Restored Fallen Pastors

[illinoisguy]

Here we go again, folks. Prominent pastor and Bible teacher Steve Lawson was fired for adultery 4 months ago, but already he is being promoted as fit to go back into the ministry.

Steve Lawson is Attending Nashville Church Where Pastor Believes the Famous Expositor Can Be Restored

Former well-known Bible expositor Steve Lawson is attending a Nashville church, led by a pastor who believes Lawson can be restored.

julieroys.com

"Lawson is attending a Nashville church, led by a pastor who was fired from his previous church for leadership issues and believes Lawson can be restored.

"Jim Bachmann, pastor of Stephens Valley Church (SVC), told The Roys Report (TRR) he has 'empathy' for Lawson and believes his ministry days aren’t over.

“'I think it’s possible that he could serve a local church in some capacity,' Bachmann said. 'There’s some people that would probably say a broken, repentant Steve Lawson could be more effective than he was before.' . . .

“'You get into those situations where there’s so much misunderstanding, and it’s a hard thing to go through it,' he said. 'So, I have some empathy for Steve, although he hasn’t gone through any discipline process.'”

[How do you like that, folks? Steve Lawson committed adultery, and he's a better man and minister for it, ready to jump right back into the pulpit, without having to go through any unpleasantness about church discipline. But we layfolk better not expect any such mercy and consideration, if we get on the pastor's enemies list for some minor infraction. From the same article, here's how Pastor Jim Bachmann treats his people. Sort of a double standard, isn't it]?

"Other staff said the work culture under Bachmann was 'unpredictable' and 'fear-based,' the assessment stated. 'It is known if you get on Jim’s bad side, you’re put on the ‘black list,’”

 

[AverageJoe]

Absolutely. I am the title of this thread. I was a pastor. I fell. God restored me, after years of pew sitting, to ministry, but no pastoral ministry. A truly repentant man takes his lumps, is willing to live with whatever loss comes, and sits quietly until God's people, fully aware of his sin and current state, ask him to serve in any capacity whatsoever.

I wish that my ex-BIL would have done this...but, several years after my sister divorced him because of mental and spiritual abuse, he decided he no longer believed in the Bible and its qualifications for elders. He now is pastor of an SBC church in Southern Georgia. His ego wouldn't let him stay the course.

 

[AverageJoe]

Here we go again, folks. Prominent pastor and Bible teacher Steve Lawson was fired for adultery 4 months ago, but already he is being promoted as fit to go back into the ministry.

Steve Lawson is Attending Nashville Church Where Pastor Believes the Famous Expositor Can Be Restored

Former well-known Bible expositor Steve Lawson is attending a Nashville church, led by a pastor who believes Lawson can be restored.

julieroys.com

"Lawson is attending a Nashville church, led by a pastor who was fired from his previous church for leadership issues and believes Lawson can be restored.

"Jim Bachmann, pastor of Stephens Valley Church (SVC), told The Roys Report (TRR) he has 'empathy' for Lawson and believes his ministry days aren’t over.

“'I think it’s possible that he could serve a local church in some capacity,' Bachmann said. 'There’s some people that would probably say a broken, repentant Steve Lawson could be more effective than he was before.' . . .

“'You get into those situations where there’s so much misunderstanding, and it’s a hard thing to go through it,' he said. 'So, I have some empathy for Steve, although he hasn’t gone through any discipline process.'”

[How do you like that, folks? Steve Lawson committed adultery, and he's a better man and minister for it, ready to jump right back into the pulpit, without having to go through any unpleasantness about church discipline. But we layfolk better not expect any such mercy and consideration, if we get on the pastor's enemies list for some minor infraction. From the same article, here's how Pastor Jim Bachmann treats his people. Sort of a double standard, isn't it]?

"Other staff said the work culture under Bachmann was 'unpredictable' and 'fear-based,' the assessment stated. 'It is known if you get on Jim’s bad side, you’re put on the ‘black list,’”

The hypocrisy among the clergy these days is astounding! They claim to believe the Bible, but once something truly affects them, like their falling into immorality, they want to overrule the Bible and do what they feel right...having empathy for the poor fallen pastor. These pastors who assist others like this in taking leadership positions again probably have some of these things in their own past...And they wonder why so many people no longer have any respect for ministers or the ministry.

 

[Ransom]

And now, we juxtapose...

Lawson is attending a Nashville church, led by a pastor who was fired from his previous church for leadership issues and believes Lawson can be restored.​

vs.

Lawson is not an SVC member, so SVC can’t discipline him, Bachmann said.​

Welp.

Explain to me: if he can't be disciplined, how in blazes is he capable of being "restored"? Restored to what? A state of fellowship that, on a technicality, he never fell from?

