Disaster Response
Thank you for the photographs of the devastating loss of our home [“Gearing Up for Disaster Response,” Dec. 2003]. The church community has responded positively to your article and many prayers have been said for us. College friends of Jay, at La Sierra University, are enjoying the article as well as recognizing one of their friends on the cover of a magazine! We are doing fine, and are in the process of rebuilding our home.
Robert, Debbie and Jay Wilson
Descanso, Calif.
Quincy Pruners
Don Dick’s article, “Quincy Church Hosts Tree Pruners Runion” [Dec. 2003], brought back a flood of memories for me. I spent my summers in Quincy from 1954 thru l960 and attended the [Adventist] church there.
What Don didn’t share with you was the wonderful Christian witnesses that those young men were. They formed quartets and provided a Christian musical ministry that was second to none! Not only did they sing for our church, but shared their talent with many of the other churches in our small community.
Ruth Wardman Belmour
Dayton, Nev.
Sexual Ethics
I read with great interest your article regarding the sexual ethics conference that took place at La Sierra University Oct. 26 [“Sexual Ethics for Ministers Discussed,” Dec. 2003]. The comments regarding the seduction of pastors in the Church struck me as particularly offensive. How absurd! Statements like these bear the musty odor of the archival dustbin, as if they had been written in the last century. This attitude as it relates to the female laity is, at its most benign, an anachronism. In any other respect, it is simply offensive in its patronizing tone by casting male pastors as helpless victims and the female church member as the aggressive Delilah who “begs him to go astray.” Have we not learned anything from the recent trials of another denomination?
Renate Beltz
Mentone, Calif.
Pastoral Immorality, Another Perspective
In Dr. Carr’s article ["Pastoral Ministry and Immorality," Dec. 2003] he states, "Yes, God can continue to use ministers who have fallen into sin." Thankfully, he added, "… this does not necessarily mean our Church should employ such persons as congregational pastors."
The Minister’s Handbook reads, "Since it is unreasonable to ask members to trust pastors who have engaged in sexual misconduct … such ministers are expected to return their credentials to the conference/mission" (p. 56).
Rosa Banks states, "In many cases it is the pastor who is seduced by a female in the congregation. But here again … he is the one on the payroll, he is the one who is expected to lead erring members to Christ." Do we blame victims of pastoral sexual abuse? Are there that many women who seek to seduce their pastors? As co-founders of "The Hope of Survivors," a ministry to women who have been abused by pastors, we have found that less than 1 percent were the instigators. In the other 99 percent of the cases, it has been the pastor who first befriended, groomed, counseled and ultimately abused.
Why, with a "guesstimate" of two pastors each week being lost to sexual misconduct ["Lectureship to Address Sexual Ethics in Pastors' Lives," Sept. 2003], do we not take this issue more seriously? This form of abuse has devastated the women with whom we have worked. They have lost faith in God. Some have lost their family and friends. Most stop attending church. Many no longer pray. The losses are devastating.
Some states have laws that make it a criminal offense for a pastor to have an adulterous relationship with a congregant. It is adultery; it is not an affair. If the state recognizes this heinous crime, shouldn’t the Church recognize it even more so? A pastor is not "just a man." He is appointed by God to stand in Christ’s stead to His people (2 Corinthians 5:20). Is this sin appropriate for a representative of Christ? We should think not!
Steve and Samantha Nelson
