Steve Gaines And His Pedophile Minister

NOTE: The link to the 'Internal' Investigative Report has been removed from the Bellevue Baptist Church website within the past few days. Strange. However, I have posted part of the 'Investigation findings' below.

Bellevue Baptist Church released the findings of the Internal Investigation= of it's pedophile minister of prayer, Paul Williams. The report is 19 pages of glaring holes you could drive a Mack truck through.

Just to recap the situation. Paul Williams has been on staff at Bellevue for 34 years. He has been minister of prayer until he was finally fired a few weeks ago. The report tells us that 17 years ago, Paul Williams, sodomized his own son repeatedly for 18 months. Well, here is part of the report:

"The actions of Paul Williams seventeen years ago relate to the sexual misconduct with his son and subsequent disclosures and lack of disclosure. Paul Williams engaged in egregious, perverse, sexual activity with his adolescent son over a period of twelve to eighteen months. Paul became convicted of his actions and he stopped. He asked for forgiveness from his son and never touched him inappropriately again. At that time Paul told no one else. Three years later, Paul told his wife and then sought counsel from a retired Bellevue staff member. There is no information to suggest that this retired staff member told anyone else, nor did Paul tell anyone else at that time. Paul felt that if he had gone to anyone else on the staff, he would have put his position at Bellevue in jeopardy.

Paul Williams never sought counsel for himself or his son until recently, and then only after that counseling was initiated by his son. Paul said he checked every year or so to make sure all was right between him and his son. Paul felt everything was fine between them until November 2005, when his son approached him saying that not everything had been resolved and the son and his family were going to take a separation in their relationship with Paul and his wife for a period of time.

At that point, the circle of knowledge about Paul’s sexual activities with his son started to grow. His son and daughter-in-law had sought counseling from a non-Bellevue psychologist. After November 2005, Paul and his wife, along with his son and daughter-in-law, were counseled as a group.

Throughout 2006, other people gained knowledge of the seventeen-year-old issue, beginning with another retired Bellevue staff member, Jamie Fish of the Biblical Guidance office, Pastor Steve Gaines, Webb Williams, and others within the church family. At least ten people, including Paul and his wife, had knowledge prior to December 7, 2006, when Paul’s son and two friends came to the Pastor about the seventeen-year-old issue and about Paul’s position on staff at Bellevue. Paul was out of town at that time. After he returned to the city, he was placed on a leave of absence December 15, 2006, pending the outcome of the current investigation. The announcement of that leave of absence was made to the congregation December 17. "

So the question becomes, when did senior pastor, Steve Gaines, find out and what did he do about it? The answer is shocking. Here is the report:

"Dr. Gaines—In June 2006, Mr. Williams, with his wife present, told Dr. Gaines about the incident. He also told Dr. Gaines that he had repented, confessed all to his family, asked for forgiveness, been forgiven, that there had been no further sexual misconduct in the ensuing seventeen years, and that he was receiving counseling. Dr. Gaines had only passing knowledge of what Mr. Williams’ job duties were. Based on his beliefs that Mr. Williams was telling the full truth and that the children of Bellevue Baptist Church were not exposed to any danger or threat, Dr. Gaines did not seek counsel in the matter. This was a mistake, one to which Dr. Gaines has admitted, in hindsight. At minimum, Dr. Gaines should have taken steps to learn exactly what Mr. Williams’ duties included, so he could ensure that there would be no harm to others. In fact, Dr. Gaines could have started investigating by asking Mr. Williams himself about his job duties, to ensure no unsafe exposure to children. In addition, he could have temporarily relieved Mr. Williams of his duties and put him on leave. He could have simply taken the matter to other ministers on staff with more experience in the matter than himself. "

Coulda woulda shoulda. So, there you have it. Gaines knew for 7 months and did NOTHING. He says he did not know what to do because he had never faced this before and Bellevue had no policies. Seriously? Gee, I have not been to seminary and I would know what to do without a written policy in front of me. I have read about what to do in scripture!

To make matters worse, Gaines acted only when Paul Williams' OWN SON came to see him and tell him all was not really well and wanted to know why Williams was still a minister on staff! The victim-son knows more scripture than Steve Gaines, Senior Pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church, flagship church of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Does this make sense to you? Does this SCARE you, too?

I am speechless that a pastor of 20 years did nothing for 7 months while a confessed pedophile, who is not even allowed alone with his own grandkids, freely 'ministered' at Bellevue Baptist Church. I have had a hard time putting into words my thoughts on this but someone did that for me.

