It is always disheartening and sad to see a leader fall due to moral sin. Here is  Derwin Gray via Todd Rhoades web site to share some ways to prevent that from happening.

Originally posted by Todd Rhoades

DRIFT: A Recipe to Avoid a Fall from Grace

Every time I hear about a pastor or ministry leader that “falls from grace”, it makes me sad.

And angry.

And introspective.

I never want to judge, because I know what I’m capable of. And I pray I never go there.

But I can’t imagine putting my job, my family, my livelihood on the line just for a few moments of pleasure or temptation.

Yet leaders do this all the time.

Derwin Gray wrote a piece recently about DRIFT that I found extremely helpful.

Derwin says that DRIFT happens where we do the following things:

D–Distracted from Jesus and His Gospel

We drift from Jesus when we allow the good gifts God gives us — like a ministry success, a job, or our influence — to become more satisfying than Jesus himself.

R–Refusing to Repent

As our hearts drift away from Jesus, we refuse to repent to Jesus and to the person we’ve offended. This is simply pride. At the root of every sin is pride. God will crush the pride out of us one way or another. He loves us, and his glory, too much not to do it.

I–Intentional Acts of Disobedience

As “The D.R.I.F.T.” progresses, we begin to intentionally sin. Instead of sprinting to Jesus to satisfy our needs, we run to other things — like work, pornography, people-pleasing, sex, food, self-sufficiency, and lying.

F–Fake Fellowship

The next phase leads to fake fellowship (community). We stop being honest with our spouse, our family, our friends, our bosses, our small group community, and others. We become numb and plastic people.

T–Treasuring Something or Someone More than Jesus

The ugly offspring of “The D.R.I.F.T.” produces people who begin to treasure something or someone other than Jesus. The human heart is made for worship. People caught in the clutches of “The D.R.I.F.T.” are now worshiping people or things that will ultimately hurt them and those they love.

Derwin gives some great advice if you see signs of DRIFT in your own life.

Please… turn the ship around.  I don’t want to read about you and the destruction of your ministry because of DRIFT.