Unfortunately the church board only consist of three men! It seems to me a church running approximately 800 should have a dozen or more board members (just my opinion). I think none of the board members should be related to the pastor or each other. Shouldn't be hard in a congregation of that size.
When Bro Black resigned it was definitely a shock to many of us because we had no idea anything was even going on. To many apparently at least 100 (since that's the number of people it takes to bring a petition of no confidence) it was no shock! Well maybe that he resigned instead of fighting it. The church has not crumbled but is regrouping with the TN HQ assisting in the transition process. Every individual will process the situation in their own way but I can assure you that TB was and is loved. I've seen him handle people so lovingly and diplomatically. I've seen him protect his flock from allowing judgmental attitudes taking over in an unfortunate situation. I've heard him direct the church to not kick a person when they are down but to love them and pray for them and not talk bad about them.
I wish I could say I know what happened but I don't. I know I lost my pastor, I don't know where he is or how he's doing. My children have lost their youth pastor and his wife who from all I can gather did absolutely nothing wrong. We've lost another leadership pastor and his wife who also have no accusations of wrong doing! The original two preachers that were helping us immediately after the resignation and were expected to be with us up to six months are also gone suddenly! Time will tell how people will handle things during the process of getting a new pastor. I'm sure it won't be easy because of the size alone of the congregation it will be a challenge for any man of God especially since we lost so much of our experienced staff that could have helped a new pastor through the orientation and settling in. I know this, I feel like I've been sucker punched to the point of being disoriented in my own church. I never know who to expect to be in the pulpit and the ones that are there are strangers to me. I'm supposed to trust God to lead us through the process of finding a new pastor but since I trusted Him when I came to TPC I wonder if I have a clue as to what God's will is. I know I can trust Jesus I just question the way organized religion does things. I wonder if I've been misled to trust to much. I fight my flesh and wonder if I can even know the will of God for our lives right now. I know I'm going to keep on striving for the mark of the high calling! I know I'll pray and read the Word and for now keep still and know that He is God and wait on modern men to work through a business like process all the while praying they will use wisdom and love and the Spirit of God to make tons of decisions and probably rewrite another ton of policies to avoid a similar situation and pray a hedge of protection over my family to protect us while we seek His face! I know this is long but I guess it's my way of working it out in my mind.
Be sure that when it seems someone falls overnight, they started falling long before. And a gracious, patient and loving God gives men plenty of chances to humble himself and turn from his wicked ways. But since God is not willing any should perish but that all should come to repentance, if His goodness and blessings can't lead you to repentance, His heavy hand of chastisement will. And if losing everything means getting right with God, then it's just a blessing from God he's been given this golden opportunity to stop lying to himself, his family and his church and he can finally come clean and begin to walk in a new direction of honesty and humility.
When a man is tempted he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. Let no man say that it was Gods fault or a board members fault or some saint in the church's fault. There's only one major difference between King Saul and King David. They both were flawed men and they both committed terrible sins. But when Saul was confronted with his sin, he blamed others. When David was confronted with sin, he fell to the ground and he said, "Against YOU and YOU alone have I sinned..."
Let's hope and pray a David spirit is present in this case and not a Saul spirit.
I wonder if TB were allowed to come in and talk to the congregation and openly discuss his repentance or the lack there of if it would help? I might would rather have TB repented and restored and then back in the pulpit when he's ready instead of trust a stranger that I know nothing about that is going to be totally different on his stand on things like holiness standards and business. His attitude will take getting used to, his demeanor, his outlook on everything from children's ministry to the moving of the Spirit during church. Will he be witty and light hearted or stiff and militant? Will the new pastor be young or old, will his heartbeat be saving souls of a city that's one of the top crime riddled cities in the country or will he be swayed by a select group that were instrumental in taking TB down and will he always cow down to them knowing he's watched like a hawk and any thing on his pc is up for
scrutiny? Will his sin be even more damaging down the road will he be found to be a child molester, will he have his weakness right under the roof of our own church? We have no way of knowing but I know TB loved us and cared for us and preached and taught the straight Word of God. I never detected compromise in his sermons or lessons. I never got a haughty or arrogance from him only a spirit of a leader that truly cared about the church, the people and the city he pastored in. I wonder, I wonder and I wonder some more.