On the Bellevue Bloggers site a commenter, who had been waiting for the report in order to confirm what the 'moral failure' really was about, expressed my thoughts exactly. I am publishing his comments with only a few edits that leave out names not affliliated with this situation. I have not edited any of the content germane to this issue. It is long and thought provoking, so go get a cup of coffee. If we were not Baptists, I would suggest a scotch or something similar. You are going to need it because this guy cuts through to the heart of this matter.

FriendinJax said...
Everyone: I think you all are missing the point here. I wasn't waiting for this committee report to find out but one thing, and one thing only (actually two facts): I wanted confirmation on WHAT it was that PW did to his son (we now know that he raped his son FOR MONTHS ON END - let's call it what it is; before the report I wasn't sure if it was something that involved physical contact - there were any number of things that it could have been), and I wanted confirmation that Paul Williams went to Steve Gaines in June and TOLD Steve Gaines EXACTLY WHAT HE DID TO HIS SON.

Here's the significance of the report: We now know WITH 100% CERTAINTY: STEVE GAINES KNEW THAT HE HAD A RAPIST, CHILD MOLESTER ON HIS STAFF, AND DIDN'T HAVE THE PRESENCE OF MIND TO KNOW WHAT TO DO.

This reminds me of the president in the 2005 series of 24 where the vice president "choked" at the precise moment he was needed to make a split second decision, and he put the entire nation at risk by letting the terrorist slip through Jack Bower's hands (sorry, I do watch that program).When I heard that Steve Gaines didn't report this for 6 months, my thought was "perhaps Paul Williams showed his son some pornography; perhaps his son walked in on him during a moment of indiscretion, maybe it was something not involving physical contact". BUT NOW WE KNOW!! Steve Gaines KNEW THAT PW RAPED HIS SON!

"So what" you say?Now that we know that Paul Williams in June went to Steve Gaines and told him EXACTLY what he did to his son, I now have to wonder if Steve Gaines is qualified to be the pastor of a Baptist church (any Baptist church).

Here's why:I'm trying to picture the scene where Paul Williams admitted this heinous act to Steve Gaines. I'm trying to think in my mind of one serious, grown, Christian man that has a family and sons and daughters, and WOULDN'T know what to do. I honestly can't think of one!! I honestly can't think of one serious Christian man (let alone a pastor) that wouldn't immediately be so repulsed and offended to his inner core to hear this man confess of his actions, that wouldn't know IMMEDIATELY, INSTINCTIVELY what to do.

I can't think of one serious Christian man I know that would have to pray about it, look it up in the Bible, ask someone else about. I can't think of a Christian man that would have to call another minister, would have to call a committee meeting to figure out what to do (let alone one that would wait 6 months).

All serious Christian men that have their own families immediately upon hearing this man describe what Paul Williams did to his son would jump into action. After restraining themselves from strangling this man, they would IMMEDIATELY call the police. They would immediately mobilize the forces of the church staff to jump into action to make sure this man is removed from the premises, not allowed back on the premises. They would immediately determine how to break the news to the congregation as soon as possible to find out the extent of the damage this monster had done to the congregation. They would JUMP INTO ACTION LIKE JACK BOWER KICKING THE SUICIDE BOMBER OUT OF THE BACK OF THE SUBWAY TRAIN JUST MOMENTS BEFORE HIS BOMB WENT OFF. He wouldn't stop to think how it would look, what damage he might cause himself, he would take action immediately.

This all would tell me one thing if I were a member at Bellevue Baptist Church. Steve Gaines CANNOT BE MY PASTOR. How can any man with a family and kids look up to this man? He is not MAN enough to be my pastor, I would have to go elsewhere.

Lastly, I have to say this: Imagine the scene: Paul Williams comes into Adrian Rogers' office and confesses that he raped his son repeatedly for 18 months. Come on people....HE RAPED HIS SON FOR MONTHS ON END...do you not think a REAL MAN like Adrian Rogers wouldn't know what to do? I dare say H___ L____, Jr. might end up in jail for what he would have done to this worm of a man for what he did to his son. But H___ L___, Jr. was a "man's man"...not a feminized preacher man who doesn't have the presence of mind to deal with a child rapist monster.

I wouldn't stay and fight to have Steve Gaines removed at Bellevue Baptist Church. Its too late for that. Not only is this pastor feminized, so must the congregation that isn't repulsed by Steve Gaines "choking" at the precise moment a MAN was needed to take action and protect the church.

