by Earl Wilson

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review by David Conant

Quite a number of books have been helpful to me in my own recovery process from a personal moral failure while in active ministry. Included in that list was Earl Wilson's first book, Restoring the Fallen: A Team Approach to Caring, Confronting & Reconciling. In it, he and his group members wrote about the very personal and painful process of restoration for a fallen person. It was an extremely helpful book for me because of its honest authenticity.

When asked to read and review Steering Clear, I was tentative, but agreed. This book is quite different from the first. For me, it was not as helpful a book for recovery; however, it might be helpful for someone trying to understand how a person can get on the “slippery slope” and ultimately crash.

I would say that the author did an extremely good job of dissecting the anatomy of a moral failure (in this case, a relational or sexual failure). Especially helpful are chapters 4, 5, and 6 on compartmentalization, thinking errors, and distorted thinking. These capabilities of all fallen human beings are the culprits that allow temptations to become sins, then habits, then dark secrets, and finally powers that cause downfalls. These tendencies fit all kinds of sin but especially help us understand better how a spiritual leader can be led astray, while on the surface things look like they're all together. I have personally found myself praying for leaders who have few safe places to expose vulnerabilities at the most personal level. The enemy seeks to destroy us in these secret places. His power is diminished when sin is brought into the light of God's amazing grace. It will not happen, however, without much grace and confidentiality in relationships. The risks are simply too high for leaders.

Some limitations of this text

As I read the book, I had the feeling the author was telling me the obvious. I wanted him to write more personally and to be believable—as he had been in his first book. Most illustrations came from clients of his counseling practice who came across to me as sounding adolescent as reported from a rather condescending viewpoint. Throughout the book there is a flavor of “don't do this or you'll go down the slippery slope” that begins to feel wearing after a while because it misses the real point. A sinner knows he's wrong; you don't have to tell him. What he doesn't always know is what's driving his sin and how to break free.

The scriptural texts used are appropriate but often appear to be inserted like proof-texts and seem to break the flow—as if inserted later by an assistant who tried to “bible-up” the text. There is too much propositional truth by the author and not enough relatable truth to be helpful to someone caught in moral/relational sin. The real issues lie beneath the attitudes and behaviors that easily can be seen and judged. They are emotional, relational, and spiritual. The “slippery slider” has to address the real needs that drive his/her behavioral sin. Unless he/she gets there, there is no chance of a cure.

I do recommend this book to anyone desiring a better understanding of the process of moral failure, but only in combination with other texts that address underlying spiritual/emotional/relational issues that drive moral failure. In addition to the author's first text, Restoring the Fallen, Larry Crabb's Inside Out is helpful in revealing the demandingness of human fallen nature that drives addictive/sinful behavior.

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