Why Predators Must Be Kept From Pulpits

Yesterday, I was told that John Price no longer works for ... Baptist Church. I was told that his removal has nothing to do with me, or with what I said, but that he needs to take some time to “clear things up.” Let me just say that I appreciate Pastor ... for doing the right thing in this case, whatever the reason behind that decision.

For those who have been following this blog, you might wonder why it would be important that John Price be kept from ever getting another ministry. Let me say first that this is not simply a matter of opinion, as some have tried to make it out to be. This is a matter of Bible standards for preachers of the gospel.

If you want an easy way to dismiss what has been catalogued on this blog, I suppose you can simply call it “allegations.” I suppose, if it will help your conscience, you can refer to the number of years that have passed since these crimes were committed. I suppose, if you must, you can dismiss it as “one guy, who lives hundreds of miles away, who has an axe to grind with someone from 17 years ago.” And, in a way, you’d be right.

But then again, you really don’t need all of that if you want to dismiss it. If you want to dismiss it, you will. The facts don’t matter. You simply want to ignore it, pretend that it isn’t important, and take Price’s side in this matter.

But if you have read the article, and read the many comments that followed it, and if you new how much more there is that has not been said, you might think differently. The Bible says, in the mouth of two or three witnesses, let every word be established. That requirement has been met and exceeded here, and here, and here. So, these are not simply allegations.

There are many reasons why Predators must be kept out of the pulpit. Most of those reasons are obvious to the average person, whether Christian or non-Christian. Unfortunately, we have a faction of those in the believing world who like to keep the blinders on when it comes to their Pastoral leadership. Like it or not, a large number of those in the Hyles camp believe that a man who used his position as pastor to access teenaged girls, a man who used his pastoral influence to lure them into bed, should be allowed back in the ministry. “After all, it was over ten years ago. Whatever happened to forgiveness.”

How many times did the “forgiveness” argument work for Dave Hyles? How many churches in the Hyles circle took him in and enabled him once again? Yet, we still won’t learn our lesson, will we? How sad. And that is the reason I have put this on the Internet. If John Price is not at this time looking for another church to pastor or at least where he can work with the teenaged girls, he soon will be. His friends will help him get another job. We can be sure of that.

Predators must never be allowed back in the pulpit in any capacity. They are disqualified Scripturally. They have violated a trust. They are incurable. Repentance – genuine repentance, as opposed to the kind that demands that everybody forgive me right now – would involve a confession that what he did has limited his future. In other words, if he really repented, then he would never seek another pulpit.

Once a man has used his position to take advantage of teenaged girls, he will do it again if he gets the position again. This is why men like him, so far from being qualified pastoral candidates, should spend the rest of their life in jail.

But that isn’t all. The reason that John Price is not in jail today is because he was able to use the intimidation factor to keep his victims silent. That is how it works. These girls fear to come forward. One had the courage to file a police report. Others didn’t. And what is our response? We blame the girls and clear the pastor. Don’t tell me that Price doesn’t know this. Don’t tell me that he would never use his power to do this again.

Pastors are shepherds. Another reason that a predator should never be allowed in the pulpit again is because predators are wolves. Wolves do not belong in the pulpit. Not ever. And the sheep must be warned.

It should not surprise us that John Price wants to be in the ministry. John Price wishing for a pulpit is like a wolf wishing for his own private flock. Sheep, be warned.

This post was edited by the author on March 21, 2012. Names were removed.