Steve Gaines choked, and he couldn't be MY pastor. He might be able to be YOUR pastor, but not mine. I need to have a MAN'S MAN as a pastor who knows AT LEAST how to protect women and children from child rapist monsters. Sorry for sounding so angry, but you all have missed the point and significance of this church report.

You can have this feminized pastor; I sure wouldn't be able to have him as my pastor. This report makes me appreciate M_____B_____ all the more - no way would he not have known what to do (I think M___B____ might have ended up in jail also like H___ L____ had he been told by Paul Williams what Paul Williams did to his son).

Amen.

Now for the grand finale. The report gives no indication on what they plan to do with Gaines or others on staff that knew about this and did nothing. Why? Because they plan to do nothing...again.

Bellevue Baptist Church- Breaking News

Something is brewing at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee:

http://www.integritydoescount.com/

I do not know what this means but it looks as if there are members out there who have decided that integrity, transparency and following scripture is of the utmost importance to a church. This looks like an attempt to get questions answered because of all the secrecy from the leadership for so long. After months and months of "I don't know" from staff and leadership, I can hardly say I blame them.

The fact that their minister of prayer, Paul Williams, confessed to sodomizing his own son 17 years ago, and that Pastor Steve Gaines kept this information secret from the congregation for 6 months raises many questions about his integrity. He allowed Paul Williams to stay on staff during those 6 months. It was only after the information became public that he put Paul Williams on administrative leave. The state is investigating the confessed abuse but claims that Bellevue leadership is not cooperating.

The church leadership launched an internal investigation and they will present the findings Sunday night. Due to the obfuscation and other improprieties by Pastor Steve Gaines, many members do not trust the internal report.

For more information:

http://newbbcopenforum.blogspot.com/

The Ugly Truth About Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter. The name brings back memories of sweaters in the White House. An unlit Christmas Tree. Counting the days of the Hostages in Iran. The 'misery index' and long lines at the gas pump.

Now Jimmy Carter is trying to rewrite his legacy. Here is a man that cozies up with Yassar Arafat even helping him to con Israel with fake peace. He is still at it with Hamas.

Even the simplest among us realize that killing Jews is the intent of Palestinians. This happens even after Jews abandon their settlements with new houses they can move right into! They just keep killing Jews. The Jews even handed over their businesses that were in the settlements.

Yet, instead of saying 'thanks for a business for free", they just kill more Jews. But Jimmy does not get this. Perhaps his ego just won't let go. He invested quite a bit of himself into Yassar Arafat and refused to see the truth for 30 years! Arafat's words and actions just did not fit but our blind former president would not accept this.

Well, Jimmah is back in the news with his new book about how the Palestinians just want peace but those nasty Jews just won't give it to them. But Jimmah's anti Semitic views are coming to light as you can see in these articles:

Too Many Jews

The Christian Who's Name Sounded Too Jewish

Jimmah Cahter Defends Terrorists

Jimmah Apologizes for quotes in book (Gee, wonder how he missed that in the grueling editing process?)

From this article:
During his speech, Carter was quoted by the Jewish Week as saying: "Israel will never find peace until it is willing to withdraw from its neighbor's land and give Palestinians their full rights.

The former US president refused a debate with Alan Dershowitz, who spoke after Carter left the hall. "He makes it sound so simple. You just give back the land, and peace will follow. Tell that to the residents of Sderot!" Dershowitz said. "

Thanks, Dershowitz! Right on...all one needs to do is read the PLO Charter to know that!

Jimmah makes an incredibly stupid statement to CNN:

“Hamas deserves to be recognized by the international community, and despite the group's militant history, there is a chance the soon-to-be Palestinian leaders could turn away from violence, former President Jimmy Carter said Wednesday.”

Let’s change the wording a wee bit to make it more realistic:
“The Nazi Party deserves to be recognized by the international community, and despite the group's militant history, there is a chance that Nazi leaders could turn away from violence against the Jews, former President Jimmy Carter said Wednesday"

Yeah...that Hamas....all they want is peace. If ONLY we would recognize them as grown ups who just happen to carry rocket launchers around, strap suicide belts onto teenagers and teach their 2 year old's to kill Jews. All civilized people like this should be respected by the international community. (sigh)

Folks, below are pictures of what the suicide bombers really do. These pictures are taken from suicide bombings in Israel by Palestinian murderers.

WARNING: THESE ARE VERY GRAPHIC. These pictures represent what Jimmy Carter wants to ignore...well, actually, HAS to ignore so he can accuse Israel of not wanting peace.

