JILL HUDSON: For me, the boundary is intercourse or significant sexual activity that replaces intercourse. I come from the school that once a pastor has crossed a boundary it’s very, very difficult for that pastor to get his or her ministry in workable order again. We know from studies that once a person has violated that boundary, he or she will continue to do so. Maybe not with the same frequency or intensity, but once a perpetrator, almost always a perpetrator.
Plus, civil courts are awarding huge settlements and sending the message to the church, “If you’re not able to discipline your pastors, we will.” As a result, people are more gun shy about restoring a pastor with a history of abuse.
ARCH HART: If pornography and masturbation are the boundary, that would exclude 50 or 60 percent of all candidates for ministry. Neither do I think one isolated incident disqualifies someone. However, I would plead for a period of withdrawal from ministry and for that person to undergo evaluation to understand why it happened. If it happens a second time, the evidence is clear: you’re not suited for this work.
A small percentage of pastors who succumb to sexual temptation–I’m guessing that perhaps 10 percent of those–are clear-cut sexual seducers. They are predators who use ministry as an opportunity to get to women. That history shows up clearly and does disqualify someone from pastoral ministry.
GEORGE MCKINNEY: I don’t believe God’s calling upon a pastor is necessarily canceled because of the sin of adultery. There should be a structure for confession, repentance, and being subject to the authority of the church, with the view of full reentry into the ministry.
I’m glad God didn’t remove David because he committed murder and adultery. Yes, there were scars and pain, and the results of that sin stayed with him till he died. But God continued to use him.
Certain sins disqualify you from certain positions, however. A youth minister who is molesting boys and girls should not be involved in youth ministry. We need to elevate other areas of ministry–administration, teaching, writing, evangelism, ministry to the homeless, jail ministry.
KNUTE LARSON: For me, the questions are: Did the person admit his struggle and come for help, or was he caught? Is the sin a practice? Does it involve other people? At The Chapel, if you stumble in a way involving other people, we will forgive you and reinstate you into the kingdom, but you can never work here again.
SCOTTY SMITH: To me, the issue is more, “Let’s have pastors walking in accountability” than “When have you reached the point of no return?” We’ve seen that the pastor who is not in relationship with others makes the step from stimulus to pondering to pandering to peep show to compulsive masturbation. There’s no verse I know of in Scripture that says this person is disqualified from ministry, but the heart is eroded.
Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP Journal
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