The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.-Psalm 34:18, NIV
Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.
-I Timothy 4:16, NLT
Jen Hatmaker is a famous Christian leader, author, and church founder.
Through her social media platforms, she recently and publicly announced her divorce from her husband of twenty-seven years.
She wrote,
“I don’t know how to say this, and I still cannot believe I am even saying it, but Brandon and I are getting divorced. Although the details are ours alone, this was completely unexpected, and I remain stunned as we speak. I am shocked, grief-stricken, and broken-hearted.”
Before the knives come out for me daring to post on this news, I would remind everyone this blog deals with matters regarding Christianity and divorce.
I write especially for those in the evangelical Christian community who seek pastoral guidance on matters related to divorce. So, it ought to come to no surprise that I comment on this news like I have on similar news of other high profile (evangelical) Christian leaders getting divorced.
I know even posting on this is risky. Social media is ablaze with hate in all directions regarding this piece of news.
To be clear:
It is not okay to rejoice over someone’s pain, and divorce is excruciatingly painful.
Disgustingly, some have done such rejoicing because they have theological differences with Jen Hatmaker as she is affirming of the LGBTQ+ community. I will not tolerate any comments that even hint at this sort of behavior.
That said, I do believe it is appropriate to stop and consider what this news and the buzz around it is teaching the Church about divorce among its leaders.
When we become faith leaders, we open our lives up for consideration in ways other professionals do not. If you do not want the public scrutiny in moments like this, you should have chosen another way to make a living. We are in places of public trust, and therefore, we have to show we are worthy of that trust at times. It is what we signed up for even if we wished otherwise.
I Timothy 4:16 is one verse that lays that out. Our lives as Christian leaders are open for the “public” to see. It is not enough to have knowledge or sound doctrine, we must live it as exemplars of Christ.
Many denominations require divorced pastors to go through some sort of a process to ensure the divorce was not a result of disqualifying sin in the Christian leader. I am NOT saying this is the case here. However, my point is such scrutiny is not cruel, abnormal, or mean-spirited. It is part of healthy vetting for positions of public trust when done properly.
Providing some basic moral details for sound teaching on divorce is a legitimate ask of a very public Christian leader.
She does divulge some details in her social media statement, and the filing is public record. From reading the articles on the news and her own statement, it sounds like some sort of sudden, traumatic event happened that led Jen Hatmaker to file for divorce. Whatever happened, I do wish her and her family well in their healing journey.
