Should a pastor with an addiction be fired?
- Posted on November 02, 2010
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This is the question that more and more churches are having to deal with these days. How do you deal with a pastor who has an addiction. Maybe it's an addiction to alcohol or drugs; maybe it's a sexual addiction like pornography. The question is... what should be done with a pastor that has an addiction of some kind when it is found out?
This scenario has actually happened this past week at Twin City Fellowship. Recently Bob Dewaay's health was deteriorating and they weren't sure what was wrong. After a bunch of tests, it was determined that Bob had Alcoholic Hepatitis. Bob had been a vocal part of the discernment movement (calling out those who he though here heretical) for the past years. As it turns out, the diagnosis was news to everyone in his church, including his elders. The reaction was quick. Termination.
You can hear how the church responded publicly here. (It's in the first ten minutes).
How should a church respond when their leader is caught in an addiction?
My thought is that the church acted properly in removing the man from leadership (although I think some of the words were rather harsh). The shepherd of a congregation is held to a high standard, and I think this was the right decision.
But what responsibility does the church have in the area of reconciliation? in the area of counseling and help? and in the area of financial support of this man and his family?
I think part of the answer to that question has to do with how the person caught reacts? Are they repentant? Are they making excuses? Are they defiant?
And if they are repentant, do you work out a restoration plan with them as a church? Are they restored to their senior pastor role?
And if you, for some reason, decide NOT to terminate, how do you proceed? Publicly? Privately? Seems dangerous to the life of the church either way.
As you can tell... I have few, if any answers.
Dare I say what happens most often? When this type of addiction is found in a staff person (especially a person in a senior role); many times the person if quietly fired (without giving a reason) and is simply moved on to another church. This is what should NEVER happen.
What are your thoughts? If your pastor (or you) were diagnosed with Alcoholic Hepatitis (and no one even knew you drank); should you be terminated, rehabilitated, or what?
Todd
Comments
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Rev. Roger Olsen on Wed, November 03, 2010
I really don’t see this issue as a “Right” or “Wrong” decision. I think each indiviual Pastor and each individual church has to weigh in on the facts, seek ooutside guidance, and pray about it. Addictions are much more complicated than just saying, “Look you got caught, now you’re fired!” How much do you love your Pastor? If you are in recovery yourself then you will understand the meaning of what I am saying. Food For Thought
Jim S on Wed, November 03, 2010
The firing seems more like an act of retaliation than of compassion. The pastor should have been given an opportunity to resign. That would demonstrate an act of grace on the part of the church leadership, but would also limit the liability of the church. It could be that the person with the addiction could not be fired if the addiction had not interfered with job performance based upon a prior history of performance warnings. I’m not sure what the laws are for non-profit organizations, but there may be an obligation for the church to continue employing the pastor during the attempt to resolve the condition. In other words, the firing may not be legal based upon state and federal employment regulations.
CS on Wed, November 03, 2010
Rev. Roger Olsen:
“Pastors are human just like everybody else, and once the Cucumber has turned into a �Pickle� it is irreversible.”
Doesn’t that dismiss the regenerating power of God in making a man a new creation and freeing him from the bonds of sin and death?
“The best thing a congregation can do for a Pastor that has an addiction is insist that he get counseling and treatment and then re-evaluate his ablility to lead the flock once that treatment is over.”
I disagree, to a point. The best thing a congregation can do is to have him step down from being a pastor and call him to repentance. Then, once he meets the qualifications for 1 Timothy 3 at some point in the future, then it can be reconsidered.
—
CS
Rev. Roger Olsen on Wed, November 03, 2010
I agree with what you are saying, but I also look at addiction (Including my own) as Paul’s reference to the “Thorn In The Flesh”. The pastor in question has probably had a problem with alcohol all his life, and unless you get past the denial it’s hard to get help. I would not be the effective Pastor that I am today, and would not be able to help other people had I not had my own fall from grace. Some people have a terrible predisposition to ethynol, and everyday they say, JUST FOR TODAY I will not allow the disease to get the best of me. Addiction is extremely complicated and more powerful than one could imagine. There are hundreds of Pastors across the USA that are dealing with addiction issues and most are in denial. Thank You for your comments!
CS on Wed, November 03, 2010
Rev Roger Olsen:
“I agree with what you are saying, but I also look at addiction (Including my own) as Paul�s reference to the �Thorn In The Flesh�.”
That’s an eisegetical reading into it or speculation. I’ve read from tons of scholars smarter than me who believe it could have been a physical illness or problem with his eyes, too.
“The pastor in question has probably had a problem with alcohol all his life, and unless you get past the denial it�s hard to get help.”
You’re right in that alcohol may have plagued him for many years, based on the condition of his health. But it’s not an alcohol problem or an addiction. It’s a sin. And when a man is convicted of it by the Holy Spirit (not the Five Stages of Grief or the 12 Steps to Recovery), repents of his sin, and puts his faith in Jesus, then God will begin working in that man’s life.
—
CS
CastingStones on Wed, November 03, 2010
I have known Bob DeWaay since 1975. He is a genuinely kind person. None of us are perfect—no, not one. We should pray and not condemn him. It grieves us when others are in trouble—-but remember the Apostle Paul and his “thorn in the flesh” He was used in a mighty way by God. Who is without sin?
