Didaché - Steve Lawson Restored To Ministry?

From The Christian Podcast Community · 44:34

Show by Christian Podcast Community

Fourteen months after a five-year affair came to light, Steve Lawson has been declared "spiritually fit for ministry" by the elders of Stevens Valley Church. Justin Peters says that timeline alone tells you what you need to know.Peters sits down with Jim Osman to walk through the elders' statement line by line. They question why Lawson was attending elders' prayer meetings, why the statement applauds his "patience" toward the wife he sinned against, and why, according to Phil Johnson, he has made no effort to reconcile with the elders of Grace Community Church. Osman argues that repentance should be as wide as the sin, pointing to 2 Corinthians 7, and that a man who goes looking for a pulpit within months of exposure is showing where his heart is.The larger issue reaches beyond one man. Drawing on Proverbs 6, 1 Timothy 5:22 and James 3:1, the two make the case that sexual sin permanently disqualifies a man from the office of elder, because he can never again be above reproach. Forgiveness, fellowship with the Lord and quiet service in the local church all remain possible. The pulpit does not. They also take aim at evangelicalism's habit of platforming celebrities and re-platforming fallen ministers.Justin closes by revisiting the conference controversy from July and by praying that Lawson comes to true repentance. This episode matters because rushing a disqualified man back into ministry makes a mockery of the pulpit, diminishes sin and damages the church's witness for Christ.➡️ Click here to find all of Justin’s essential links.

More episodes of The Christian Podcast Community

More episodes

PodSearch is a free, independent podcast search engine. Read about PodSearch, the privacy policy or contact us.