Quote:
Originally Posted by UnTraditional
Seriously, I hope none of you ever falls. I mean, according to you all, if one does, then there is no hope for restoration. I feel so sorry for some of you, who have no grace, and think yourselves so high.
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UnTraditional,
When you make statements like this, it makes me think you didn't thoroughly read posts. Perhaps you only scanned...
Restoration is possible for every repentant sinner. Both with God and in the church community. Whether a person can be restored to position isn't up to me. It's up to the local church, the person's family and the person's authorities.
Further, as I stated earlier, it isn't always in the best interest of the person who failed to be restored to a position of leadership--especially not right away. It does us good to step back, take a breath, stabilize ourselves with God and family, get our priorities straight and then later, possibly much later, see what
God would have us do. And understand that if He wants us to do something that He will open the doors for us.
I realize that those who have gifts feel the driving need to express them. As a singer, musician and teacher, I can understand how painful it would be to not be able to sing, play or teach. However, I also understand that those things aren't going to get me into heaven and that they are lower in priority to my personal relationship with God and to my family relationships. If I had to pick one, it certainly wouldn't be my gifts.
I theorized for a moment and considered what I would want to happen if my own father or my pastor committed adultery (for example). I can tell you that the first thing I would want to happen would be a complete focus on the marital relationship and a setting aside of every extra-curricular, unnecessary obligation. When something like this happens, it causes trauma in the home and in the person, and you simply can't just "keep on keeping on." Not without utterly destroying yourself of your home.
There is much more to consider than simply a person's "right" to continue in ministry. Let compassion extend to considering the person's emotional, mental and spiritual health and the person's relationships--with God, family, friends and community. When trust has been violated, it takes time to heal those wounds. The idea that someone should "sit down" isn't supposed to just be about punishing them, if that's what it's about at all. It's about giving them time to recover their personal relationship with God, which has obviously gone awry, and time to recover relationships with others that matter far more than an hour in the pulpit every Sunday AM.
A minister with a family has God-given priorities that are more important than his ministry.
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