John Crist is a popular Christian comedian, known for short video bits that he’s posted on social media that usually poke fun at Christian culture in a clean way. Unfortunately, reports have come out that Crist regularly preyed upon women and sexually harassed them. He has admitted to sexual addiction and treating women poorly and that he has sinned against God. He has canceled his comedy tour, and reportedly his upcoming Netflix special is now on hold. What is also concerning is that this was evidently not a surprise to several people who had heard second- or third-hand that Crist had this problem. That this predatory behavior flew under the radar in a Christian setting is frustrating.
Sexual sin is going to be a temptation until Jesus comes back, but there are some ways to combat it. The first thing to realize is that none of us are completely immune to it. Sure, most of us probably would not go to the lengths of someone like Crist, preying upon multiple women (even married ones) at the same time in a highly aggressive manner, but we are all capable of screwing up in some manner. Admitting this opens the door for both personal safeguards and accountability.
Safeguards include things like basic boundaries with people of the opposite sex. I’m not a fan of paranoia and creating hard and fast rules that are not in Scripture or based on logical implications from Scripture, but there is a great deal of wisdom in following reasonable guidelines that keep men from temptation, women safe, and marriages secure. Things like not making it a habit talking to or hanging out with women all the time, especially women that you do not already know and have an established and understood relationship with, can go a long way in protecting men from temptation. There are other good guidelines as well, like making sure you’re spending just as much or more time with other guys rather than just trying to be surrounded by women.
As sinners, we usually do not like accountability, but we have to be open to it. Crist seemed to have almost none as a traveling Christian celebrity, and that obviously wasn’t good. On the flipside, we should also be willing to hold guys’ feet to the fire when they’re clearly doing something wrong. It can be uncomfortable and even disrupt relationships, but we do nobody in favors, least of all the Christ we proclaim, when we try to bury our head in the sand to “keep the peace.” Those Christians who knew about Crist’s actions and did nothing made a mistake.
As for women, there are things they can do too in addition to mirroring many of the same boundaries and accountability men should have. It is often hard for many women to do this, especially to men that they respect and admire, but they have to be willing to critically evaluate and challenge influential men. Ultimately, for Christian women, their total allegiance should be to Christ alone. It helps if a male leader actively encourages critical thinking and does not react negatively to criticism, but even if he’s not that way, critical evaluation is important. And if a guy tries to silence these things without good, biblical reasoning, that’s a good sign that you need to get some distance. I hope there is healing for all involved, especially for the women but even for Crist, who needs the grace (and discipline) of Christ right now. However, while the grace and mercy of Christ are powerful indeed, we should not take them for granted, and it is far more pleasing to God and faithful to the gospel to do our best to avoid egregious sin like this in the first place. We have to admit that we too are fallible human beings who need safeguards and accountability to help us in our sanctification process. – Isak Lee
One Light Church 