Phillip Maine on Wed, November 03, 2010
I was just wondering how come it is that people who have had an addiction or some other form of disability are qualified to help people with their problems but pastors who have been run off for unscriptural reasons are not qualified to serve with organizations that work with disfunctional churches and are not qualified for positoins to help churches stop abusing pasors?
Leonard on Wed, November 03, 2010
CS, The act of drinking and getting drunk is a sin, having an addiction is not. Addictions are chemical and emotional and often physical.
I have many friends who suffer with addictions but do not use the substance or participate in the actions of their addictions.
So here is an idea, lets call drunkenness a sin, lets say that addicts sin when they give into their addictions, lets even say that most all addictions come from sin, the being addicted is not a sin it is a condition or sickness.
I also know many people who have been convicted by the Holy Spirit, have repented and use the 12 steps to deal with addiction. Forgive me if I seem attacking but your words are coming across shortsighted here.
With that said, What if a pastor did not have an alcohol addiction but went out one night and got plastered. Would he get fired for this sin?
Tom Purchase on Thu, November 04, 2010
my definite answer is Yes…and No! If the pastor volunteers to humble himself before God and his elder board and seeks God’s forgiveness and help from his board then a pastor (senior or associate) who has an addiction should be removed from their leadership position immediately. If the church can afford it, the pastor should be put on administrative leave and enter an appropriate treatment center asap. If the church is small, the pastor and family should stay in the parsonage and seek financial help (for rehab) from denominational or association leadership. If the pastor is “caught” in his addiction but is willing to seek recovery and forgiveness, the same principles apply. If the pastor is caught and either denies the addiction or acknowledges it but refuses help, grace should be extended to his family. He has not reached the bottom and the hound of heaven cannot reach him yet.
tonig on Thu, November 04, 2010
This is the problem we are facing today we are trying to reinvent the wheel. Read Timothy what does it say???? Ther are guidelines set before us for ALL times of what a pastors life should be. If you are not being led by th Holy Spirit how can you lead others??? It was a choice you made and we all make choices and have to live by those choices. Why do pastors who are our leaders get to make all the wrong choices and we should support them? I am sooo tired of all of this everyday I have to make choices and if I make the wrong one there is no grace for me. Loss of integrity loss of job or family. Come on people life is hard on all of us but is we ask God provides a way for us. If we want our desires more than what God wants for our lives he will step aside. Temtation is always around it is our choice
Anonymous on Thu, November 04, 2010
Let us pray for our brothers and sisters and think of our own sins as well. We are all fallen beings—in need of a Savior.
Rev. Roger Olsen on Thu, November 04, 2010
WOW! After reading so many of these entries I would suggest more people become educated on the nature of Addiction.
CS on Thu, November 04, 2010
Leonard:
“So here is an idea, lets call drunkenness a sin, lets say that addicts sin when they give into their addictions, lets even say that most all addictions come from sin, the being addicted is not a sin it is a condition or sickness.”
Okay, so relevant to this particular thread, even if someone is engaging in a regular lifestyle of sin that gets labeled as an, “addiction,” we still have to address it with the same degree of church discipline.
I think that’s the main problem I’m seeing on this thread. It seems that so many more people are willing to provide a different course of biblical action because this problem gets identified as an, “addiction,” instead of a, “sin.” When it’s described as an, “addiction,” people seem to be much more willing to give the pastor pay, let him stay in his office, or otherwise keep him in the same sort of position. But when it’s rightly identified as sin, this makes him fall under the disqualification for the role of pastor per 1 Timothy and Titus. But that also requires a higher degree of judgment which people seem reticent to make.
“I also know many people who have been convicted by the Holy Spirit, have repented and use the 12 steps to deal with addiction. Forgive me if I seem attacking but your words are coming across shortsighted here.”
In the context of me replying to Rev. Roger Olsen, it sounded like his focus on how sin gets addressed was through a psychological model rather than a biblical model, with the jargon he was using. Hence my illustration of pointing out that the Holy Spirit does the changing, rather than following the Kubler-Ross Model or the Celebrate Recovery mindset.
“With that said, What if a pastor did not have an alcohol addiction but went out one night and got plastered. Would he get fired for this sin?”
Now that is a far more fascinating question and is one where it should be examined more closely. I would almost look to Todd’s other thread where he talked about credibility to discuss this.
Rev Roger Olsen:
“WOW! After reading so many of these entries I would suggest more people become educated on the nature of Addiction. “
And after reading so many of these entries, I would suggest more people become educated on the nature of church discipline and sin.
—
CS
Peter Hamm on Thu, November 04, 2010
CS, I would URGE that we need to become knowledgeable about each, without sacrificing the other…
Too many want to say Sin is sin and use it as a weapon.
Too many want to say addition is a sickness and use it as an excuse.
I don’t want to say either.
Rev. Roger Olsen on Thu, November 04, 2010
When you research the DSM-IV Criteria for addictions it will make you realize that people with addictions are not bad people but rather they are sick people who need help. Each church is going to be different as to how they deal with the issue, but the facts about addiction do not change. The individual needs help and agape love. We can be “Field Supervisors” or we can instruments of Love. Something New To Think About! Enjoy a Day of Recovery In Jesus!
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