A pastor I know well had hidden marital infidelity for years, but it recently came to light. The truth about this is continuing to emerge, but enough of it's already out there to make me grit my teeth when I think about it.
The reason for my strong response is I know what a pastor's sexual misconduct does to a church. My last two pastorates were at churches that had lost pastors to marital unfaithfulness. At my last church, there were members even after 15 years who still had a hard time trusting me because of what another pastor had done.
Wounds heal, but scars often last a lifetime. God forgives, but a church never forgets when its shepherd strays. What it does to the body of Christ and to communities who watch from the outside is incalculable. Read more
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