Seen enough?

Now what did these individuals do to deserve this? Answer: They were Jews.

I have just one question: What keeps Israel from wiping these uncivilized assassins off the map and turning their cities into rubble? Think about that..... because they could.

Pollyanna is Evil

Boy, you sure can find false teaching in the strangest places. Who would have thought that the movie, Pollyanna, would teach evil lies?

The 1962 version of the movie stars Jane Wyman as the mean Aunt, Carl Mauldin as the hellfire and brimstone preaching pastor and Haley Mills as the nice and lovable Pollyanna.

I did not bother to 'screen' this movie before my young daughter watched it. Boy, I wish I had. And, even though I did not watch it with her I could hear the dialogue while it was on. So here is the story line:

Pollyanna is orphaned by her missionary parents and comes to live with her rich spinster Aunt Polly who owns this small town. Aunt Polly tells the preacher what to preach on Sundays and her favorite sermons are those teaching of the danger of hell. So, the pastor preaches sermons that I think are loosely based on the Jonathon Edwards', Sinners in the hands of an Angry God.

The townspeople hate these sermons and dread Sundays. Well, I should say all dread it except the mean, cold and prim Aunt Polly.

Pollyanna brings sunshine and light into every area of the town. She can turn the meanest of complainers into life loving optimists. One day, she is sent to deliver a note to the pastor who just happens to be practicing one of his hellfire sermons. They embark upon a dialogue about the sermon and Pollyanna shares a quote from Abraham Lincoln on 'finding the good in man'. It was engraved on a locket her father gave her. (At this point, I am in front of the TV)

Well, this hellfire pastor has a 'spiritual awakening' upon hearing this Abraham Lincoln quote and ceases his hateful preaching post haste. That Sunday, he preaches on 'finding the good in man'. Aunt Polly is furious but the town is thrilled.

But don't count Aunt Polly out yet. Pollyanna has an accident and through this, Aunt Polly realizes how mean and cold she is and has a 'spiritual awakening' herself. You see, while she was listening to those hellfire sermons, she could not show love to Pollyanna. But, now, she sees the error of her ways.

You know what? My daughter would be better off spiritually watching the Silence of the Lambs. OK, a bit dramatic but consider the fact that one would see the real evil in Silence. In Pollyanna, the 'angel of light' dresses himself up as a sweet little girl who only wants people to be happy spending their time looking for the good in mankind. She would point them away from even thinking about mean old nasty hell.

Moral taught to our children: Teaching on the reality of hell is mean and hateful. Teaching on the good in man is nice and loving.

What a lie. I had quite a bit of false teaching to correct after this movie. I tried to use the movie and scripture to illustrate this but my very young daughter wanted to know why they would lie. Good question. Because our hearts are deceitful and they do not know truth.

You know, it is hard to undo the type of damage of what goes into their little minds. It is worrisome just how much they will believe lies put forth in this wholesome manner.

I think we will stick with Old Yeller. That rootin' tootin' gambler and egg sucker.

Sola Scriptura

"Evangelicals are not heretics, at least not consciously. If we ask whether the Bible is the authoritative and inerrant Word of God, most will answer affirmatively, at least if the question is asked in traditional ways. Is the Bible God's Word? Of course! All evangelicals know that. Is it authoritative? Yes, that too. Inerrant? Most evangelicals will affirm inerrancy.

But many evangelicals have abandoned the bible all the same simply because they do not think it is adequate for the challenges we face today. They do not think it is sufficient for winning people to Christ in this age, so they turn to felt-need sermons or entertainment or "signs and wonders" instead. They do not think the Bible is sufficient for achieving Christian growth, so they turn to therapy groups or Christian counseling. They do not think it is sufficient for making God's will known, so they look for external signs or revelations. They do not think it is adequate for changing our society, so they establish evangelical lobby groups in Washington and work to elect "Christian" congressmen, senators, presidents, and other officials. They seek to change by power politics and money."


James Boice, Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace

John, The Seeker Version

The Covenant Theology Blog has a great parody of The Seeker-Friendly version of John the Baptist. I could not resist posting it here:

John: Hi King Herod. How are you doing?

Herod: Hello Baptist. What is this nonsense you preach about “repent”?

John: Oh Herod. Don’t you know that God loves you just the way you are? Will you say a prayer with me?

Herod: For what?

John: So that you can experience the love of God? I see that you are struggling in your walk with the Lord. Why you have your brother’s wife. We need to pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal to you why you do that. There must be some deep emotional wounds somewhere.

