How Should the Church Respond to Sex Offenders?
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Tue, October 23, 2007
- Viewed 163
- (29) comments so far
“The real question is should sex offenders be treated differently by the church and faith communities. There is overwhelming research that sex offenders have the propensity to re-offend, which puts everyone on red alert. That’s why Sex Offenders are all in a national database and are required to register upon their release. There are over a half million registered sex offenders in the U.S.; Texas leads the nation with well over 51,000 registered sex offenders and Florida is a close second. If you put a truth serum in most Christians they will tell you that they are uncomfortable around and even scared of sex offenders; especially when it comes to their children. Let’s face it, insurance companies even have exclusionary clauses for churches that hire or allow sex offenders to volunteer; in other words no coverage.
The church must play a critical role in helping sex offenders develop a relationship with Christ; in order for them to restore their lives, rebuild relationships and have freedom from certain thoughts/behaviors. Hmmmmm, this same process applies to each of us and our sinful nature!”
Should Sex Offenders be allowed to be on staff, volunteer or be in a role that officially represents a church? Is it appropriate for Sex Offenders to volunteer w/ children?
What do you think?
Scott Williams is one of the campus pastors for LifeChurch.tv, and he has tackled a great subject on his "Big is the New Small" blog. The subject is 'sex offenders'. How should the church respond to them? Scott writes...
Comments
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Rob Grayson on Tue, October 23, 2007
No, sex offenders should not in my view be able to volunteer or be on staff in any role where they will be in contact with children or other vulnerable groups. This is not discrimination - it’s common sense. It’s not helping anyone, including offenders themselves, to put them in a place where they are exposed to temptation.
Rob
Wendi on Tue, October 23, 2007
Is it appropriate for Sex Offenders to volunteer w/ children?
No – never. There are other ways for this person to contribute to the kingdom. He/she has disqualified themselves forever.
Should Sex Offenders be allowed to be on staff, volunteer or be in a role that officially represents a church? On staff – I don’t think so. A staff position allows too much freedom. IMO, a convicted sex offender should not be allowed access to children and vulnerable others that might come along with a staff position of any kind.
That said – we (the church) must find a way to embrace and enfold broken people, regardless of how their brokenness is manifested. Scripture doesn’t give us permission to qualify which kind of sinners we will include in our mission field. Jesus life, death and resurrection brings about redemption for ALL people, and He works out his redemption plan through us . . . so we’d best not snub our noses at that partnership.
Wendi
Peter on Tue, October 23, 2007
While I mostly agree with the above comments, I think that we need wisdom and discernment as well. For example, an 18-year old and a 17-year old have (consensual) sexual relations. The 18-year old is arrested for statutory rape. That label of sex offender is now on that person for life, regardless of what else happens. Was it wrong to do that? Well, yeah. Should they be stigmatized for life for it? In this case I would say no. I actually know someone for whom this is the case and he’s labeled with that offense now for the rest of his life. He’s probably got one of the best hearts for Youth and Children as well as just general service that I know. As for healing - we are called to minister to and heal the wounded and sex offenders fit that category. We need to be wise and discerning in how, where, and with whom they serve. We also need to realize if this is a sin they are really struggling with or if it was something similar to the above scenario where it’s not really a matter of them being a sex offender, but a young person giving in to temptation.I’d probably use discernment and be really up-front about any scenarios where someone was a sex-offender and really was not a danger to children, but wanted to serve. Would I let them serve unsupervised? Probably not. Would I be on guard for problems or false accusations? Definitely! Monitoring would also be a good idea.Anyway, my general first response is “No!”, but I realize that this is an area that does need to be treated carefully all around. We really do hear “Sex Offender” and immediately think “Child Predator”, which just isn’t the case. As for being on staff, I’d probably be inclined to not have someone on staff as that is really asking for trouble (depending on the staff area and their duties, of course).Guess this is just a really long way to say “Generally, no, but it depends.” http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/grin.gif
-Pete
Daniel on Tue, October 23, 2007
I think the differentiation needs to be made between forgiveness and trust. Forgiveness is available to everyone for every sin. However, as someone said above, that doesn’t mean we should put a person into a situation that might cause them to sin again.
Just because a sex offender is forgiven doesn’t mean that we trust that person with children, women, etc. - whatever is his or her area of temptation.
Depending on the staff position, it may be fine. It seems that elder is probably not likely, since it will be hard to characterize that person as “blameless” with a “good reputation”. But each situation must be weighed and decided carefully.
