It is a sad post today - misbehaving pastors. We could call it "Pastors Gone Wild."

Money:
Steve Flockhart misappropriated funds
Steve Flockhart resigns

Power:
Pastor boots members
Former associate pastor speaks out

Sex:
Pastor accused of molestation
Pastor sentenced in rapes

I guess this can happen in all groups, but this phenomenon seems paritcular to fundamentalist Christians. There are two tragedies: 1. the acutal events; 2. the system in Baptist life that allows these things to occur. It seems that churches are so caught up in the cult of personality that they will tolerate all kinds of moral failures for a "superstar." It is amazing reading the testimonies from some of the former churches that were duped. I guess there is a fine line between grace and ignorance.

Being in the midst of the pastoral search process, I am amazed how guys like this tend to succeed and prosper. Fake resumes, fake credentials, financial and moral impropriety, but if you're handsome and charismatic, churches will bend over backwards to give you a job. It is interested the comments of former church members. I think this points to the generally cloud of phoniness that permeats many conservative, evangelical churches.

Church should be an authentic place of healing. It is a place where the broken and bruised come to be healed; however, too often church seems to be a place where we pretend to be pious.