Warning: Spoilers ahead
HBO’s Love & Death is a 7-episode miniseries set in the late 70s and early 80s. It tells the true story of an adulterous affair in Wylie, Texas that resulted in a killing. The show portrays Candy Montgomery as the initiator of an affair with Allan Gore. Candy eventually kills Betty Gore, Allan’s wife, with an axe in Betty’s laundry room (viewer discretion is advised).
Why Candy killed Betty is a matter of debate, but you’ll have to watch the series or research the case if you want to know more. The focus of this article is on what drew me to the series in the first place — the Christian faith of the main characters.
Episode 1 begins with a traditional church service. Candy, Allan, and their spouses are members of the choir. They are singing the Gloria Patri in Sunday worship, donned with choir vestments. I was instantly intrigued and wondered what kind of church they belonged to.
Rather quickly, we are introduced to “Pastor Jackie,” the female pastor of the church. This is an immediate red flag, given that the Bible forbids female pastors. We know right away that the church leans toward liberal-progressive views. Sure enough, the members are later identified as “Methodists.” They attend the First United Methodist Church in their town. (The UMC denomination has become known for its liberal tendencies. In the present day, it is going through a major denominational split over LGBTQ issues.)
Next we learn that Pastor Jackie’s husband has separated from her and wants a divorce. Jackie shares this information with Candy first, on account of their close friendship. The divorce is another red flag, since the Bible requires pastors to manage their households well. Pastor Jackie must know this, because she is worried about her future. “How can I lead the congregation?” she asks Candy. Without hesitation, Candy replies, “Like you always have; you’ll get through this.” Candy shows no concern for the spiritual fitness of her pastor.
The following Sunday at church, a man announces that Pastor Jackie is getting a divorce. As the congregation begins to gasp in disapproval, the man says, “It happens. Get over it. Pastors are people like everyone else. This is not the time to be high-horse, moral dopes. Let’s be good Methodists and kick some Lutheran butts at volleyball!” The congregation laughs and the service continues on. Like with Candy, there was no concern for the pastor’s spiritual fitness and no concern for biblical morality. The divorce was made light of. What little concern there may have been was promptly suppressed by a few flippant sentences.
At this time, Candy starts finding Allan attractive and contemplates having an affair. She confides in a female friend (a fellow church member and choir singer), “It’s just this whole thing with Jackie. Maybe it’s kind of opened up a can.” The friend asks, “A can of what?” Candy replies, “That ‘content’ isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” The friend is appalled, but only because of Allan’s overweight appearance, not at the thought of adultery. She laughs it off and gives no biblical exhortation. No one from this church appears to have any Christian integrity.
Indeed, Candy starts rationalizing an affair in her mind, relying on secular-humanistic reasoning. Not once do biblical principles enter into the equation. Same goes for Allan when Candy instigates the affair. As part of her pitch, Candy assures Allan that she doesn’t want to hurt their families. All she wants is to “go to bed.” When phrased like that, sexual immorality doesn’t sound so bad. It minimizes adultery to something innocent, as long as no one finds out. Allan adopts this sinful logic into his own thinking.
One day, Allan calls Candy at her house while Pastor Jackie is visiting with her. Candy is very secretive on the phone, which makes Jackie suspicious. “Who was that?” she asks. Candy says, “Someone I’m thinking about having an affair with.” Candy’s boldness to admit this in front of her pastor shows just how far her conscience is from God. To Jackie’s credit, she told Candy that an affair would “come to no good.” But when Candy wouldn’t budge, Jackie said, “I see your mind is made up.” The conversation ended there, with no further rebuke from Jackie. What more could she do? Her own marriage was compromised. Pursuing church discipline would reek of hypocrisy.
What’s remarkable about Episode 1 is that Candy admits her temptations for adultery were influenced by Pastor Jackie’s divorce. If it’s fine for the pastor to get a divorce, why can’t the members break some rules, too? Truth is, rules were being broken long before Jackie’s divorce. The church had become more or less a social club, rather than a community of devout worshipers. The lack of biblical teaching and the lack of obedience (i.e. having a female pastor) led the people into sinful thoughts and behaviors. A congregation will follow the lead of its pastor, for better or for worse.
Love & Death is a perfect illustration — intentional or not — of Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians. He says that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” and “bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Corinthians 5:6, 15:33). This is why pastors must be godly men who lead by example. They must have moral integrity and manage their households. When these standards are not met, the sheep will suffer. Unresolved moral failures in leadership will give way to moral failures in the congregation.
The church leads the world. We either lead it well or we lead it poorly. We lead it into righteousness or into wickedness. In Genesis 3, the first priest failed to worship God rightly when he ate the forbidden fruit, and his failure had consequences for the whole world. Therefore, when we see manifold wickedness in church or society, we should ask if the cause is our doctrinal, moral, and liturgical failures. Then we need to get our house in order. Judgment begins at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). Only if we lead well, empowered by the Spirit, can we expect good fruit in church and society.
Allan Gore, Candy Montgomery, Love & Death, United Methodist
