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It is well publicized worldwide the problems with priests and pedophilia, misusing their authority to take advantage of children. and the youth. We say nasty things about them. BUT what do you do when it is in YOUR church.Headlines in our local paper, LOCAL PASTOR ARRESTED SUNDAY, IN JAIL UNDER A MILLION DOLLAR BOND.I was reading over my wife's shoulder and read faster than she and read Chruch of God. Until it is family, you hurt a little, but if it is family you know brothers and sisters, THAT YOU KNOW, are going to be hurting.It was the assistant pastor, but to the news the word Pastor sounds devastating and is.Now as the pastor, YOU have done a lot for this young man. You have bent over backwards in many ways. Apparently he is doing great, you are proud of him. start using him more, then are slapped in the face with this.I KNOW YOU (THE PASTOR) ARE DEVASTATED, but you know something needs to be done to HOLD your church together. WHAT DO YOU DO?I mean this with all my heart. I have prayed for the young man, but to be honest I have prayed more for my brother who presently has the weight of the world on his shoulders.Then today's headlines, MORE ACCUSERS STEP FORWARD. Something like this can stay local, but it can also go national. Local is bad enough....... Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/

I mentioned suicide in another post. This young man is a candidate for just that. If he has any knowledge of prison at all (even jail) he is aware that the child molester is beaten often at best, but many times marked for death by inmates. Yes, he brought it on himself. If he was ever a Christian (I say that in all seriousness) he knows his sin and has repented. BUT that doesn't negate the Word where it is explained we reap what we sow. God help him and the church that will suffer for years to come. Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/

Re: Here's a question...

I do not know the answers to those questions. But for right now I will give the pastor the benefit of a doubt. What ever it is the church will be the ones that suffer for many years. It will take 15-20 years for folks to stop thinking That is the church where the pastor molested the kids as they drive by it.My dad a took church that the pastor left his wife for another woman 14 years before and I did not hear about it from any of the locals. But an older member did mention it five or six years after dad was there..BUT, BUT Child molestation will be remembered much longer. And the ones involved will remember it all their life. Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/

I talked to someone who went to an evangelical church where someone working with the youth was about to be tried for molestation. He stopped going there, but he said the church addressed it once, but did not reach out to the victims and their families. They just wanted everyone to forget about it and move on. They didn't really deal with the issue and the problem as a church, he thought. Maybe they were listening to lawyers who did not want them to say anything that could be used in a lawsuit. I saw a video about a now well-known case in Australia. Many of us saw that video. One of the pastors who got involved with the families said that the (Pentecostal) church did not counsel the victims. His opinion was that they were concerned with damage control for the organization and taking care of the alleged perpetrator who had been an important denominational official and was related to an influential member of the denomination.I would say ministrering to the victims and their families should be a high priority. As a preemptive measure, having some 'policies' in place about who takes the kids to the bathroom (how many, etc.) would be a good idea. On the other hand, I was talking to an old friend who is single and mildly autistic. You wouldn't know it to talk to him. His social skills have improved over time. He comes off as a little nerdy. He got run off from international campus ministries for allegedly talking to much to the ladies. One wanted him to stay away from the kids because they thought he was playing too much with the kids. I've heard commentary that men in our society are all somewhat suspect of being child molestors by virtue of being men. Men who study early childhood education can have difficulty finding jobs. We also have a problem of a large number of kids being raised by single mothers, and children, boys in particular, need male role models. So we have to be careful not to treat godly men with a heart to serve children as child molesters, too.Once the perpetrator is out of the wa

You bring up a very good point Link. There is always that problem..... BUT it can be handled. We cannot stand back in fear....I have a habit of giving kids 'gold dollars'. For the past few years I now 'Always' as the parent if it is okay to show the kid a trick. It is a simple trick called 'The French Drop', The kid sees the coin disappear, and the magically appears in his shoe pocket or ear. Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/

.. Hate to say it, but its trueNew Orleans Bred, Mississippi Led, Hopefully Arizona will be home before I'm dead.

If I am that guy, I resign. I don't think I could be effective in a place where people are accusing me of doing nothing about accusations that came forth before the arrest Hate to say it, but its trueNew Orleans Bred, Mississippi Led, Hopefully Arizona will be home before I'm dead.

How do we know the accusation is true? If it is, that's one thing and should be addressed privately and from the pulpit.But it's also a false accusation that is made from time to time. And sometimes it is completely false, a kid trying to get back at somebody. Some folks say kids don't lie, but they do More of Him...less of me.twitter.com/camiracle77www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=691241499&ref=name

I'm going to guess that 4, and possibly 5, girls aren't all lying. But, the question is what can the pastor do. Considering he is accused of doing nothing about accusations and then the guy gets arrested and 3 more accusers come forward. Not saying it happened, just saying that I can't imagine he feels like the people have much confidence in him now Hate to say it, but its trueNew Orleans Bred, Mississippi Led, Hopefully Arizona will be home before I'm dead.