In The Midst Of The Outrage & Outrageous

I wish one day, that this would never happen again. But, we are all human. Including our pastors. And sadly another one has fallen... and hard. The hard part is outrageous, but fallen is fallen. And while this is a journey that I wouldn't wish upon any congregation, the difficulty of this particular matter, (which I am only aware of thanks to social media posts from a friend), is that this pastor's moral failure has resulted in legal consequences and worse, destroyed lives and families.

Like I said... in a word; outrageous.

As we near completing the three year mark on this project of prayer, there have been moments of overlap and repetition. I know, I've stated before, my attempts to take great care to keep such instances to a minimum, but I wanted to reiterate my intention. Because while this post could very well be saved for next week, on a day that we pray specifically for pastors, I felt the immediacy of writing this today, as the church leadership and staff are dealing with the finality of this failure and the process that it has entailed.

How do they heal as a church?
How do they heal as a community of believers attempting to impact their community?
How do they recover their standing, as the spotlight has been placed on this horrible situation?
How do they and especially, those directly affected, keep the faith after this ordeal?

I know, some of you are reading this wondering what the specifics are and all of that. And once again, I'm approaching this as it's not my story to tell in detail, especially given I don't have that many. But furthermore, I've tried to be very intentional on this site with regards to practicing discernment. I hope you can appreciate the balancing act I've attempted to walk in breaking down concepts while leaving a certain sense of vagueness in play. Sorry, but that's how things work sometimes.

But I know this. Hearts are broken and minds are befuddled. Emotions are rampant, faith is discouraged and no doubt, trust has been nothing short of shattered not into pieces, but shards. You understand the difference into how they are handled.

In another word... delicately.

Not just anyone can handle them. Not just any method will work in handling them.

So, once again, join me in prayer, on this #deaconThursday. Pray for the leadership of this church as they deal with this incredibly complex and overwhelmingly difficult set of circumstances. May God give them wisdom in the decisions they face in the days to come. Pray for a spirit of grace and compassion as they guide this church through the various stages of processing such a horrendous event. Pray for healing over this congregation. Pray for a move of the Holy Spirit over this church and community; that in the midst of pain and agony, even in the most unthinkable of circumstances, that the testimonies that will result from this test and the ministries that will come forth from this mess, will accomplish more with greater effectiveness for the kingdom of God than if nothing had happened at all. Even if we all agree, we'd rather not have this situation happen at all.

But for the grace of God
Where would any of us be.
Forgiven and redeemed.
And needing it more than once.
God help us all.

- PNC