Believe me, most of details you don't ever want to know. Second, the men in the church providing leadership and the District have integrity, as well as Kilgore and Hughes. If there wasn't irrefutable evidence, there would not have been a resignation. Third, if a preacher preaches it "straight" but lives a very duplicitous life that reflects nothing of what he preaches---he doesn't preach it straight. "Straight" preaching includes practicing what you preach. Fourth, worrying about a future pastor on holiness standards should be the least of your concerns. Obsessing about holiness standards before didn't prevent tragedy from happening. Do you think strict holiness standards is going to give you a desirable pastor? You better hope the man's hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness! Fifth, you better thank God that the "select group" instrumental in, as you say, "taking TB down" were men of integrity and character and were honest enough to be used by God to bring the man's gross immorality to light. The man could still be lost in dark sin and headed for hell. Now he's been granted Gods grace to get right. And "they" didn't bring the man down. He did this to himself. He made the series of horrible choices to live a double life, preaching holiness and spiritual elitism while living like the worst of sinners. I hope you can appreciate the goodness of God in bringing this to light of truth rather than to continue the charade and the deception.
Believe me, most of details you don't ever want to know. Second, the men in the church providing leadership and the District have integrity, as well as Kilgore and Hughes. If there wasn't irrefutable evidence, there would not have been a resignation. Third, if a preacher preaches it "straight" but lives a very duplicitous life that reflects nothing of what he preaches---he doesn't preach it straight. "Straight" preaching includes practicing what you preach. Fourth, worrying about a future pastor on holiness standards should be the least of your concerns. Obsessing about holiness standards before didn't prevent tragedy from happening. Do you think strict holiness standards is going to give you a desirable pastor? You better hope the man's hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness! Fifth, you better thank God that the "select group" instrumental in, as you say, "taking TB down" were men of integrity and character and were honest enough to be used by God to bring the man's gross immorality to light. The man could still be lost in dark sin and headed for hell. Now he's been granted Gods grace to get right. And "they" didn't bring the man down. He did this to himself. He made the series of horrible choices to live a double life, preaching holiness and spiritual elitism while living like the worst of sinners. I hope you can appreciate the goodness of God in bringing this to light of truth rather than to continue the charade and the deception.
Excellent post!
__________________
Master of Science in Applied Disgruntled Religious Theorist Wrangling
PhD in Petulant Tantrum Quelling
Dean of the School of Hard Knocks
Believe me, most of details you don't ever want to know. Second, the men in the church providing leadership and the District have integrity, as well as Kilgore and Hughes. If there wasn't irrefutable evidence, there would not have been a resignation. Third, if a preacher preaches it "straight" but lives a very duplicitous life that reflects nothing of what he preaches---he doesn't preach it straight. "Straight" preaching includes practicing what you preach. Fourth, worrying about a future pastor on holiness standards should be the least of your concerns. Obsessing about holiness standards before didn't prevent tragedy from happening. Do you think strict holiness standards is going to give you a desirable pastor? You better hope the man's hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness! Fifth, you better thank God that the "select group" instrumental in, as you say, "taking TB down" were men of integrity and character and were honest enough to be used by God to bring the man's gross immorality to light. The man could still be lost in dark sin and headed for hell. Now he's been granted Gods grace to get right. And "they" didn't bring the man down. He did this to himself. He made the series of horrible choices to live a double life, preaching holiness and spiritual elitism while living like the worst of sinners. I hope you can appreciate the goodness of God in bringing this to light of truth rather than to continue the charade and the deception.
