Pastor Kathy, can I come over? I have something to tell you," Monica asked. I was glad she was coming soon; such phone calls create a sick feeling in my stomach. Was it serious? Anything I had done?
The phone rang again. My husband Roger inquired about my day.
"Monica's coming over to talk to me."
"What about?" he wondered.
"I don't know."
Soon the doorbell rang, and I let Monica in. We sat on the couch, ...
Someone new to our church recently asked me, "Is there any forum for the public confession of sin in our church?" It was a great question. We talked about a number of scenarios but agreed that the context of a small group is key. A small group provides fellowship afterward, in which we give a fellow child of God courage.
The following activity will help your group cultivate openness with one another; ...
In Where Is God When It Hurts? Philip Yancey wrote about a peculiar handicap of lepers who feel no pain in the afflicted parts of their body. They can burn a leprous hand in the fire or have a toe gnawed off by a rat and never feel a thing. A cut becomes abscessed or an injury critical because a leper has no sensation of pain. Much of the disfigurement of leprosy comes not ...
Confronted With the Shameful How you should respond—legally and responsibly—when a staff member is accused of child molestation. Mike Woodruff and Dennis Kasper
Rating:Not yet rated $2.99
News stories of child molestation in the church cross our desk with alarming regularity. Recently prominent churches in the Midwest and South have been tragically shaken by allegations of criminal sexual conduct. Because of pending litigation and privacy issues, churches are reluctant to share the details of their experiences.
But Leadership came across a story that has run the circuit of accusation, ...
This is a true story. Only the names and locations have been changed
The high-pitched roof of the sanctuary blocked the morning sun from the office windows, but by two in the afternoon, the light was streaming in and the office was growing warm. Russ pulled on the cord to adjust the blinds. He turned the slats upward to cut the glare on his computer screen.
The sanctuary of Temple Baptist Church near Detroit is an imposing and intimidating structure. Built in the late 1960s, it seats 4,000 people. The church has a rich tradition in the independent Baptist movement, at the forefront of the evangelism, Sunday school, and church growth movements of the twentieth century.
I had spoken there many times before on happier occasions. But on this Sunday as I sat ...
Companion to Article 3, "Restoring a Fallen Colleague": Businessman Jim DeVries was asked to chair the lay committee overseeing Truman Dollar in the aftermath of his resignation. Here are Jim's reflections on the process.
When the committee formed
How could a committee be expected to evaluate the genuineness of someone's repentance and relationship to the Lord? A skilled actor could fake it. Would we ...
Most of the time, churches can live with the knowledge that their pastors are sinners. But sometimes pastors cross a line, and they sin in a way that's unacceptable, and the church feels obligated either to dismiss them from or restore them to ministry.
But which sins require such strong action? And if you decide to restore, how do you go about it? And how do you know when the person is ready to take ...
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