Hope & Disillusionment: Recovering from Ravi Zacharias Scandal

Still Learning from Ravi Zacharias: How Do We Respond When a Role Model Falls?

"I was greatly humbled about a year ago when I was invited to write an article about the late Ravi Zacharias’s impact on my journey. I still stand behind every word of that piece, published in last November’s Christian Standard, a few months after Zacharias’s death. However, just prior to that issue’s cover date, apparent confirmation of Zacharias’s alleged infidelity and sexual misconduct surfaced. And I, like most people blessed by his ministry, was shocked and brokenhearted.

Perhaps the most difficult challenge for me was in the fact that prior to this alarming development, there were no shortage of testimonies regarding his outstanding character. Jeff Vines, lead pastor with ONE&ALL Church in San Dimas, California, said,

Ravi mentored me for over 20 years. I . . . recently [had been] in Sri Lanka with Ravi and Louie Giglio. I knew him very well. I never saw any impropriety in Ravi. In fact, I even looked for it. You want a level of purity in the life of mentors that catalyzes a degree of confidence, trust, and integrity. When leaders fall, one often says, “I saw that coming.” There are some people who, [when] you get into their inner circle and begin to see red flags, you say, “No, this is not a person whose lead I want to follow.” With Ravi, the more intimate you were with him the more you saw the “above reproach” life. Consequently, I was heartbroken, and suspicious, when the investigative report highlighted so many alleged failures. Moreover, Ravi was so peaceful about dying. His last days were spent on his knees in prayer. This was not a man fearful of meeting his maker.

In the wake of misconduct reports are many questions. How does the church recover from such an apparent betrayal? What precautions should Christian leaders take to guard their moral integrity?.." from the article: Still Learning from Ravi Zacharias: How Do We Respond When a Role Model Falls?

Video from Julie Roys

Hope & Disillusionment: Recovering from Ravi Zacharias Scandal

"What do you do when the man you looked up to as your spiritual hero is exposed as a fraud? How do you recover from the disillusionment and betrayal? And how do you find hope when your world is turned upside down? For Carson Weitnauer, his dream job at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries became a nightmare as more and more evidence showed that Ravi Zacharias was not the man he purported to be. The revelations rocked Carson’s world—especially his faith. In this raw and vulnerable talk, Carson doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He tells of the excruciating betrayal, pain, and depression he experienced. But he also talks about hope and hanging on, even when life seems bleak. This program was also released as an audio podcast and transcript on Nov. 8, 2023: https://julieroys.com/podcast/hope-di..." from video introduction

Julie Roys’s Biography

"Julie Roys is a veteran investigative reporter, podcaster, and founder of The Roys Report--an independent media outlet, reporting the unvarnished truth about the Christian community. Her numerous investigations on major Christian organizations and leaders, like James MacDonald, Ravi Zacharias, and The Moody Bible Institute, have led to significant change. In addition to The Roys Report, Julie's articles have also appeared in WORLD Magazine, Christianity Today, Religion News Service, The Federalist, and The Christian Post. In 2017, she published her first book, "Redeeming the Feminine Soul: God’s Surprising Vision for Womanhood." For ten years, Julie worked for Moody Radio and hosted a popular talk show on the Moody Radio Network called Up For Debate. She now hosts a popular podcast, also called The Roys Report. Prior to her time at Moody, Julie worked as a TV reporter for a CBS affiliate in Indiana, and as a newswriter for both WGN-TV and Fox News Chicago. Julie holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL, and a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from the prestigious Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University." from muckrack.com

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