grace may have gone on for so long. As a lens for understandign the larger issue, we hear again from Matty Fearon of Mission Catalyst magazine, who shares his recommendations for avoiding future cover-ups, and we hear from Bible Society's Mark Woods on why we're unlikely to learn a damn thing. Spoilers: we kinda love kings. For some stupid reason. But we maintain it's worth the Church and the ecosystem around it tryng to get better. It would be good for our witness and good for the world. Most importantly, it could prevent further harm being done in and by our communities.  Here's a link to the fascinating study, How Moral Goodness Drives Unethical Behavior: Empirical Evidence for the NGO Halo Effect that we quote at length. Jonty thinks recognising its findings and applying them to our cherished institutions could be a game changer in catching and stopping toxicity sooner.  New to Beer Christianity? Welcome! Beer Christianity is an anti-capitalist, pro-BLM, pro-LGBTQ+, post-post-post-evangelical (and apparently republican) podcast where we drink a bit and talk a lot. Our aim is to be real, to be helpful and entertaining. Follow Beer Christianity on Twitter: @beerxianity and find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Stitcher.  If you leave us a voicenote at speakpipe.com/beerchristianity we might air your question on an episode. Beer Christianity also has a newsletter in which Jonty and guest authors comment on the news, theological issues and stuff that matters.  Sign up to the Beer Christianity newsletter on Substack.  There's a connected Show With Music on Spotify called New Old Music. Check it out if you like eclectic music and weird chat. It's not terribly serious.  Jonty's novel, Incredulous Moshoeshoe and the Lightning Bird, is not available in all good bookshops, but if you bought it and left a review that would probably make that more likely.  We don't really want to preach at you, but some people like to know what we believe. It's this: Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to teach us a better way to be while reconciling us to God and each other in a way we could never do without Him. He also changed water into wine. Nice.