By: Dexter Laurence Jnr

Over the past two weeks, I have read the posts, comments and opinions of persons shared on Facebook regarding the recent events in the judicial system in Antigua regarding an alleged sexual offender who was also identified as a pastor.

Furthermore, I have seen the letter recently posted on Antigua News Room where a concerned believer expresses their heart with reference to the church “losing its way”, the lack of accountability that sometimes exists in the church and the overall hesitation to trust the institution given the accounts of misconduct that have emerged from it.

My aim in this post is not argue one side or the other, rather it is to provide a balanced response to these perspectives and events from a Pastor’s point of view.

Firstly, allow me to state that regardless of the station or occupation of an individual, any crime that has been truly committed is worthy of justice.

According to Romans 13, God has invested the rights of civil punishment to the state and the officers or members of the church are not above such accountability.

Statements about the grace of God, forgiveness of God and restoration of God are true and accurate as it relates to God’s nature, however, it does not by-pass the need for due process with reference to the law.

I do not know if a criminal offense took place, but if it did, regardless of who the individual is, there is need for the law to take its due course.

Secondly, with regards to the church, the truth of the matter is that as long as our Lord tarries, there will be issues of sin and misconduct in the body of Christ. It was so in the times of the Bible (c.f. The Corinthian church) and it is also so today.

According to Scripture, sin of any kind is to be dealt with according to proper church discipline which may include the removal of a leader from his position and/or the excommunication of an unrepentant believer.

The Bible does not condone the overlooking of sin in the church. Nonetheless, again, the Bible does clarify that the aim of such discipline is restoration which may or may not lead to occupying the same ecclesiastical office.

In some cases, it is most wise and honorable that persons would not take up ecclesiastical office again. In other cases, time, repentance, observation and testing will prove a man fit for office or not.

Thirdly, I want to suggest to us that for every story we hear of misconduct among leaders or members of the church, there are many others of leaders and members whose names you have never heard.

The reason for that is that they have been faithful, honest and full of integrity. It is common in a social media platform to highlight the atrocities of offenders, but uncommon to celebrate the faithfulness of the faithful.

For those who are feeling like they are losing hope in the church, I want to beseech you don’t lose hope in the church, find a church that you can have hope in! They exist.

Find leaders that are honest, biblical and Godly.

They exist.

And be mindful that you are not looking for a perfect church, you are looking for a healthy church. They exist. I might even venture to say that they are not hard to find!

Fourthly, if you or someone you know has been the victim of abuse of any kind in a church setting, my heart goes out to you and my prayer is that God would so work in your life that your heart is healed.

That often involves being apart of a good church, a good body of believers who will love you and reassure you that good ones exist.

In conclusion, all sin is bad, but not all churches are bad.

Some leaders have fallen short of the standard and ought to be held accountable, but many others have stood the test of time.

Regards,

A Young Shepherd.