Do Not Let a Fallen Author Derail Your Bible Study

It’s happened yet again. A prominent patron and author has resigned from the ministry due to a significant sin issue. This time it was Sam Allberry. Books and content were pulled fast. It’s nothing new. American Christianity and the “Big Eva” machine often see this.  

But this time, the problem landed in a very practical place. A small-group Bible study was already planned using his materials.

Now what?

First, remember this: the Bible did not fall.

A pastor may fall. An author may fall. A ministry platform may wobble like a folding table at a church potluck. But the Word of God remains. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

The authority of a Bible study never came from the author whose name appears on the cover. It did not come from the publisher, the video series, the discussion guide, the glossy headshot, or the sharp advertisement.

The authority comes from Scripture.

So Christians should not panic. We should grieve. We should pray. We should be sober about sin. We should be careful not to gossip. But we should not act as though the kingdom of God depends on the continued availability of a workbook.

It does not.

Still, a church leader has a real shepherding decision to make.

One option is to keep going with the study. If the group is nearly finished and everyone already has the book, this might be reasonable. The material may still contain true and helpful teaching. A fallen teacher does not make every sentence he ever wrote false.

But this option has problems. The author may become the center of discussion. New people may not be able to get the book. The leader may spend more time explaining the situation than teaching the passage. At that point, the study is no longer serving the group well.

Another option is to pause and address the matter briefly. This can be wise. Silence often creates suspicion, especially when everyone already knows what happened because everyone has a phone and, tragically, access to the internet.

A leader might say something like this:

“We had planned to use this study, but because of the author’s public disqualification from ministry and the practical concerns now surrounding the material, we are going to change direction. We are not doing this because Scripture is weak. We are doing this because shepherding requires wisdom. We will pray for everyone involved, avoid speculation, and continue studying God’s Word together.”

Then move on.

That last part matters. Move on. Do not turn the Bible study into a weekly scandal symposium.

A third option is to replace the study with another workbook. There is nothing wrong with a good workbook. Good resources are gifts. Faithful teachers can serve the church well. A workbook can provide structure, especially for newer or inexperienced leaders.

But this option may miss the larger opportunity. If one celebrity workbook disappears and the only solution is to hunt for another, we may be revealing a weakness in our discipleship. Are we teaching people to study the Bible, or are we teaching them to consume Bible-study products? Those are not the same thing.

The strongest option is to drop the workbook and teach the group how to study the Bible.

Use a simple method like OIA: Observation, Interpretation, and Application.

Observation asks, “What does the text say?”

Interpretation asks, “What does the text mean?”

Application asks, “How should we respond?”

That is not flashy. It will not trend. It doesn’t come with cool videos. But it is faithful.

In Observation, the group slows down and looks carefully at the passage. Who is speaking? Who is being addressed? What words are repeated? What commands are given? What comes before and after? What is emphasized?

In Interpretation, the group works to understand the author’s intended meaning. What did this mean in context? How does it fit within the book? How does it fit within the whole Bible? How does it point us to Christ?

In Application, the group asks how the Word should shape faith, repentance, obedience, worship, hope, and life together in the church.

This trains people to open the Bible with confidence. A new believer can learn it. A mature Christian can keep growing in it. A small group can use it every week.

Here is a simple plan. Pick a book of the Bible. Choose a manageable passage each week. Read it aloud. Pray. Walk through Observation, Interpretation, and Application together. Keep the group tethered to the Text. Do not rush to the application before anyone has bothered to notice what God actually said. That is how people end up ‘baptizing’ their opinions with Bible words.

When a public Christian leader falls, the church should not be smug. Sin is too serious for smugness. “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). We should pray for repentance, restoration where appropriate, wise elders, wounded people, and sober churches.

But we should also learn.

Maybe one lesson is that the local church has outsourced too much discipleship to outside voices. Maybe we have trusted polished curriculum more than healthy training. Maybe we have made small-group leaders dependent on workbooks when we should have been teaching them to handle Scripture.

A fallen author creates problems. A pulled book creates inconvenience. A distracted group creates shepherding challenges. But none of that changes the assignment.

Open the Bible. Read it carefully. Study it in context. Teach people to observe, interpret, and apply. Trust the Holy Spirit to work through the Word.

The Bible did not fall. So pick it up.