Daniel
Leonard Lee on Tue, October 23, 2007
I would ask someone who I knew to be an offender to attend a different church. I cannot at this stage of our churches history devote the time, energy and effort to develop a safe place for the offender or for the church. A young church like ours… Less than three years old… does not have the staff or leadership yet to deal with such a situation. We are also not in a place where a violation could be withstood without eroding the confidence in leadership and wisdom of leadership necessary to grow a church. There are churches in our area who actually have ministries that will help some one in this situation
Bart on Tue, October 23, 2007
I first would say that I agree with Peter. I know of someone also that had a consensual relationship with a girl who was 17. In many states that does not mean anything. In the state where it happened it means being on the sex offender list for life, and if he moves to any other state must register as a sex offender. This has caused job losses, neighbor and school problems for the children he now has. Totally not right, but he is on the list for life. Have a man in my church that before becoming a Christian was drinking heavily and caught urinating in public twice. Once again on the sex register. I also find it interesting that we can havve pastors divorce (some more than once) and can forgive, but this is unforgivable. While I would not put someone on staff that had abused children, I would like more information before giving an absolute no. I also understand Leonard’s position, but would you ask an alcoholic to go somewhere else? Or what about the drug addict and prostitute? Do you have the staff or leadership to deal with those sins? If there are other churches with these ministries could they help? Tough call, but each of us must find some compassion and forgiveness.
Still a little angry on Tue, October 23, 2007
I agree that anyone who has “offended” with children in any way should never be allowed to work with children, both because children are too precious for us to take a chance on trusting the offender and because just like we shouldn’t give alcohol to and alcoholic we also shouldn’t put temptation to anyone else with a compulsion.
That said, here’s my story.
I’m not a registered sex offender but I was arrested about 20 tears ago for being in the backseat of a car with my then fiancée/later wife. I was charged with Public Lewdness and given a year of probation. Fast forward 20 years to where I’ve been attending church for about 3 years and I volunteered to help direct traffic and parking in the parking lot and was asked to complete paperwork for a background check. I informed the Asst. Pastor in charge of volunteers what he would find and he said that shouldn’t be a big deal. Until the background check came back and the Board decided they “couldn’t have someone of my background to representing the church in any way”. I was volunteering to help direct people where to park!
Not only could I not volunteer, but suddenly I was like a leper, no one on the board or staff or in the church leadership would talk to me about it. And it didn’t take long for the rumor mill to go to work and soon most of the congregation knew just enough about the situation that we were basically shunned.
That was a couple of years ago and now we attend a different church and when we were asked if we’d like to volunteer I lied about being very busy with work and not being able to help right now.
And the funny thing is that my wife and I were in that back seat together consensually, I was arrested and charged with a crime which makes me a pariah to “loving Christians” while she was not arrested and now works with small children in the church daycare.
So in my opinion the church and Christians fail miserably to respond to “sex offenders”, whether registered or just perceived.
Leonard on Tue, October 23, 2007
Bart, I think you raise a great question and my response to it is simple. An alcoholic or drug addict are not usually by nature predatory as is someone who would be a pedophile. They also are much more visible to the eye in respect to recognizing someone who is addicted verses someone who is a sexual offender.
The issue becomes about how to help both. In this season of my church we are not able to help someone who is a sex offender, where as we are able to help someone who might be addicted to a substance.
This is not about forgiveness this is about protection. To confuse the two would be a huge mistake. As a survivor of abuse, people need to understand that sexual abuse, pedophilia is often a crime of opportunity. People who prey upon kids will many times be repeat offenders and seek out places where they can commit their crime.
Daniel D. Farmer on Tue, October 23, 2007
Leonard, I’m going to push you a little bit on your stance here… In what way can your church ‘not handle’ a sex offender right now? Do you mean there aren’t enough resources for a sex offender on staff to be held accountable, or do you mean you don’t have enough bodyguards to let the sex offender attend your worship service?
The former seems unproblematic; the latter… well, I think that would be problematic.
My own thoughts? Tackle the issue on a case by case basis, and be gentle as a lamb (though wise as a serpent).
Peace,
-Daniel-
Leonard Lee on Tue, October 23, 2007
Daniel Push away…(Winking smiley face here)
I would not hire a sex offender in almost every situation. It is my opinion that sex offenders, read pedophiles/ violent offenders here, need more than just a place to come in and worship. There needs to be a structure in place where ministry can be done in healing, accountability and a host of other ways in which someone with this particular issues can be cared for. As a small church about 250-300 and a new church under 3 years of age, we just do not have the infrastructure to care for such an individual.
Given the repeat nature of such a sin, meeting on a wide open campus (we rent a high school) given the number of new believers trusting us for the first time with their kids it would simply not be possible for us to develop the necessary accountability to insure safety and foster trust.
Add to this there are churches in our community who have ministries that specialize in this issue, I do not feel compelled to divert people and ministry focus in this way.
