My question is: Why do we become so attached to our leaders? So attached that we can't see them as humans, frail with all the same weaknesses and struggles we ourselves have? When Wagner wanted to resign two years ago, why was he given "rest" instead of relief?

I don't presume to know more about the situation than the elders of the church, but Wagner's story is another reminder of what is wrong with the evangelical church in America. The pastor is treated like the star athlete who is unable to live up to the expectation he has set for himself and the hype he's been given. He gets injured in the game, but instead of staying on the sideline, his team just wraps a tight bandage around the swollen wound and sends him back in to play.

Stealing the title from Wagner's article in the Sept./Oct. issue of Rev. magazine, I hope that his resignation from Calvary Church — two years later than he had hoped — is just what he needs to move from "good" to "great." I hope the same is true for Calvary Church, a pillar of the Charlotte community that has already weathered a few rough storms in the past.