I don’t ask this question lightly. And I do it with a heavy heart. I also do it as a lifetime Southern Baptist. I ask it as a fallen pastor who committed adultery while serving as a pastor three years ago. I ask it knowing the ins and outs of the largest protestant denomination in the United States.
I also ask it as a man who has talked to many fallen Southern Baptist pastors in the past three years. Some of them fell, chose not to repent and kept living a sinful life. However, many of them got help, repented, walked a path of holiness and were restored to a relationship with Christ.
There are some issues to be looked at before anything else is said. First, Southern Baptists pride themselves in their autonomy. The Southern Baptist Convention is a meeting that takes place once a year to make resolutions and talk about missions. The other 51 weeks a year, each church makes decisions on their own, based on the basic rules of faith set out in The Baptist Faith and Message. Not all Baptist churches agree with one another on all details. Some churches might elect divorce deacons to serve, other may not. Some might allow female music ministers, others
may find that idea horrendous. There is some diversity within the practice of the Baptist churches, but all pretty much agree on the basics of their faith. Some might even have stricter guidelines within their association regarding other issues, but most follow general Baptist principles.
I also want to point out that the stories and notes I’m about to share don’t come from statistics. They come from living as a Baptist, hearing stories across the nation and hearing about trends. My evidence is anecdotal. But I would guess that much of it is pretty spot on and that most people who know Southern Baptist life can identify with it.
Read more after the jump…..please….
The crux of the problem is one I have shared over and over again – 1,500 pastors a month leave the ministry due to burnout, conflict or moral failure. Many of these men are pastors who commit adultery. In my book, I outline warning signs that lead pastors to commit adultery. In the end, it is their sin, theirs to own. It seems that on a regular basis, we hear of these stories. I even quote one statistic that 33% of conservative pastors have had an inappropriate relationship with a member of the opposite sex and have kept it under wraps.
Unfortunately, it would appear that the most common response in the Southern Baptist church is to remove the pastor immediately from the pulpit and push him away. No counseling, no help, no kind of compassion or attempt to reach out to him. Yes, most of the time, when he is caught he is defensive or he is going on a course of his own. But it is my conviction that a large group of Christians have the duty to at least reach out in the spirit of Galatians 6:1 and pursue the pastor.
But for the most part, in my interviews with pastors, in my counseling with them, this does not happen. Do most of them want it at that moment? No. But should that stop us? No. When someone is caught in sin, rarely do they desire to hear about God. But that is when we must pursue them the most.
But that is not what I wanted to concentrate on today. When I fell three years ago and when I began to understand the great sin I had committed against God, I started to look for help within the SBC. The closest thing I found was a church in the South that ran a program of restoration. They had over 400 applicants a year, but were only to take on about 18.
Now, to be fair, I understand the main focus of the SBC. Missions, the Great Commission, discipleship. I respect that. We should be people who are missional. We should be reaching people for the Gospel. The funds we drive for every year for the cooperative program does so much good. In fact, it helped me get through seminary.
I was trained at the flagship seminary for the SBC. I was given an exceptional biblical and theological education. I am still proud of that fact. The professors that I had were the best in the world, in my opinion. Without the donations of Baptists worldwide, I would not have had that chance.
These days, I talk to a lot of pastors. Those who have fallen and those who are friends of mine who are still working as 
pastors. All of them are frustrated. My pastor friends who are still preaching are still beating their heads against the wall fighting the same problems pastors have faced for years – and I’m talking about guys who have megachurches.
The fallen pastors who have been restored want to return to ministry. They want to preach again. But can they return to a Southern Baptist church? Nope. Not because they’re being blocked by the SBC entity. There isn’t a resolution against that. But because the general consensus among Baptists is, “If you are a pastor who has ever committed adultery, you can’t ever pastor again.” Nevermind the fact that if you get caught embezzling, gambling, drinking, driving drunk, stealing, or committing a misdemeanor or felony, you’re often welcomed back by your congregation. But no, you break the seventh commandment, you are done, brother. Despite that the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (Romans 11:29 ESV)
There are rare exceptions. But adultery is akin to murder in the Southern Baptist church. That’s why a lot of restored pastors go and pastor in Presbyterian, Methodist, Pentecostal, Assembly of God, Anglican, Episcopalian, non-denominational, or other fellowships.
Fellow Baptists, I can read your mind. “Well, those denominations just have less standards than we do.” Really? Have you ever checked them out? I’d challenge you to. Some of them might. But it could just be the case that some of them might just be overwrought with forgiveness. Some of them might just examine a man after he goes through an ordeal like that, commits sexual sin, listens to his testimony and believes that God has done something with him.
I wonder if a lot of us, like I used to be, are just caught up in the cycle of, “Well, we can’t have that guy here. Think about what people might think. A sinner like that can’t be in a position of leadership.” You know we do that. I’m glad Jesus didn’t think that way about his disciples. I’m glad God didn’t think that way about the men He used. And please don’t tell me it’s different.
I understand the SBC can’t cure all the ills in all of our churches. But I want to think we can help those pastors who have fallen a little better. It’s going to take more than a program. It’s going to take more than a resolution. It’s going to take more than a day of prayer or a “Pastor Prayer” Sunday. We train our pastors so well in the seminary, but when they falter or fall, we don’t have a net for them to fall into. We don’t have a number for them to call or a mentoring system.
All we seem to do is train more soldiers to take their place while the fallen look back and see what damage they left behind. Surely there is more we can do. I’m not placing blame at the feet of the SBC. WE are the SBC. All of us. It’s not the leaders, the president or the board. All of us are part of the people called “Baptist.” And surely we can do more for our leaders.
Those who are able to stand and preach each Sunday and those who have fallen.