^This is a good post. I attend this church and do not think I could stay if TB were to still be there. I know we are supposed to forgive, but he hasn't ask for forgiveness yet. Also, it is hard for us as humans to forget. There would always be a sense of not trusting him in the back of my mind.
I do not like the way the board is selected and run. They keep everything quiet and the church is left in the dark on business decisions until the quarterly business meeting.
There are a few incorrect things said on here. His son-in-laws both resigned voluntarily. They were not let go by the board. One has already established a position at another church. I pray their ministry will not be negatively effected.
I am heartbroken over this whole situation. I trusted TB, he counseled with me on many occasions. I trusted his insight and wisdom. I pray that the church can strengthen, thrive and still strive toward the goal of reaching lost souls and helping people find restoration, healing, and most importantly salvation.
Be sure that when it seems someone falls overnight, they started falling long before. And a gracious, patient and loving God gives men plenty of chances to humble himself and turn from his wicked ways. But since God is not willing any should perish but that all should come to repentance, if His goodness and blessings can't lead you to repentance, His heavy hand of chastisement will. And if losing everything means getting right with God, then it's just a blessing from God he's been given this golden opportunity to stop lying to himself, his family and his church and he can finally come clean and begin to walk in a new direction of honesty and humility.
When a man is tempted he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. Let no man say that it was Gods fault or a board members fault or some saint in the church's fault. There's only one major difference between King Saul and King David. They both were flawed men and they both committed terrible sins. But when Saul was confronted with his sin, he blamed others. When David was confronted with sin, he fell to the ground and he said, "Against YOU and YOU alone have I sinned..."
Let's hope and pray a David spirit is present in this case and not a Saul spirit.
I've heard the assertion that TB resigned because of an issue with the church by-laws, and, alternatively, that the church board forced him out. Here's the bottom line: TB wouldn't have resigned unless there was truth to the allegations of moral failure and financial mismanagement. Even if you grant the premise that he resigned because the board forced him out, that doesn't speak very highly of his commitment to the church or his "calling."
No, the simplest solution is often the correct one: he failed, he had been failing for years, and he shouldn't have been pastoring while abusing the church's finances and philandering with women. When confronted with the evidence, I understand that he outright admitted some of his mistakes to the board.
There are consequences for every action. What cannot be tolerated is the abuse of church funds. To tell people to give to support the Kingdom of God, to convince them of the blessings that will rain down in their lives if they'll just dig deep and maybe even take out a loan or get a second mortgage to prove their love for His Kingdom, and then to misappropriate those funds to finance a lavish lifestyle and fund illicit activity is simply criminal.
There is an audit being conducted at the church right now, and if there was embezzlement or fraud, TB should go be arrested, indicted, and convicted according to the evidence.
He should be made an example, in order to send a clear message that the UPCI does not tolerate this sort of behavior, and will not ignore criminal activity because someone is a "modern-day apostle."
Of course God can forgive and restore, but the consequences of your actions have very real repercussions. While God can deal with TB in the spiritual realm, the district attorney can deal with TB's more earthly disposition. Laws are in place for this sort of behavior, and they should be enforced regardless of someone's position.
TB made his bed; he must now lie in it.
When you fall, or when one of your loved ones fall, remember your post.
__________________
"The choices we make reveal the true nature of our character."
Unfortunately the church board only consist of three men! It seems to me a church running approximately 800 should have a dozen or more board members (just my opinion). I think none of the board members should be related to the pastor or each other. Shouldn't be hard in a congregation of that size.
When Bro Black resigned it was definitely a shock to many of us because we had no idea anything was even going on. To many apparently at least 100 (since that's the number of people it takes to bring a petition of no confidence) it was no shock! Well maybe that he resigned instead of fighting it. The church has not crumbled but is regrouping with the TN HQ assisting in the transition process. Every individual will process the situation in their own way but I can assure you that TB was and is loved. I've seen him handle people so lovingly and diplomatically. I've seen him protect his flock from allowing judgmental attitudes taking over in an unfortunate situation. I've heard him direct the church to not kick a person when they are down but to love them and pray for them and not talk bad about them.
