a simple solution would be to initate a performance appraisal for our clergy – they either perform to the stated criteria or they’re out!!!

and only 2 year max contracts open to 6 monthly reviews

I personally wonder if a preacher strays away from God’s word… and starts condemning is already morally unstable.

Why do I say that? Because Jesus talks about people who remove a speck from someone else’s eye and yet haven’t removed the log from their own eye… simply stating that don’t pick on other people small sin when your sin is greater and deep rooted.

Its also because we place a lot of responsibility on the pastor than do we do for ourselves… we expect more from them than do we from ouselves and I wonder if so many of them drag the leaders down. It only takes a feeling of being alone, and vulnerable and once expose to elements, they have trouble fleeing because they have human needs.

To be honest, I really don’t know why some fall and others don’t … they do indeed have so much responsibilities, perhaps too much that they are seen to be invincible. Hmmmm talk about bridge over troubled water… hmmm

Sorry I seem to be rambling along…I do wonder if one fixates on a particular thing, they become that thing… they attract it to themselves… or because they expose it they are confront by the very people doing it… and somehow gets involved with the leaders…. hmmmm corrupt the leaders? When rescuing the person who is drowning… its best to not go straight to them because in panic they might drown you… so the option is to sock em out so you can drag them to safety. Hmmmm maybe the very act of panic causes people to drown the leaders in their ways.

Just throwing some thoughts out there.

The Pentecostal church as a whole never had any sort of restoration program for it’s ministers or it’s saints. When you fell, you were out.

The scripture said “to whom much is given, much is required.” Our church too often stated that we were the best, that we had more truth than anyone else and that others who were not like us were lacking and likely not even going to heaven. Because we were more charismatic and often less accountable, we allowed our ministers to have greater voice and authority than many other christian religions. Even with governing boards in some groups, much of what went on was left to each local church.

Without striking a sour note or sounding too churchy, I think we have left out a vital principle in all of this and that has to do with Gal 6:1. It’s about restoring someone who falls. It’s about being spiritual and handling someone’s failures in a meek, gentle way. And if you don’t, watch out! Your time is coming and good luck.

My God. How we jumped on people when they made mistakes. We learned it from what our preachers taught us. One strike, you’re out. And it came back to us and to them. They did not teach us that there was a curse that could come upon us if we did not follow this exhortation. And how many of our people were thrown out of the church for the most petty violations, much less having anything to do with being gay.

About Jimmy Swaggart. I lived in the city where he preached and was there in a different church when he fell. I even sang with a group in one of his conferences before I came out. He preached so hard against prostitutes and homosexuals. I remember asking asking myself how this could have been avoided and how different things may have been for him if he had just had someone he could have confided in or talked to about those things that had bothered him for so long. Someone he could trust. So many do not know the pressure and stress that is on someone in leadership and what targets they are from Satan and even their own church members. Someone said they’re human beings like us.

Apostle James said “confess your faults one to another and pray one for another THAT YE MAY BE HEALED.” But, who could you tell? Who in this world could you trust with such personal things. You couldn’t trust the saints because we felt we just had to tell it and the first thing you know it was all over the church. You couldn’t tell the pastor because he felt he had to smear your sins and faults in front of the whole congregation and make you an example before everybody. The pastors couldn’t tell their peers, we couldn’t tell our friends and so everyone kept everything inside until it finally ate us up and we slipped or we were “overtaken.”

Robert

I agree that we just gotta let people walk out there own journey and yes if we can help sure but not tread on their toes in the process. Someone said to me once to stop being Jesus to everyone and what she meant was “stop carrying the full responsibility of burdens for others and over sacrificing, Jesus already did that you dont need to, give it to him and point them to him and let them be answerable for their own mistakes, stop trying to even make up for what they have lost because you never fully will.” I tell you it made a huge difference to my life and to this day I still have to remind myself not to do it.

I think people in leadership get caught in the trap of trying to make it right for everyone sometimes too and take on wayyyyyy too much responsibility for peoples journeys, we cant fix everything for everyone and what works for one may not work for another and so when things dont happen as they envisaged or expected they feel like failures and that is a recipe in itself for a leaning toward either alcohol or drug abuse or sleeping around to get the high or boost to feel better. And I think sometimes we as humans place too much expectation on leaders as well and man that must be such pressure to them, there always needs to be a realistic element placed into things to a degree, it doesnt mean you cant aim high, it just means dont over project and make room for errors to occur…….Dunno just my thoughts.