Herod: I love her because she is hot.

John: Let’s dig deep into your emotions. We need to heal your inner scars. How was your childhood?

Herod: My daddy was mean and abusive. He even killed my brothers.

John: I understand. You need to let it all out so that you can reach spiritual maturity. Go ahead and make yourself vulnerable. Then you can find some inner power to forgive him.

Herod: I can’t. He was too mean. He was crazy.

John: He sounded very insecure. God understands. He knows the heart. Just remember, God has a wonderful plan for your life, if you will just let Him take control. He will give you a better life. You just need to find out who you are in Jesus.

Herod: What do I have to do?

John: Simple. Just repeat this prayer after me.

(Insert Sinner’s Prayer of choice)

John: That’s it. You are saved. You are going to Heaven. Isn’t that great?

Herod: I guess.

John: Don’t worry. I’ll be back tomorrow for another session. We are going to deal with your emotional health so that you can be all the God wants you to be.

Here is the real version that is definitely not 'seeker friendly':

Matthew 3
1In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 3For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight."

4Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 14
3For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,4because John had been saying to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

Image: Sellaio's St John the Baptist. Painted about 1485. Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.

Blind Watchmen

This is a repost from September of 2006 in honor of
Bellevue Baptist Church Open Forum for bloggers.

"His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge;

they are all silent dogs; they cannot bark, dreaming,
lying down, loving to slumber. The dogs have a mighty appetite;

they never have enough. But they are shepherds who have no understanding; they have all turned to their own way,

each to his own gain, one and all. "Come," they say,
"let me get wine; let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
and tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure."
Isaiah 56:10-12


One of the most discouraging aspects of the church today is the refusal of shepherds to discipline sin within the church. One would think nothing but purified hearts are sitting in the pews or working in the offices. But we all know that is not true. Our hearts are deceitful. All of us. If the shepherds would just speak out on what is sin from the pulpit it would be nice but most of the time, they won't even point out sin in person to the sinner! If they do not do this, can they still be called shepherds? Or are they are hirelings? (John 10)

1 Peter 4:17
For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

This verse it telling us that judgement must begin with us, the Body of Christ. But, it usually doesn't. Have you noticed this, too?

We are really good at judging the world. I know I was. I have judged homosexuals, those living together, drug addicts, abortionists and many others outside the Body of Christ. We are busy beavers doing this because the culture has become so rotten. We have all heard about how rotten the culture is from the pulpit for years. You know.....out there.

We are so busy judging those outside God’s House (Woe to you San Francisco, Las Vegas, etc.) that we fail to judge those inside the church. And, this is the exact opposite of what Scripture teaches us:

"I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES". (1 Corinthians 5:9-13)

But what do we do? Usually, the total opposite. When is the last time anyone left church truly shamed by their sin? You know, those 'little sins' such as; lying, deception, phoniness, greed, sowing seeds of confusion and chaos, power mad, gossiping, etc., etc.

Yet we point fingers at those who make no ‘Christian claims’ as ruining our culture. Still, we MAY mention vaguely, in passing, sin from the pulpit, sometimes even making it sound more like a mistake than what it is: Sin that God hates and will judge us for at the Judgement Throne. (Revelations 21)

But wait, we don't just leave it at that...it actually gets worse. If someone actually points out sin or rebellion from somewhere inside the church they are considered a troll. They themselves are branded troublemakers for upsetting the false unity of the church and are condemned! (Yeah, how dare they do what scripture commands!)

You will hear things like this:"Well, sinners sin, you know" and "This is a hospital for sinners" and "You should not speak of a brother like that"! Or, "How dare you judge, let him without sin, cast the first stone". Or my personal favorite, "Judge not lest ye be judged". (Why do they always use the KJV for this one?)

How did we go from the biblical exhortations of 1 Peter 4 and Paul in 1 Corinthians 5 to spending our time judging those in the world? Perhaps we are not reading our bibles?

No wonder the world sees us as a bunch of hypocrites! We seem not to be able to deal with sin within our own assembly, yet we are quick to condemn homosexuals, atheists and the like. But will not confront the gossips, liars and deceivers and sexually immoral within our own congregations! Why are we quick to cut ourselves off from the greedy and immoral outside the church but not from the inside?

Paul told us to throw them out so they could be saved. That is described as an act of love in 1 Corinthians. Yet, we coddle them thinking if we do throw them out they are lost to the world. So everyone in the church acknowledges, in a vague sort of way, that...well... yes, we are all sinners but grace abounds! We never get real specific so there is no accountability or consequence for the infrequently mentioned sins of the heart. Pastors will tell you, "Well, we have counseling services for this" or "if we confront sin too heavy they will leave and then be lost forever".

