I was asked by a questioner what the big deal is with this thread since he had never experienced this situation with the increase in the number of fallen "pastors" in modern times, especially those who are the super stars of religion and religious broadcasts of all types. As liberal as Christianity Today has always been, this seems to be an interesting take on their part contrary to Focus on the Family's unbiblical rants and raves about restoring "pastors" to their positions of leadership after copious counseling and therapy sessions with some Freudian psychobabelist who claims to also follow the Bible...
“Genuine forgiveness does not necessarily imply restoration to leadership,” former CT editor Kenneth Kantzer once wrote after the moral failure of several prominent evangelical leaders. Yet the impulse to link forgiveness with restoration to ministry remains strong. Here two pastor-theologians argue for the importance of keeping separate the restoration to the body of Christ and restoration to pastoral leadership." (https://www.christianitytoday.com/2015/09/should-adulterous-pastors-be-restored/)
The vast seas of horrendous ignorance and cultural liberalism that dominates much of institutional church model congregations has led to the gross misunderstandings that so many have about the differences between forgiveness and restoration. I know a man who had sexually abused his daughter and son, went to prison for several years, and who wanted "restoration" to that family unit, but that simply wasn't going to happen with a wife and mother who took seriously the responsibility to protect the children. I admired her strength and protective stance, but the betrayal has had lingering effects upon her forgiveness, and it's eating her up from the inside-out. She has gained 70+ pounds to her already morbid obesity, and is headed for an early grave as a result with all the health problems as a result.
Far too many men find themselves thinking with the wrong part of their anatomy. A large institutional church organization in Wichita, KS some years ago out on the west side of the city went through a split because of a whistle-blower who exposed his wife-swapping ring he formed among some of the membership and some outside the organization. His refusal to step down, although admitting to the sin, caused a split down the middle of the congregation, with half linking forgiveness to restoration, and the other half refusing to accept restoration, although agreeing with forgiveness.
So, all across the nation, for those who stand on the wall on guard, we are seeing many different types of scenarios playing out in the lives of hirelings, which is where all the super stars began their careers. They are the ones who run when they see the wolves coming, but refuse to exercise godly responsibility for their integrity and the qualifications they should meet to hold those positions.
I say that they "should" adhere to biblical qualifications because even though they are hirelings, they are still somewhat functioning in the position of doctrinal leadership with at least some of the body of Christ sitting among their audience of followers. Realistically, they are free to be pedophiles and perverse men since the institutional model is man-made, but when truly saved individuals choose to sit under such, they are living a dangerous livelihood to sit under the doctrinal leadership of such men, and worse yet, women.
The liberal elements will harangue at that last comment, which is on them. Yammering about context and such, as if that changes anything in the clear language of it all, and doing so on the basis so many tend toward to ignore the fact that universally true statements, when couched within a seemingly constraining context, cannot be held to said limitation only to that context. Attempting such only exposes gross ignorance and hypocrisy given that we all practice, on a daily basis, the use of universally true statements within contextual speech patterns, knowing full well that the universal truths are not held only to the context of our choosing.
MM
“Genuine forgiveness does not necessarily imply restoration to leadership,” former CT editor Kenneth Kantzer once wrote after the moral failure of several prominent evangelical leaders. Yet the impulse to link forgiveness with restoration to ministry remains strong. Here two pastor-theologians argue for the importance of keeping separate the restoration to the body of Christ and restoration to pastoral leadership." (https://www.christianitytoday.com/2015/09/should-adulterous-pastors-be-restored/)
The vast seas of horrendous ignorance and cultural liberalism that dominates much of institutional church model congregations has led to the gross misunderstandings that so many have about the differences between forgiveness and restoration. I know a man who had sexually abused his daughter and son, went to prison for several years, and who wanted "restoration" to that family unit, but that simply wasn't going to happen with a wife and mother who took seriously the responsibility to protect the children. I admired her strength and protective stance, but the betrayal has had lingering effects upon her forgiveness, and it's eating her up from the inside-out. She has gained 70+ pounds to her already morbid obesity, and is headed for an early grave as a result with all the health problems as a result.
Far too many men find themselves thinking with the wrong part of their anatomy. A large institutional church organization in Wichita, KS some years ago out on the west side of the city went through a split because of a whistle-blower who exposed his wife-swapping ring he formed among some of the membership and some outside the organization. His refusal to step down, although admitting to the sin, caused a split down the middle of the congregation, with half linking forgiveness to restoration, and the other half refusing to accept restoration, although agreeing with forgiveness.
So, all across the nation, for those who stand on the wall on guard, we are seeing many different types of scenarios playing out in the lives of hirelings, which is where all the super stars began their careers. They are the ones who run when they see the wolves coming, but refuse to exercise godly responsibility for their integrity and the qualifications they should meet to hold those positions.
I say that they "should" adhere to biblical qualifications because even though they are hirelings, they are still somewhat functioning in the position of doctrinal leadership with at least some of the body of Christ sitting among their audience of followers. Realistically, they are free to be pedophiles and perverse men since the institutional model is man-made, but when truly saved individuals choose to sit under such, they are living a dangerous livelihood to sit under the doctrinal leadership of such men, and worse yet, women.
The liberal elements will harangue at that last comment, which is on them. Yammering about context and such, as if that changes anything in the clear language of it all, and doing so on the basis so many tend toward to ignore the fact that universally true statements, when couched within a seemingly constraining context, cannot be held to said limitation only to that context. Attempting such only exposes gross ignorance and hypocrisy given that we all practice, on a daily basis, the use of universally true statements within contextual speech patterns, knowing full well that the universal truths are not held only to the context of our choosing.
MM
