Lets think about this a moment. Our leadership is given no crystal ball nor do they possess a secret insight into the secrets of men. In this case a district of lay and clergy elected the man now charged. He worked with more than 40 others among his peers, the presidium of Synod, and other officers. He worked with boards, commissions, and service organizations allied with the Synod. What some claim to have seen in hindsight was not apparent going forward. If for no other reason than liability, had there been something to see I am confident all the lawyers would have warned us going forward. I suspect he went through a number of background checks without anything being flagged. My point is not to come to the aid of this accused man nor to insist that our leaders did everything right. It is simply a request that those who rush to complain and lay this at the doorstep of those leaders are venting their emotions more than dealing with rational facts. As understandable as this is, it is not helpful and the public display of this kind of complaint feeds the mouth of the devil and all the other naysayers against the Church. No one is helping by using social media as a bully pulpit to display their outrage or to vent their complaints. Whether you like and support our leaders or not, no one was giving cover to this kind of behavior or sin.
I know a bit about bylaws, perhaps more than most but certainly less than some. Bylaws are simply the rules we have chosen to live by. No bylaw can solve a theological problem nor can any bylaw do ecclesiastical supervision. The bylaws we have are not perfect but they are the rules we have chosen -- for good or for ill. I have every confidence that they can and should and will be changed or adapted because of what has happened. We learn more from mistakes than we do successes. All of that said, one complaint that is particularly vexing to me is the suggestion that the processes we have work too slow and therefore protect the guilty. Yes, they do work slowly in comparison to those who want to snap their fingers and have something go away. But if you are the accused in any matter, you will appreciate that we have both rules and a rather deliberate procedure that takes a little time to unfold. The rush to judgment, like the rush to complain, is not fitting to the work of the Kingdom. We do not have courts, prosecutors, investigators, and judges. Maybe we should have but we don't and it is foolish to act like we do when clearly we have a different structure in our bylaws. We have other pastors doing ecclesiastical supervision (along with all the other things they do) trying to be fair as well as to be just. As long as they work with integrity, a little slowness should not be an issue. Remember that when you change the rules to make them work better for you, they will also be used by someone else who may not agree with you. Rules or bylaws need to be a little out of step with public opinion and the quest for instantaneous judgment. Matthew 18 has a few steps that mean to be played out over time and not in the blink of an eye.
Finally, remember that the rules in the Church are designed not simply to dump someone who has become a liability but also to bring them to repentance. I chafe under that like everyone else who wishes that the wheels of justice worked in the church and worked more quickly. But that is not how things work. Every one of us is a sinner and no one can sit in judgment like the righteous man except the One who is righteous, Jesus Christ. Our call to warn the wicked is not designed to preserve the Church from sinful men but to call every one of them (and us) to daily repentance. When that call is unheeded, we are not given the option of casting the sinner aside and forgetting about them. No, instead we are called to preach the Word of God in an effort to bring them to repentance, restore their faith, and secure from them the faithful confession of Christ their Savior. Nobody has a right to an office in the Church and repentance and restoration does not mean that the sinner returns to their same calling. We all know that. Sometimes, however, we seem a great deal like Noah who was motivated to run more by the prospect of the people repenting and then having to deal with them than he was the people hardening their hearts unto eternal condemnation. As a pastor, I have had the uncomfortable situation of a public sinner who repents and asks forgiveness and restoration when all of us would rather he would go away so that we were not bothered by him anymore. None of us have that luxury. Our goal is not to clean up a mess so that nobody sees it anymore but to confront the sinner with God's judgment and His mercy. This is its own kind of messiness that the world will never understand or appreciate.
