Judson Cornwall (1924 – 2005) was a noted preacher, pastor and prolific author of over 50 books, some of which are considered classics today.
Cornwall was invited to be the main speaker for a graduation ceremony at Elim Bible Institute in Lima, New York. He concluded his speech by saying, “Let me offer you some advice. Don’t go directly from this ceremony into fulltime ministry or to being a church pastor. Take three or four or five years off. Get a job and work in the market place. Discover the problems normal people struggle with every day. You will learn how to better relate to your congregations and how to help them. And all the while, the Holy Spirit will change you. So, do your congregations a favor, get a job.”
The result of Cornwall’s wise advice was that Elim Bible Institute never invited him to speak again at their college.
*******
Four months after Vice President Mike Pence eulogized Ravi Zacharias as “the greatest apologist of this century,” Zacharias’ reputation began falling apart. Three women who worked at two spas he co-owned in the Atlanta area came forth, alleging sexual harassment and abuse by Zacharias.
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) hired a law firm to investigate Zacharias. Their 12-page report contained findings far worse than anyone could have ever imagined. Two hundred contacts of female massage therapists with photos, some in the nude, were on Zacharias’ cell phones. A trail of misuse of RZIM funds to fund his sexual escapades in the US, India, Thailand and Malaysia was uncovered.
The law firm’s best estimates were that Zacharias’ sexual escapades had happened over the ten-year period leading up to just a few months before his death.
One woman told the investigators that “after he arranged for his ministry to provide her with financial support, he required sex from her.” She called it rape.
She said Zacharias “made her pray with him to thank God for the ‘opportunity’ they both received” and, as with other victims, “called her his ‘reward’ for living a life of service to God,” the report says. Zacharias warned the woman—a fellow believer—if she ever spoke out against him, she would be responsible for millions of souls lost when his reputation was damaged.
More information can be read here and here.
******
Okay, here’s my supposition and like all opinions, it can be somewhat true or totally false. So, reader beware!
Zacharias was delivered from the kingdom of darkness and translated into the Kingdom of God when he was seventeen years old. He was saved.
But like me, he may still have had some iniquity intertwined with his personality by puppet strings leading to a demon. This demon may have been able to pull on his soul – mind, will and emotions – at various times throughout his life, tempting him toward his inner sexual lusts. His inner lusts may have slowly overcome his spiritual learning and fear of the Lord, until he finally fell into sin. And the sin eventually became full-grown so that he was completely dead to any conviction by the Holy Spirit.
Was Ravi Zacharias ever possessed by the demon? No, but he was heavily deceived.
Maybe if Ravi Zacharias’ path would have crossed with Judson Cornwall, maybe Zacharias would have listened to the wise advice. But this did not happen because Zacharias moved from high school graduation, to emigrating to Canada, to Bible school, to marriage, to studying for his Masters of Divinity and then working in fulltime ministry. He never worked a normal job.
Thus, no friends talked with him after a church service, asking to pray for him so that he could be delivered from the demon.
Why have I mentioned Zacharias not having a normal job? Is this really that important?
Once Zacharias stepped into a pulpit of a traditional church, his gifting elevated him far above the people sitting in the pews before him. The congregation could no longer talk to him on an equal basis.
Can you imagine confronting Ravi Zacharias about his demon and his need for deliverance after a pulpit appearance? I can’t imagine that ending well, can you?
The biggest chasm in the traditional church system is between the pulpit and the pews. Seldom is there a bridge between the two.
I’ve used Ravi Zacharias in my article for a few reasons. One, he is dead; and two, there is so much info available about him.
But I have done some checking on other sexual abuse scandals, almost every pastor and leader has followed Zacharias’ example. Could these scandals have been avoided by deliverance from a demon at an earlier age? Maybe.
The comedian Flip Wilson used to joke, “The devil made me do it!”
Yet, pastors and leaders can’t use that for an excuse because the man with 2,000 demons ran up to Jesus, bowed down and worshipped Him.
It still all comes down to having humility and a godly character
Larry Who 