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At least one similar charge had been made against Truxton while he worked at Redlands, California-based MAF, but the matter was handled privately. "It was dealt with as being inappropriate and unwise," says current MAF President Gary Bishop. "Leaders at the time felt that counseling was the appropriate response."

Swindoll's sermon was more direct. "It was very intense," says Dave Carder, assistant pastor of counseling ministries at the Fullerton church. "[Chuck] was very strong about practicing what you said you believed and living a pure life. Chuck's always been forthright."

Payne says that First Evangelical Free has set an important benchmark for other churches when handling molestation charges. "It could be painful in the beginning, but churches need to realize they must watch out for victims," he says.

Jim Henderson, an attorney with the American Center for Law and Justice, says that churches should be aware of members who have a history of molestation charges.

"Churches could be havens for pedophiles structurally because they have little [in the way of] procedures," Carder says.

After handling the situation with Truxton, Carder says, his church enforced stricter screening requirements for all members and staff who work with children. Churches and religious groups should also understand that molestation is rarely a one-time event. "The church has got to be painfully aware that this [misconduct] is a pattern," he says.

Colorado Springs attorney Martin Nussbaum says there is no court precedent requiring churches to screen all potential employees for past sex assaults. But he says churches could be held accountable for negligent hiring if behavioral problems evident during the hiring process later result in sexual misconduct.

Nussbaum, cochairman of the Religious Institutions Group of the Gerber, Johnson, and Lyons law firm, says he fears the current controversy might invite constitutionally suspect government oversight of church hiring practices: "It encourages legislators to say, 'We've got to fix the church.'"

Nussbaum, who has represented religious institutions for 15 years, says there are more sexual abuse cases in government agencies and foster care homes than in churches. "I would disagree with someone who says there's a bigger problem in churches than in other institutions," he says.

Truxton has had no involvement with MAF since his retirement in 1985. Leaders removed him from prominent roles with the organization in the 1960s, when questionable cases from the 1950s came to light. Truxton mainly raised funds for MAF in his last two decades there.

While MAF's Bishop says that former leaders at his organization did not consider early claims of "exuberant hugging and kissing" by Truxton as acts of molestation, he adds that MAF would respond differently now. "Today, the ministry would have reported anything like that to the authorities," he says.

While the situation was difficult for the Fullerton church to handle, the congregation fully supports Payne and his current prosecution of Truxton, says Jenni Key, director of communications.

"Our concern is still for the victims," Key says. "I believe in a God of both justice and mercy. This seems to be a time of justice."

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May 21 2002, Vol. 46, No. 6