Are Sex Offenders a liability to Churches?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
Mitspa said:
So you could have had fellowship on this forum and no one would have ever ask about your history...instead you came here to stir up a issue you knew would cause contention and strife because folks try to balance our desire to forgive with our desire to protect children... Im not sure i would want you in my church, not because of your past..but because of what you are now.
Click to expand...

It seems as though you may be saying that if someone professes to be a Christian and causes contention and strife, that your church has no place for them? So they would need to fix themselves and then go to your church? Maybe I am not reading your reply right. I believe Sinners belong in church. The righteous (there are none) have no need for it .
 
Willie-T said:
Well, I would more than welcome a good man like you to anything.... my church, my company, and my house.
Click to expand...

Well i would want to get to know you before i allowed you around any children God had put under my care....
 
LesserThanAll said:
It seems as though you may be saying that if someone professes to be a Christian and causes contention and strife, that your church has no place for them? So they would need to fix themselves and then go to your church? Maybe I am not reading your reply right. I believe Sinners belong in church. The righteous (there are none) have no need for it .
Click to expand...
What im saying is you came on this forum and started this thread to cause contention..because its not an easy issue for most honest Christians who believe in forgiveness and the protection of the children in our churches... Any honest and reasonable person should be able to understand that conflict?
 
It was started to assist me in understanding peoples views on the subject. I have never discussed this sort of thing online. I appreciate your open and honest input though. Discernment should tell you my true intentions were not malicious.
 
LesserThanAll said:
It was started to assist me in understanding peoples views on the subject. I have never discussed this sort of thing online. I appreciate your open and honest input though. Discernment should tell you my true intentions were not malicious.
Click to expand...

Well..just like my point before...God most often shows us who people are through the process of time and as we watch the witness of someones faith and love... I think most believers "learn" those they can trust ..and all of us should understand this issue can have honest folks who need time to trust those who have caused harm to children...if God has done a Work and the Holy Spirit has purified that persons heart...it will become evident to those who know the Holy Spirit...but that often takes time.
 
LesserThanAll said:
I have known a large church to tell ex-sex-offenders they aren't allowed in their church because its a liability issue. How is this ANYTHING like how Christ would have handled it?
​
Click to expand...
I am familiar with a situation like this. I attended a congregation where a man was convicted of statutory rape. He served his time, and is out now, but is heavily monitored by others. Anyone is welcome to worship, but an offender should still deal with the consequences of his actions. Ih he can be properly monitored then let him attend.
 
Elizabeth619 said:
I am familiar with a situation like this. I attended a congregation where a man was convicted of statutory rape. He served his time, and is out now, but is heavily monitored by others. Anyone is welcome to worship, but an offender should still deal with the consequences of his actions. Ih he can be properly monitored then let him attend.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. No one said until trust has been earned, a true repentant heart shown, and a Christian walk, that they should just be able to do whatever. It is a part of the reaping and sowing law. God forgives, but consequences remain.
 
LesserThanAll said:
I asked this because I am a registered sex offender. It happened about 25 years ago and about 15 years before I was a christian. The first church I went to said I was not able to attend because of my past. How would Jesus have answered if He was asked this question. I believe in change. People can change and God can change people. If my past offends you, I ask you to not be hateful towards me. It's near impossible to hate what I have done more than me. Guilt and shame have riddled my life since then. I am an active member in my church (though do nothing with the children's ministry just to prevent a false perception). I help other ex-sex offenders find housing and jobs. If Christs' blood does not cover ALL sins, then I am worshipping the wrong God. If YOUR Christs' blood doesn't cover all sins, then maybe you are worshipping the wrong God as well. I say all this to be upfront and not try to keep my past in the shadows. Christ is a bringer of light and I choose to walk in the light. Love me or hate me, I'll be in heaven some day.
Click to expand...
Was this crime against a child?
 
No and not violent but at least in this state, all sex crimes are treated the same with the same laws applying.
 
Children should always be protected, to every extent & beyond.
 
LesserThanAll said:
No and not violent but at least in this state, all sex crimes are treated the same with the same laws applying.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I saw a documentary about sex offenders and the law in the US a little while ago. It was quite eye opening. One of the guys they interviewed was registered as a sex offender because he slept with a 16 year old girl, drunk at a party and he was 19. He now wears an electronic brace and lives in shame.
 
I do not think the actual offense is important in this thread. Can we please be respectful and not
nosey? No matter what he did he has repented.
 
Elizabeth619 said:
I do not think the actual offense is important in this thread. Can we please be respectful and not
nosey? No matter what he did he has repented.
Click to expand...
He came on & said that he was a registered sex offender. He didn't have to.
 
breno785au said:
Yeah, I saw a documentary about sex offenders and the law in the US a little while ago. It was quite eye opening. One of the guys they interviewed was registered as a sex offender because he slept with a 16 year old girl, drunk at a party and he was 19. He now wears an electronic brace and lives in shame.
Click to expand...
I think that when I hear, Registered Sex Offender, I automatically think of small children. I think a lot of people do.
 
"Sex offender" is a wide term. in Tennessee an individual can French kiss a person and be accused of penetration and be convicted of a
sex offense
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back