By establishing a behavior pattern based on supporting the leader, all you need do is quote the position of the leader and let your friends assume it is your position as well. Bye relying on the belief of many church goers that accepting God's will means following the authorities of the church without question, you can easily build a protective wall of Christian authority around you that blocks out those who might critique the shallowness of your faith. Ultimately though, we want not to protect a shallow faith but completely obscure the fact that you've lost it altogether. It's less reliable because the killing of your faith depends on when your leader will fail. If he or she is particularly good, or at least very astute at appearing good, this may take much longer than you wish.
Some leaders take years before letting their followers see a crack in their holy armor.
Others my be in the pulpit less than a year before letting their humanity show. For our purposes, it's best to find one who appears to be so strong that he or she will never crack but who has enough human frailty to insure a decent failure without having to wait years. It's also a good idea to find a leader who has enough of an ego that when dirty laundry finds its exposure, the leader will do his or her best to whitewash it, fold it into some obscure corner and ignore it. When the once divine doo doo hits the sanctuary fan, those whose faith was based solely on the leader can sit back and watch as the strength of their conviction is tainted along with the leader's reputation. The more successful your link with the leader, the more damage his or her fall will do to your desire to believe.