Tullian Tchividjian Starts New Church After Affairs

Somehow, when considering how quickly some of my brothers and sisters in Christ queue up to follow disgraced and fraudulent “preachers”, this Dilbert cartoon comes to mind. I don’t know if it’s the cult of celebrity, a set of cultural cues that wolves like Tullian use to mislead people, a bit of both, or yet other factors, but it’s seriously depressing.

Bert,

I don’t deny that some people follow fallen pastors because of the cult of celebrity, but I do know some people who follow fallen pastors because they believe God can and does restore fallen pastors to the pastorate.

Their argument in a nutshell: If God restored Peter to his apostleship after he denied the Lord three times, God can also restore a man to the pastorate who has fallen into immorality, pride, greed, etc. Why is God’s grace able to restore Peter but can’t restore a fallen pastor?

My church had to deal with this issue after our previous pastor resigned because of adultery. There were several people in our church upset that the elders didn’t restore him to the pastorate or allow him to begin teaching again after a year or two after his confession. The former pastor was also frustrated by the elder’s position. He ended up leaving the church after two years and went to a church that would allow him to at least teach in the men’s ministry. Last I heard, he’s contemplating launching a church plant through the SBC.

So, Bert, how would you respond to these folks? Folks who aren’t following the celebrity cult, but who believe God’s grace will cover a fallen pastor and restore him to pastoral ministry?

God’s grace will cover a fallen pastor and will restore him in Christ. That does not mean that there are no consequences or that there aren’t restrictions. Despite David’s confession to God he still had to live with the consequences and in at least one case the consequence was with him his entire life. Remember a pastor is a high calling and whether we agree or not, there are clear qualifications, one in which adultery eliminates a qualification.

I don’t understand where Peter was restored to his apostleship. I wasn’t aware that Scripture taught that he lost his apostleship.

[dgszweda] I don’t understand where Peter was restored to his apostleship. I wasn’t aware that Scripture taught that he lost his apostleship.

Exactly. So, if denying Christ didn’t cause Peter to lose his apostleship, why should adultery cause a pastor to lose his pastorate?

Tom, the people who were his accountability partners uniformly say he was deceiving them, not repentant. He then disassociated from them, and after a few months, started teaching again, divorced his wife, and remarried after about a year. So apart from the question of whether an adulterous pastor can be readmitted, I’d argue he’s got some issues that ought to prevent his re-entry into vocational ministry for a good long time.

And even in the case of someone who is truly repentant—tries to reconcile with his wife, works with people to process what things went wrong, etc..—I’d argue it ought to take a while. The man who cheats on his wife proves that he is not a “one woman man” at that time, and shouldn’t the church say “why don’t you find something else to do while you restore your relationship with your wife”?

Tom, the fundamental question is not whether restoration is possible in the long run; it’s whether he meets the primary qualification of a pastor, which is to be above reproach. Do you honestly think he’s above reproach? If not, then the matter is not debatable: his being a pastor is a direct violation of God’s Word.

“Husband of one wife”

“Above reproach”

“Manages his household well”

“Well thought of by outsiders”

For a pastor in an adulterous relationship, all of these four qualifications are called into question. When would they be able to come back to the pastorate? Maybe a better question is: what is the reason they want to return, knowing the scandal that will follow them into the pastorate? At the core, I suspect many who search out such things don’t do so ultimately out of a “calling” but because their identity is wrapped up in ministry to such a degree that they can’t see themselves not serving.

In most situations, the most loving thing for men who compromise the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 is for them to stay away from the pastorate for a long, long time, if not the rest of their lives.

[T Howard]

dgszweda wrote:I don’t understand where Peter was restored to his apostleship. I wasn’t aware that Scripture taught that he lost his apostleship.

Exactly. So, if denying Christ didn’t cause Peter to lose his apostleship, why should adultery cause a pastor to lose his pastorate?