I wish I could say I know what happened but I don't. I know I lost my pastor, I don't know where he is or how he's doing. My children have lost their youth pastor and his wife who from all I can gather did absolutely nothing wrong. We've lost another leadership pastor and his wife who also have no accusations of wrong doing! The original two preachers that were helping us immediately after the resignation and were expected to be with us up to six months are also gone suddenly! Time will tell how people will handle things during the process of getting a new pastor. I'm sure it won't be easy because of the size alone of the congregation it will be a challenge for any man of God especially since we lost so much of our experienced staff that could have helped a new pastor through the orientation and settling in. I know this, I feel like I've been sucker punched to the point of being disoriented in my own church. I never know who to expect to be in the pulpit and the ones that are there are strangers to me. I'm supposed to trust God to lead us through the process of finding a new pastor but since I trusted Him when I came to TPC I wonder if I have a clue as to what God's will is. I know I can trust Jesus I just question the way organized religion does things. I wonder if I've been misled to trust to much. I fight my flesh and wonder if I can even know the will of God for our lives right now. I know I'm going to keep on striving for the mark of the high calling! I know I'll pray and read the Word and for now keep still and know that He is God and wait on modern men to work through a business like process all the while praying they will use wisdom and love and the Spirit of God to make tons of decisions and probably rewrite another ton of policies to avoid a similar situation and pray a hedge of protection over my family to protect us while we seek His face! I know this is long but I guess it's my way of working it out in my mind.
Your post really touched me because of its sincerity and lack of rancor. You really bared your innermost thoughts about the situation and what you are experiencing is exactly what I felt a lot of people in your situation go through.
As you touched on in your post the most important thing is to keep following Jesus who unlike human beings never fails. A leaders failure is heartbreaking and hard to understand but our faith is in God not men.
On a practical point I am shocked the church board was only three people. Wow! That is weird. I don't know the situation but if it is like a lot of Pentecostal church boards the board members were probably all hand picked by the pastor as people he thought would be yes men who would completely trust him, offer no real oversight, and rubber stamp whatever he wanted to do.
While I don't think a church board should run a church or a preacher I would think a pastor would want some accountability in place to both protect his reputation and to protect the church in case he ever did fall. I think ego is the main stumbling block to someone seeking accountability.
__________________ "I think some people love spiritual bondage just the way some people love physical bondage. It makes them feel secure. In the end though it is not healthy for the one who is lost over it or the one who is lives under the oppression even if by their own choice"
Titus2woman on AFF
"We did not wear uniforms. The lady workers dressed in the current fashions of the day, ...silks...satins...jewels or whatever they happened to possess. They were very smartly turned out, so that they made an impressive appearance on the streets where a large part of our work was conducted in the early years.
"It was not until long after, when former Holiness preachers had become part of us, that strict plainness of dress began to be taught.
"Although Entire Sanctification was preached at the beginning of the Movement, it was from a Wesleyan viewpoint, and had in it very little of the later Holiness Movement characteristics. Nothing was ever said about apparel, for everyone was so taken up with the Lord that mode of dress seemingly never occurred to any of us."
Quote from Ethel Goss (widow of 1st UPC Gen Supt. Howard Goss) book "The Winds of God"
His Son-in-law's most definitely did not resign voluntarily I know this for a fact...
See, here I am again, left in the dark. I attend this church and was told that they resigned. It is sad that people who do not even attend TPC know more about this situation than it's own church members. I was unable to attend the Power Weekend service, when he resigned and only found out about it later when I saw several of the church members posting messages on FB.
I guess instead of seeking answers about this situation, I will just continue to seek God's Word and His truth. It just bothers me not to have any clue as to what is going on.
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