The Shameful Shepherd Part 7b -

There was a man who attended our church who was a registered sex offender. Allegations came forward of this man being to “chummy” with some of the children in the church. The first thing I did was remove the child from the presence of this man, and contacted the authorities to come and investigate the matter. This is a simple matter of Common sense, right? Would you believe that there are churches, which dismiss the child and family from the church to preserve the accused because he or she is a “soul winner” and a “bus captain?”
There are dozens of stories and examples that I could reference. There are thousands of court documents and noteworthy news articles. These are credible, ethical, and respectable reporters and investigators who have researched and have published their findings into the criminal acts of those who are to be “blameless” in their office.
I recall the odd request of a church in Florida asking believers around the world to sign a petition asking a pardon from the powers that be in Texas on behalf of two men who “executed corporal punishment” on a student in a day school at their church. The young man was left bloodied, bruised and in Critical Care due to the beating that he received. Now, let me say this, my father and mother did their fair share of corporal punishment on my siblings and I. Yet, never did they leave one of us in critical care with our lives in hanging in the balance. I am all for corporal punishment. I can honestly say that my daughter will also receive corporal punishment when she has demonstrated continual and blatant disobedience. However, there is something terribly wrong when Christians around the world are asked to sign a petition to free BRUTAL child abusers under the guise of “they are soul winners and members in good standing”. These men are not heroes. They are not martyrs. They are MORONS! They did not execute discipline in a BIBLICAL manner much less within the law.
I recall the familiar case of a national group of pastors who were petitioned to stand behind the son of a widely known pastor/speaker whose son was accused of scandals and affairs which should NEVER have been named among the people of God. Instead of executing Church Discipline and even CRIMINAL correction on this pathetic wayward one, they sent him off to another state. Never was he dealt with. He continued the pattern of violations there too. Again, dismissed but not held accountable for his sinfulness and unethical behavior. Again, protected because of who daddy was and because he was a soul winner.
A well known Pastor in Jacksonville, Fl was accused of several cases of sexual misconduct upon the minors of his congregation and day school for decades. Instead of being turned over to the authorities, he was strangely “called to the mission field in Germany”. When he returned from the “mission field” the problems never went away. Soon, he was arrested and began to endure the humility of the legal system, media, and his “stellar reputation” being picked apart and shown for what it really was – SHAMEFUL!!