So what should we do? Lets rally around in prayer for all in this situation -- from the victims to the prosecutor to the judge in the court to the perpetrator of such a crime. Most of all, let us pray for the Church and for the wisdom and discernment to keep things like this from happening as much as can be done and for those whose faith is shaken by the offense and for the Word of the Lord to bear fruit in the lives of all involved, bringing repentance where there is none and forgiveness where there is repentance. In any case, the cause is hot helped by trying to act as judge and jury in social media anymore than it is helped by the false presumption that you would have acted more wisely in this than all the others in our church body have done. Everyone of us thinks we are right in our speaking or we would not speak but not every one of us is correct in that thought. And that is all I am going to say.
5 comments:
PM: "I know a bit about bylaws, perhaps more than most but certain less than some.... the rules in the Church are designed not simply to dump someone who has become a liability but also to bring them to repentance."
Then, briefly what will be the procedures in the bylaws? Even if there is repentance, do the bylaw procedures ultimately lead to removal from synodical membership? If he resigns his membership before or during the bylaw procedures, do the bylaw procedures end?
His local congregation also has their own bylaws dealing with excommunication. Do those congregational bylaws have to wait until the synod bylaw procedures are ended?
Exposure of a man’s secret sins can invariably lead to personal ruin, lost reputations, accusations, sorely wounded families, and even prison. But the promises of God are faithful and sure: that confession and repentance from a contrite heart offer redemption to the sinner, even as the residues of sin, recriminations, and loss of reputation remain. The larger issue is the pervasive nature and addictive qualities of sexual temptation and sin which the digital revolution promotes and brought into the private lives of men through online pornography. A book written years ago was titled, “Everyman’s Battle.” It addressed sexual sin, and suggested ways to guard against temptations to which all men and women are prone. Since pornographic images are easily available on digital devices, smartphones, and computers, it has become a prominent and troubling issue inside and outside of the church. The former shields and guardrails of the past have been removed by mass technology and the sexual revolution in our country undermined virtue and objectified sexual indulgence. Prayers for restoration, not condemnation, are needed for those caught in the destructive web of internet pornography. The solution is to sharply limit internet use and digital devices to primarily practical, communicative, or educational uses. The addictive quality of the internet for scrolling suggestive imagery and entertainment, as well as online rash speech can lead to sin, or at least creates personal vulnerability. The warning to the child of God is to consciously, diligently and willfully determine to reduce screen time on their devices, lest these technical instruments become idols and road mines to our souls. Excessive use will waste time, create a distracted mind, reduce mental focus, and more importantly, lead one astray and away from the Lord. Soli Deo Gloria
Of course you know exactly what the procedure of the bylaws is and it is publicly available on the Synod's website. The point of this was not and is not to suggest that there are not consequences for public sin and that these may include the loss of office or roster status. But these are not the sole concern of the church. You know that. You also well know that the Synod's procedures are separate from and in no way constrain the congregation from its own actions. Those actions, by the way, are undoubtedly governed by their own procedures and none of them are sudden or immediate but after some sort of process. And that is the point. While we want things to be done quickly, processes appointed in the church at large and congregation have their own schedule and timetable tilted toward the more deliberate pace rather than in the moment and this is due to the dual concern for accountability and the call to repentance. But you know all this and are trying to be provocative.
My earlier questions were not simply to help my own understanding. Your answers would have given the many PM readers, especialy those you have referred to previously as living throughout the world, the opportunity to learn about the bylaw procedures from a member of the LCMS CCM, at least some specifics, rather than a handwaving "some sort of process."
Furthermore, the actions of the congregation can hardly be completely separate from the synod's bylaw procedures. If initially, the congregation were to revoke the pastor's call and excommunicate him that would certainly affect the outcome of the synod's bylaw procedures which may be starting or in progress. Conversely, if the synod's procedures concluded with termination of the person's LCMS membership, the congregation would then face discipline pressure if they did not subsequently revoke his call to that congregation.
A lay person only faces the possibility of excommunication by his local LCMS congregation, although, as we have recently seen, such an excommunication apparently can be ignored by another LCMS congregation if they believe the excommunication was done in a "kangaroo court" manner.
Thank you
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