I am okay if someone is not okay with my approach but I am thinking about the offender and not setting them up to fail or receive minimal help, I am thinking about the people who already have been victimized by someone in the past or might be is we let something slip through the cracks and I am thinking about the churches stability and strength.
I will also say that if we had our own facility and were not spread over a high school campus and if we were say, 10 years old, and not in a heavy pioneering season, I might have a different approach.
Peace Out
Wendi on Tue, October 23, 2007
Leonard, I have to agree with Daniel here. If a sex offender just happens to wander into your church, it might be very reasonable to send them on to ministry at another church (your mother church certainly has plenty of resources). How likely is that??
Most people come to us because of relationship(s) with people from our community. The Holy Spirit uses those existing relationships to bring about spiritual healing. We can’t simply send someone on their way to start over when the HS has already begun to work.
And, in my mind, part of the Apostle Paul’s teaching in Ro and 1 Cor 12 is that our faith communities are miraculously woven together as God intends (even is He should weave in redeemed sex offenders). Consider Ps. 139 as an image of the church (isn’t it reasonable to apply Paul’s body imagery to the Psalmist’s words centuries earlier?). Here is a [to some heretical] Wendi paraphrase:
For you created our church’s inmost being; you knit us together in our mother’s womb.
We praise you because we are fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful for us, I know that full well.
Our family make-up was not hidden from you when we were formed in the very beginning.
When we were woven together in the early days, your eyes saw our seemly random and unformed collection of people.
All our days as a church were ordained for us and were written in your book before one of them came to be.
I just think that whoever God brings into our doors is part of His plan, and unless it’s very clear that we are being led to pass them on . . . we should assume God intends us to “knit them in” to the family . . .
Wendi
Leonard on Tue, October 23, 2007
Wendi, I would respectfully disagree. My job as a shepherd is not merely to feed sheep but to guard sheep too. As I said, I am thinking like a pastor of a new church. Having planted 2 churches already I can state with certainty not everyone who came into the pen was led by the Spirit.
I think your picture is beautiful but not comprehensive. Some people come in telling me that God wants us to sing hymns. Did God bring them or did they hope for a chance to influence. I had no less than 40 different people tell me that God told them I was to hire them. I have people all the time enter our church and leave after a week or two. Is the body incomplete because they left? Is the only person not able to discern the leading of the Spirit concerning this matter the pastor, one of the key people God called to guide, guard and feed his flock?
My position is not only about protecting the people who could be victimized but also the offender. I have already stated that this is about our church, a 2.5 year old church, not a once for all I don’t want to deal with it mandate
ender. Paul
Peter Hamm on Wed, October 24, 2007
I have had a bit of (required) orientation in sex sex offenses (I’m talking about REAL sex offenders here, not the 18 year old who had consensual sex with the 17 year old and stuff like that, perhaps at some point our laws will “bend” to understand those situations).
Someone who has truly committed a sex offense with a minor must never ever be in a position to be around them for any length of time again. Many of those offenders will tell you this is true. They are no longer eligible for any kind of church leadership for sure, neither should they serve in any capacity where they have easy access to children.
Period.
Camey on Wed, October 24, 2007
The church my husband and I currently serve at is the smallest (850 + regular attendance in worship) in our 18 years of marriage. We do background checks on every single person who volunteers or is on staff in every single position. Every single position. With a budget over 2.5 million we have the financial resources to do such. We also have connections to various ministries who could be of real benefit to individuals with a variety of needs such as a sex offender.
In the two previous churches we were at, the budgets were even greater due to the size and, therefore, the resources even more extensive. Yet, one of the churches did not have in place, at the time, background checks. This greatly hurt that particular church in one single case and damage was done. The minister who had let the individual volunteer in a certain area had an uneasy feeling about the person. They could not put a finger on it.. but allowed the person to volunteer all the same. Had a background check been performed, they would have known why they had “an uneasy feeling”.....
I appreciate your thoughts on this Leonard. While we do want ALL individuals to come to Christ… we must also follow the Spirit’s lead.
I do know a person who commited a sexual offense many, many years ago. He would tell you still to do this day… even though he has come to Christ… he should not be allowed to volunteer or be on staff where children and/or teens are involved. While his sin has been forgiven as has mine.. or yours… he would tell you there is a difference.
Bart on Wed, October 24, 2007
From earlier posts it is clear that the words sex offender are the leprosy of today. Some are branded and cast off by society. If we as the church cannot minister them, who will. If we cannot have them on staff (supervised of course) or even in church with us, are we saying we do not believe in forgiveness, or in the power of the Holy Spirit to redeem them, or in the power of the Spirit to make us a new creature and change us? Not sure what I would do, but just some theology to think about.
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