her hubby got booted from church
Karen Hammons, the founder of The Offenders Wife blog and ministry, shared a heart-breaking story about her husband.
Yes, he was arrested.
Yes, the charge branded him a “sex offender.”
And yes, the church leaders told her she was welcome to attend worship services but
he was not.
You read that right. The church leaders said Danny was barred from church. His home church.
You can listen to her story, which aired on my radio show this week. This is the link: http://blogtalkradio.com/cwa-radio/2010/07/20/the-sisterhood-of-beautiful-warriors/
To make sure I heard her right, I asked her again.
“So they weren’t telling him to just stay away from kids’ ministry or youth ministry? The church leaders told him he could never step foot inside the church?”
Yep. Karen put a joy-filled spin on it. I was livid. The folks in my blogtalkradio show’s chatroom — where people may share comments while the show’s on — went wild.
“Where’s the grace?” one asked.
“If church’s barred all who’ve sinned, there wouldn’t be anyone in the pews or in the pulpit,” typed another.
Ya think?
I don’t know which church did this and I don’t want to. Karen was quick to say the church leaders did what they and their lawyer thought best.
She’s far more godly than I am. I’ll say that.
No one is condoning the actions of a man who has admitted to chatting with an underaged girl over the Internet. No. Not ever.
But the church leaders?! Were they right to bar this man from worship service with his wife and little boys? I say no. By the way, after a year, the Hammons found another church that welcomes them, warts and all. They now worship together.
Question: What do you say? Leave a comment.
You Are Beautiful!
Tags: church leaders, grace, Karen Hammons, sex offender
July 22nd, 2010 at 1:52 pm
HI.
I say this man deserves forgiveness… however… rather or not he should have been allowed to worship in the church….that’s a hard call.. as all of you probably know; a sex offender is not allowed near children….how could he worhip in church where I’m SURE there are children present? I’m curious about something else though..obviously, he and his wife are still together, because “the boys” were mentioned… Did the charges stick? I mean, if he were found guilty, I’m sure children’s services would have stepped in. The story, or the one I read anyway, was a bit vague… Usually, one has to be guilty of illiciting sex of some kind to be found guilty…. Was this man given a fair trial? Sometimes, something innocent can look or be MADE TO LOOK bad… And that is a terrible fact.
God bless this man and his courageous wife!
July 22nd, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Connie,
Thanks for your comment. The case is still on-going. He was arrested but has not faced trial so there is no conviction.
You may want to listen to the podtalk where the wife, Karen, goes into a fair amount of detail. While the one church insisted that he not attend, the second one — where they now worship — welcomes the family.
I understand your remark that he would be near minors in a church setting, as he would in a store, restaurant, park and almost any place open to the public. I do not know how laws handle these situations.
What I do know — God loves each of abundantly whatever our sins. Even those accused of sex offenses. Or else why did Jesus die on the Cross?
Again, thanks, Connie. You have a huge heart.
July 22nd, 2010 at 2:50 pm
I ran into a similar situation a few years back, except the person in question had been convicted. He was honest and up-front about it. genuinely repentant, and willing to be submitted to the leadership of the church.
I had a long talk with Christian Legal Association, who advised me to assign the gentleman an escort - anywhere he went, someone went with him. The escorts could (and should) be rotated often. Initiating contact with children was prohibited, and if a child ran up and talked to him, he was allowed to respond, and then as quickly as possible, remove himself from their presence.
This was done partly as a measure of protection for children, but also to protect him from any accusation being made - if there was always a witness, there could never be doubt.
Only a handful of people in the church were aware of the conviction and it was not a big deal for anyone. This person was a valued church member, active in several ministries (that did not involve children), and well-loved by all… but especially by Jesus.
July 22nd, 2010 at 6:06 pm
That sounds like an excellent way to handle it. The church is protected, the man, and the kids.
Thanks for sharing.