Why is this? Well, I think it is because no one wants to be the bad guy anymore. The bold truth guy. The Watchman. The Shepherd. No one wants to obey scripture. It's hard. And with that, it is almost impossible to find two courageous witnesses willing to lose it all! The other reason is because rebuking causes dissention. And, we can't have that! Unity at all costs...and... that 'truth in love' thing...well, we know that never works.

So not only do we have no real way to deal with sin, we have pretty much forgotten what sin really is all about. Think about this scenerio: Loretta, in your Bible Study group at church, is a total phoney. She acts one way around the preacher's wife and totally different around the peons. What to do? Well, you can pray for her and you should. But what if we searched our own hearts. Do we love Loretta? Do we want to see her in heaven or burning in the Lake of Fire? (Warning: If you said yes to this because Loretta sounds just like 'Brenda' at your church, you better get on your knees...just like me...Now!)

You could spend the rest of your life not liking Loretta and doing nothing. But Loretta has some serious problems that could keep her from eternal life. Do we love her or not? Do we care about her eternal life? If we do not, we may not be saved. Ouch.

See, I think many Shepherds are just not loving their sheep anymore. They are too busy with building buildings, speaking engagements, writing books and launching yet...another program.

Besides, this rebuking business is messy. People get mad and it got the 'rebuker' (pastor-deacon-elder) in trouble because the 'rebukee' yelled 'foul' and those watching said, 'No way is that ever going to be me'! I mean, rebuking can really cause splits in churches…even when you do it by the Book.

Did it ever occur to us that cleaning house may be a good thing for the Body of Christ? If Loretta gets mad and leaves, then maybe she can be saved like Paul was teaching in 1 Corinthians. Or just maybe Loretta, told in sincerity, may fall on her face asking for forgiveness. But what are the chances she can be saved by staying there with no one ever saying a word to her?

Isn't it ironic that the root of all sin is pride? And pride is the ingredient that keeps us from rebuking and not wanting to be rebuked. Poetic irony, huh?

1 John 3
9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Why Not Sin?

35 Reasons Not To Sin

by Jim Elliff, Christian Communicators Worldwide

1. Because a little sin leads to more sin.
2. Because my sin invites the discipline of God.
3. Because the time spent in sin is forever wasted.
4. Because my sin never pleases but always grieves God who loves me.
5. Because my sin places a greater burden on my spiritual leaders.
6. Because in time my sin always brings heaviness to my heart.
7. Because I am doing what I do not have to do.
8. Because my sin always makes me less than what I could be.
9. Because others, including my family, suffer consequences due to my sin.
10. Because my sin saddens the godly.
11. Because my sin makes the enemies of God rejoice.
12. Because sin deceives me into believing I have gained when in reality I have lost.
13. Because sin may keep me from qualifying for spiritual leadership.
14. Because the supposed benefits of my sin will never outweigh the consequences of disobedience.
15. Because repenting of my sin is such a painful process, yet I must repent.
16. Because sin is a very brief pleasure for an eternal loss.
17. Because my sin may influence others to sin.
18. Because my sin may keep others from knowing Christ.
19. Because sin makes light of the cross, upon which Christ died for the very purpose of taking away my sin.
20. Because it is impossible to sin and follow the Spirit at the same time.
21. Because God chooses not to respect the prayers of those who cherish their sin.
22. Because sin steals my reputation and robs me of my testimony.
23. Because others once more earnest than I have been destroyed by just such sins.
24. Because the inhabitants of heaven and hell would all testify to the foolishness of this sin.
25. Because sin and guilt may harm both mind and body.
26. Because sins mixed with service make the things of God tasteless.
27. Because suffering for sin has no joy or reward, though suffering for righteousness has both.
28. Because my sin is adultery with the world.
29. Because, though forgiven, I will review this very sin at the Judgment Seat where loss and gain of eternal rewards are applied.
30. Because I can never really know ahead of time just how severe the discipline for my sin might be.
31. Because my sin may be an indication of a lost condition.
32. Because to sin is not to love Christ.
33. Because my unwillingness to reject this sin now grants it an authority over me greater than I wish to believe.
34. Because sin glorifies God only in His judgment of it and His turning of it to good use, never because it is worth anything on it's own.
35. Because I promised God he would be Lord of my life.