PASTOR ZACHERY TIMS: EARLY LESSONS WE MUST LEARN

Does Pastor Zachery Tims' death shed light on megachurches and how equipped senior pastors are to lead and deal with the pressures of running a multi-million dollar enterprise.

COMMENTARY: It has yet to be a complete week since the breaking news that Pastor Zachery Tims was found dead lying on the floor face-up in The W Hotel, Times Square New York. Since the report, many have begun their search to “break the case.” Since Zachery Tims’s death it has been discovered he‘d been divorced from his wife, Pastor Riva Tims–co-founder of New Destiny Christian Center and founder of Majestic Life Ministries, for several years. The cause of the divorce reportedly is due to Zachery’s admission of a year-long affair with “a stripper”. However, using the term "stripper" strips away the facts concerning his death.

Pastor Zachery’s “former” drug usage and criminal activity as a juvenile, was well known by the congregants of New Destiny but reports, upon his death, regarding an envelope in his pocket containing a “white powdery substance” assumed to be a narcotic has come as a surprise to some. Yet again, using the term "white powdery substance" sensationalizes a past that could be deemed irrelevant once autopsy opinions are published. Speculations continue to rise regarding Pastor Zachary’s death– However, from what is already known, are there any lessons that we can glean?

HE DIED ALONE

Pastor Zachery Tims is reported to have had a current membership of over 8,000 people. People like Pastor Paula White and other mega-church leaders refer to him as a “spiritual son”. His seemingly humble beginnings as a pastor started in a Florida hotel room with single digit membership, to his now two campus locations in Central Florida. Yet, he died alone.

Published reports shared the hotel room where Tims was found was secured from the inside by a security door latch. If there was anyone in the room with him when he died they would STILL be in there. Considering the reported room number was on the 3^rd floor it is highly unlikely someone escaped via the window. When he died he died alone.

Why was he alone? Did he need to get away from it all? Did he have a need for escape for the pressures of life or ministry? Was it a desired sin binge? Didn’t he have friends or “spiritual parents” in New York that he could talk to in a moment of despair or depression? Yet, he died alone.

Now it is possible that someone did visit his room while he was in town, but it would also be evident that Pastor Tim’s was alive when they left. Since his body was the only one discovered in the hotel room when hotel security was able to break past the security latch, it is safe to assume he must have been the one who secured the latch. Could Pastor Tims had suffered from some physical ailment he was unaware of? Regardless of the cause of death, the fact is – he died alone.

WHITE POWDERY SUBSTANCE

Although Pastor Tims was found with a “narcotic-like substance” in his pocket this does not necessitate a drug relapse. Now, to recite some of the social media pundits, it is believed that Pastor Tims was actively using, but not a single source can or has verified this assertion.

If the “white powdery substance” was found in his pocket– that indicates he could not have used it. However, the mere fact that he had it on his person has led to fair speculation – given his admissions of past usage.

Ponder these possibilities - Could it have been that someone walking through Times Square in New York recognized the young 42 year old Pastor and impacted by his life and ministry decided to change their life of drug usage and relinquished their drugs to him in exchange for their deliverance? Possibilities of what could have transpired are endless.

Could it have been Pastor Tims was visiting another “Pastor friend” and used his charisma to convince the falling preacher to cease usage in exchange for deliverance? Remember, it is reported that Pastor Tims had been delivered from drugs and experienced a life of sobriety.

Whatever the case may be, until toxicology reports say there were drugs present in Pastor Tims’s system the best should be assumed – not the worst. This should be done not because he is a pastor but simply because common respect and courtesy require it for all human beings.

PASTORAL PRESSURES

What qualified Pastor Tims to shepherd over 8,000 congregants or oversee an over $3 million dollar worship facility under construction to completion? What qualified him to administrate the upkeep of two locations and the development training of several tiers of leadership? And if he’d set people in place to oversee these important needs – what qualified him to oversee them?

“Mega Ministries” are a beast of a movement and the pressures can be overwhelming. Many Senior Pastors will not fare well under such constant daily pressure without a proper accountability team and personal support system.

As personal finances increase, even the management of it can be overwhelming and stressful. As Pastor Tims had surely amassed a great deal of personal finances – what qualified him to properly handle such large sums of money? Even with a personal accountant, the accountability to monitor them could cause added stress? Remember, more money – more access!

Many congregants have the mindset they own their Pastor, especially large financial contributors that support the church. Beyond the congregants, there is the general public, television viewing audiences and political leaders who have an insatiable desire to lift charismatic religious leaders to celebrity status. What would qualify Pastor Tims to properly balance the reality of being lifted to a level of celebrity importance while maintaining the humility of servanthood? Pressures!

MOVING FORWARD

Pastor Tims is not the first and he is not going to be the last pastor to die controversially. If Pastor Tims was in New York on a “sin binge”– he was wrong, but the question would and should be – Where were his support systems? Where were his accountability partners? Where were his “spiritual parents” and network colleagues? For those who now publicly defend his character, posthumous to the controversy, where were they before he booked this trip?

If Pastor Tims is discovered to have died from a drug overdose the news would be horrific and shameful, but moving forward what must be learned is charismatic leadership (or any kind of leadership) does not have power over personal sin. There is no preaching or teaching that will keep temptation from presenting itself and there are no effective church growth schemes that will dwarf persistent personal temptation.

IN CLOSING

Pastor Tims's sudden death should remind people that there is so much more to know about leadership and so much more a leader wants to make known about themself. The problem is – many only want to hear the positive aspects of their leader’s life and not their leader’s struggles. The shame is – many church leaders, regardless of the congregation’s size, influence, or financial strength will experience a great fall before their death and when they die, like Pastor Tims, they will die alone and with more questions looming than answers. What is sad – other leaders will be jocking for their position, congregates will leak information that is not true, broken relationships will all of a sudden operate as if healed, and the vicious cycle of bystander apathy will be the religion of the day. What will you learn from tragedies like these? And, whatever it is you do learn, the question becomes– what will you do with it?