“He Will [Remain our Pastor] Unless He’s Somehow Convicted”
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Thu, June 19, 2008
- Viewed 319
- (29) comments so far
You can read the whole article here.
OK folks… I have LOTS of questions on this one.
First of all, this goes on in churches ALL THE TIME. I was a part of a church that had allegations against the senior pastor. Those allegations were backed up by massive amounts of evidence. Yet the church leadership looked beyond every bit of evidence, believed the pastor, and arranged for a quiet transition for him to another church. People in the church were none the wiser (and still aren’t).
Enough of my personal venting… here are my questions:
1. When there is an allegation, how much investigation should be done by church leaders? Should they just take the pastor’s word, or should they somehow do a full investigation immediately?
2. Is some wrongdoing is found, how public should the results be? Should a case like this (sex with an underage girl) be kept quiet from the congregation?
3. If a termination of employment is needed, what reason(s) should be given?
4. And what responsibility does the church leadership have in the pastor’s future? Should they speak up if the pastor moves on to a new church?
5. How would you respond to the comment in the title of this article? “He will remain our pastor unless he’s somehow convicted?” Does this person not realize that, at this point, this church and its members have lost any/all influence or testimony in the community?
6. How do you prepare leadership of a church for something like this. In every church I’ve seen this happen in, the leaders are totally taken for a loop. Most cannot believe their pastor could be capable of such sin or hypocrisy. (Hey, guess what… we’re ALL capable of it!) This unbelief caused them to overlook evidence, choose sides, and discount people who are not the one who did wrong. How do you fix that?
7. And finally… what if this is a wrong accusation after all? How do you deal with that? What if, after your investigation, you find that there actually IS no evidence, or evidence to clear the pastor; yet the media and courts are already in battle mode. Do you stand behind the pastor, knowing that your church will be tarnished in the community’s eyes regardless?
Alrighty… enough answers. You can tell this one hit a little personally, only because I’ve lived it, and heard way too many horror stories of people that have lived it.
OH… one last question… how would you feel (and what would you do) if you were the father of this 17 (then 16) year old girl?
I’d love to hear your response and thoughts!
BTW… This pastor is still on the church’s website here. You can even watch his welcome message.
A sad story out of Fort Worth, TX. According to the Star-Telegram, It began in February when the father overheard his 17-year-old daughter talking inappropriately over the phone.
On the other end of the line, the father said he later learned, was James "Jay" Virtue Robinson IV, pastor of Southwood Baptist Church, which the family had been attending for more than a decade.
The girl acknowledged that she had had a sexual relationship with the 31-year-old pastor.
The outraged father told the church council and several church members. But Robinson, pastor of the church since October 2006, repeatedly denied his accusations.
Comments
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Jan on Sun, June 22, 2008
It’s a fact that if child abuse is suspected then it must be reported. A church who doesn’t report it, is breaking the law.
I agree down the line with Peter.
The church I grew up in had a nationally known youth minister. He was written up in magazines, was a national speaker and could sell you his dirty socks and leave you with a smile on your face. Meanwhile, that ym was molesting teen-age girls throughout his career.
He was repeatedly asked by the pastor if he was living immorally, since other pastors suspected it and brought the issue to ours.
Of course the ym, denied it.
When it finally came to a head, and the facts were out, they let him go, but didn’t shoot straight with the church.
This guy was allowed to go out as a “victim”.
I am 46, up to 5 years ago, I reconnected with another person in ministry who was still in contact with this guy and being deceived.
I had to tell him that he was being lied to after 20 years. It was an awful place to be in and something I think the church should have dealt with long ago.
The only way I found out the facts, was because the DA called me to ask if I had been one of his victims. When he started listing the girls who had been molested, I began sobbing, as these were girls I knew in my own youth group who were now willing to testify against him. He didn’t go to jail, since the statute of limitations was up. But he did go on in ministry.
To NOT investigate this and to sit on it until he’s proven guilty, is to hide their head in the sand, allow this guy to potentially victimize others, (how many girls would have been protected if my church had taken action the first time?!) and to set the church up for even more intense grief.
It’s irresponsible not to investigate in my opinion.
James Gear on Tue, June 24, 2008
In my opinion, the pastor has to go. Even if “all’” he did was develop an inappropriate relationship with the young lady, that should be enough to cost him his position. Why? Because of the poor judgement that he displayed in doing so. I certainly agree that a thorough investigation should ensue, but becoming “best friends” with a teenager of the opposite sex, exchanging private phone conversations after hours over an extended period of time (two years?) without parental awareness (or consent?) is enough for a church leader to lose their position. Period.
Oh, and he managed to “carry on” like this as a church leader empowered by the Holy Spirit! I think those who support him must also believe that Clinton “… did not have sex with that woman!”
R.Koch on Mon, June 30, 2008
Regardless of age, isn’t the pastor and everyone else seeing that “relations” outside of marriage is a sin? It only makes it worse that this individual is a pastor who has even more accountability with God and is responsible for setting an example of purity and an above reproach life for his congregation. No, he’s not perfect, no pastor is, however pastors do have a responsibility to live out their calling in an above reproach manner. Regardless of whether or not he’s found legally guilty, he’s still guilty of sin in the eyes of the Lord and the church leadership should follow a biblical restoration plan once this pastor repents of his sin. Lets pray for everyone involved with this sad example to the world and the community they live in.
Henry Walker on Wed, September 17, 2008
Abuse in the Church: Does it really exist?
It’s not the Magic Kingdom, but you would think it would appear somewhat the same.
The church, of all places, a breeding-ground for abuse; Either sexual, verbal, physical, you name it.
Antagonists and self-proclaimed messiahs are most often found in the church, more then you would find at the Republican National Convention…....................................................................
Have an abuse story? Share your story of abuse in the church:
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