 

[Ransom]

They claim to believe the Bible, but once something truly affects them, like their falling into immorality, they want to overrule the Bible and do what they feel right...having empathy for the poor fallen pastor. T

"Empathy" is often a sinful distortion of compassion. Joe Rigney has written,

Compassion only suffers with another person; empathy suffers in them. It’s a total immersion into the pain, sorrow, and suffering of the afflicted.... [E]mpathy ... shifts the focus from the sufferer’s good to the sufferer’s feelings, making them the measure of whether a person is truly "loved." ("The Enticing Sin of Empathy")​

Reminds me a lot of what Francis Schaeffer wrote back in the 60s, basically saying that in the new morality, empathy has trumped the specific moral laws that Jesus and his disciples taught:

It is now Jesus-like to sleep with a girl or a man, if she or he needs you. As long as you are trying to be human, you are being Jesus-like to sleep with the other person—at the cost, be it noted, of breaking the specific morality which Jesus taught. But to these people this does not matter, because that is downstairs in the area of rational scriptural content.​

​

We have come then to this fearsome place where the word Jesus has become the enemy of the Person Jesus, and the enemy of what Jesus taught. We must fear this contentless banner of the word Jesus not because we do not love Jesus, but because we do love Him. (Escape from Reason)​

 

[Bruh]

It's because there was no assault. They got the hots and felt each other up.

HUNT: (on his balcony adjacent to 'Survivor's') Man it's hot! (after reportedly complementing 'Survivor' on her appearance and perfumery)​

​

SILLY WOMA—er, um, I mean—'SURVIVOR': My husband's not home. Why don't you come over and sit here with me in the shade of my balcony?​

​

(Later, when being interviewed)​

​

(Innocently) Why, Ah thought tha fam'ly were in the uhthuh condo the whole time and knew he was heah.​

​

Puh-leeze!

Or her husband is a coward??

 

[Bruh]

Did you read the report?

Did you know the report would not be admissible evidence in a court of law, because it is hearsay evidence?

That means, despite the report's valiant effort of trying to dismiss scrutiny of allegations as 'mistreatment of survivors,' 'survivors' itself being a prejudicial label, Silly Woma...er, I mean...'Survivor' would have to testify under oath, and could be cross-examined.

I’d have to agree with the question.

Why was the police not contacted???

 

[illinoisguy]

More on the Steve Lawson case. As noted in post #181 above, the pastor of the church where he is attending feels that it might be appropriate for him to be "restored" to the ministry. However, Lawson himself appears to have renounced any such plan:

"Lawson is fully aware that he is permanently disqualified from ministry and is not under any illusion that he could ever be restored to a teaching position or ministry capacity that requires the qualifications of an elder. He returned cash advances for book contracts he will no longer publish. He is considering avenues for secular employment. . . .

"To be clear, the reason Lawson is not under church discipline by TBC or the church he is attending, is not just because he isn’t a member (as implied by the pastor who spoke to the press), but because he is not in a state of unrepentance (as per Matthew 18:15-18). Rather, the repentance of this type of sin takes time to be fully convincing to observers. . . .

"Frankly, Lawson is still radioactive, and any institution– church, ministry, seminary, etc.– that touches him risks their reputation being contaminated further."

Steve Lawson Interview

I wanted to avoid this type of post, but regrettably, it has become necessary. Steve Lawson and I became friends during the process in which he was used by the Lord to convince me to be the pastor …

thecripplegate.com

 

[AverageJoe]

"Empathy" is often a sinful distortion of compassion. Joe Rigney has written,

Compassion only suffers with another person; empathy suffers in them. It’s a total immersion into the pain, sorrow, and suffering of the afflicted.... [E]mpathy ... shifts the focus from the sufferer’s good to the sufferer’s feelings, making them the measure of whether a person is truly "loved." ("The Enticing Sin of Empathy")​

Reminds me a lot of what Francis Schaeffer wrote back in the 60s, basically saying that in the new morality, empathy has trumped the specific moral laws that Jesus and his disciples taught:

It is now Jesus-like to sleep with a girl or a man, if she or he needs you. As long as you are trying to be human, you are being Jesus-like to sleep with the other person—at the cost, be it noted, of breaking the specific morality which Jesus taught. But to these people this does not matter, because that is downstairs in the area of rational scriptural content.​

​

We have come then to this fearsome place where the word Jesus has become the enemy of the Person Jesus, and the enemy of what Jesus taught. We must fear this contentless banner of the word Jesus not because we do not love Jesus, but because we do love Him. (Escape from Reason)​

I totally agree. I just hated to see my ex-bil throw his alleged principles away. He has many talents, is a good speaker, and I believe he loves the Lord. But, with all that being said, I truly believe he loves himself more than the teachings from the Word of God. He's constantly posting pictures of himself on social media doing things like ride alongs with the city and county police (he IS the chaplain for both, as well as for the fire fighters), and eating out with prominent people, be it preachers, lawyers, etc. Sadly he's ALWAYS had a problem with humility. He has no empathy. Everything comes across to our family and friends as "showmanship. It's sad.