Because the requirements for an Apostle are not the same as for a Pastor. An Apostle was chosen by Christ. A pastor must meet certain qualifications and maintain those qualifications in order to be a pastor. Once you commit adultery you have broken one of those qualifications, and you maintain that broken state. Does not mean you can’t be restored in Christ, with your wife, your family, your friends…. Moses did something as simple as striking a rock, yet he broke the will of the Lord and despite all of the good things he had done before and despite his faithfulness afterwards, he was denied the thing he most wanted. The righteousness of God, the pre-eminance of Christ and the importance of a shepherd are seriously important things, and not up to the whims of cultural movements.

Besides to be honest here. He has had a divorce, been remarried, failed to disclose his infidelity to the first church and failed to disclose additional infidelity to the second church. Has been let go by two separate churches over this incident, with both sets of elders saying that he should not hold a place in ministry, and then was stripped of his credentials by the South Florida Presbytery, and the original accuser does not feel that he ever repented. On a practical side, I would question whether he is even ordained. But above all that, I don’t see 1) where he has resolved the issues, and 2) has not grossly abused the qualifications of a pastor.

[Daniel.Viezbicke]

“Husband of one wife”

“Above reproach”

“Manages his household well”

“Well thought of by outsiders”

For a pastor in an adulterous relationship, all of these four qualifications are called into question. When would they be able to come back to the pastorate? Maybe a better question is: what is the reason they want to return, knowing the scandal that will follow them into the pastorate? At the core, I suspect many who search out such things don’t do so ultimately out of a “calling” but because their identity is wrapped up in ministry to such a degree that they can’t see themselves not serving.

In most situations, the most loving thing for men who compromise the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 is for them to stay away from the pastorate for a long, long time, if not the rest of their lives.

I will never be in a church with a former-adulterer as a pastor

Permanent disrepute—the reality of differing categories of sin

Prov. 6:30 “Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.”

Here is where we’re clued in on the unhealable nature of adultery (see bolded)

Specific application: Because of the unhealable quality of adultery I am of the opinion that active physical adultery by an ordained elder in a pastoral position completely disqualifies that elder from any future pastoral ministry

It is very difficult for me to see where the qualifications stating that a “bishop…must be blameless…” are met when he has been involved in an affair that Scripture affirms is a “reproach [that] shall not be wiped away….”

A repentant person judges their sin and consequences harsher than they are judged. I am not shocked by TT getting back into the pastorate. Actually, I had just assumed he already was.

When your motivation is the “youthful lust” of celebrity status at some level there is no fulfillment without it. TT never exhibited the characteristics in his public persona of “flee[ing]….youthful lusts”; he certainly doesn’t now.

And I pray diligently that such an observation is discerning and not judging.

Regarding the allegation that Kim Tchividjian cheated first, I’m not persuaded. Too much nonsense flying around in this case for me to take things at face value, sad to say—and of course I hope that I’m soon persuaded that this is no longer the case.

That noted, if I were, my position would be that TT needs to address the question of why she chose to do that. Did he contribute—excessive work, travel, whatever—to an atmosphere of neglect that led to such a tragedy? I can only speculate here, but if the claim is true, he needs to address this.

Regarding GRACE, that’s run by Tullian’s brother Boz. Obviously he’s in something of a difficult spot right now regarding this.

Dave wrote:

I will never be in a church with a former-adulterer as a pastor

What about a pastor who committed adultery before he was a believer?

TT brings a soap opera with him wherever he preaches. People don’t need a perfect leader (obviously), but they need a godly one. And godliness is a virtue established over time.

I personally do not think this man should ever be in ministry again. But the fact that he is in ministry so quickly shows that neither he nor those who follow him are too concerned about having a leader who is “above reproach.” Even Jim Bakker waited longer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_Bible

It’s about Paige Patterson, Jerry VInes, and Darrell Gilyard, not Tullian Tchividjian, but this Houston Chronicle report details a bit about the fallout when Darrell Gilyard was allowed back into ministry after repeated adulteries without adequate repentance and/or supervision. Sad to say, after being forced out at at least five churches, and after doing a term in prison for indecent conduct with at least two minors, he was back in the pulpit after only two months. We are very slow to learn our lessons, sad to say.