Why repentant pastors should be forgiven but not restored to the pulpit

http://pulpitandpen.org/2018/01/08/greg-locke-puts-away-wife-finds-new-girlfriend/

Bro. Cauthorne,

I’ve never heard of the man in the linked article you posted (above), but I’d take anything a so-called “discernment ministry” puts out with a very, very, very large grain of salt. They are not credible sources of information. Rather, they’re often incubators for hatred, slander, and self-righteousness. P&P is a particularly depressing entity; their Twitter feed is enough to make you want to abandon social media. To subscribe to their blog or follow their Twitter feed is to wallow in a sewer.

CD’s reference, whatever the facts might be, is a good illustration of the difficulties of knowing how to approach these things, and as Tyler notes, there are those who will (discernment ministries especially) hasten to make a mountain out of a molehill. Sometimes it is quite frankly difficult to figure out whether an incident is just an incident, or whether it’s reflective of their general character and a disqualification.

Regarding that reference, though, a big warning is the use of anonymous sources. If we won’t tolerate this from the New York Times or Washington Post, why should we tolerate it from a shepherd of the flock of God? Contrast Pen & Pulpit’s tack with that of The Biblical Evangelist revealing the Hyles-Nischik affair. Sumner uses multiple named sources, and it’s sad it didn’t get out sooner.

I think Jonathan Leeman nailed it.