Children turned away from church while sex offender preaches

[jonathan.borland]

I'm all for those who fall into sin being restored to fellowship. Perhaps we deny an essential aspect of the Gospel when we hold others' sins against them without the recourse of correction through forgiveness.

However, I am completely convinced that any person in a position of spiritual leadership/authority who commits sexual sin against or with anyone has lost the ability to ever again assume a senior leadership position in any church.

This is not to say they cannot attend, participate in, become a member...but a pox on the house that allows them to preach from a position of authority and leadership without the due process of lengthy and humble separation that leads to restoration.

I'm all for people being restored. The restoration of evangelist Bob Harrington, the father of two very prominent Southern Baptist women, is fairly well known. I heard him preach not long after his restoration. A little eccentric, carrying around a little toilet bowl toy that he would pull out whenever he had a bad thought and PLUNK, the toilet flushing sound would begin. I never heard him before his fall, as that happened mostly before I was born, but from reports I imagine that he was a man of God and used by God to win many souls to the Lord.

The whole issue of "backsliding" is pretty baptistic. It's even in the BF&M. The reason we hold to it is because we see people backsliding in the Bible and we hold strongly to the perseverance of the saints.