Quote:
Originally Posted by MissBrattified
Being restored into right standing with God and being reconciled to friends, family and community is NOT the same thing as being restored to a position of leadership. Relationships and positions are different animals.
There are qualifications for leadership, and they are as practical as they are mandatory. The reason why leaders have so many qualifications is because people have to be able to respect a man in order to follow him. Plain and simple. God put the qualifications for a bishop in place for good reason and it's silly to throw them out.
Sometimes congregations can forgive and forget and reinstate the pastor, but they aren't doing anything wrong if they decide the best option is to put in a new pastor.
I wonder if LooneyLucy and others would be so quick to want a pastor restored to his position if it was discovered he'd been beating his wife or children for years? One of the qualifications of a bishop is that he rule his house well and another is that he not be a "striker." Should we kick that one to the curb, too, in favor of having grace? Let men beat their wives and children and still be in leadership?
While we're on the topic, marital neglect can lead to sexual indiscretions and immorality, but it is still not an excuse for it. It may be a reason, but having a reason does not mean you have an excuse. Not with God, anyway.
I Corinthians 10:13
"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
God always provides a way of escape. That's why when we sin, we can only blame ourselves. Not our wives; not our husbands; not our friends; not our family; just ourselves. |
Ms B, your quote above from the other thread got me to thinking about restoration.
I hope to gain some perspective about how UPC and other organizations handle moral failures in their system.
About 28 years ago, my first UPC pastor committed adultery. Like all cases, it split the church. There was a lot of infighting and bickering. People shunned one another because some believed it, others did not. The former pastor denied it right up to the very end... to his congregation. In fact, he never came before the congregation to confess it. We heard it second hand, which caused all the division.
He was confronted by the district superintendent and presbyter without the knowledge of the congregation. He was given a certain amount of time to tell his congregation. Yet, all he said to us was that he preached his guts out for years and that we all were going to have to "get what we need for ourselves". He told us his doctor gave him orders to stay away from stress and that he was going to take 3 weeks off and that nobody should contact him in any way for 3 weeks.
That's the short story from my perspective. There may be more to it than what I know. However, my thoughts are this...
I was told by a UPC pastor that my former pastor is able to do one of two things. He would have to resign that church and he would never be able to pastor another church again in the UPC system.
Or he could ask the congregation for forgiveness and still pastor there, but the people would have to pull out of UPC for that to happen.
My guess was back then, had he asked for forgiveness, the congregation would have retained him as pastor. They loved him that much.
It seems that I vaguely remember being told that he would have to sit down for a time. But I am not sure if that was an option for him since I was told that once adultery is committed, there is no second chance.
Now, my questions are these:
Has the UPC changed it's stance about pastoring and adultery?
Why couldn't restoration to God and to a leadership position happen....at least once after a moral failure? Why cannot UPC give it's pastor's a second chance if they follow a program leading to restoration if they haven't changed this rule ?
Are all OP or trinitarian denominations like this?
What are the restoration processes?
I am just wondering that since the callings and gifts of God are without repentance, how does a man continue to serve God (even after repentance and restoration) if he is not allowed by an organization to preach in the pulpit?
PS..It is not my intention for this to be a bashing an organization post. My wishes are to understand the positions that are being taken by an organization for marital infidelity or in the case of single pastors, fornication and why such positions are taken.
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