You could also just take the three disqualifying factors and turn them into a litmus test for when restoration might be possible: 1) no minors were involved; 2) it was a one-time event, not part of a pattern or history; and 3) the ministerial office they held was not used to prey or manipulate.
Of course, key to any restoration is true repentance. Not simply regret, or even remorse, but repentance. Don’t confuse the three.
Regret is that you wish, in hindsight, you hadn’t done something. You regret being caught or revealed, and you regret the consequences that now flow into your life as a result.
Remorse is about sorrow. Your heart breaks that you hurt others and that you broke the heart of God. Remorse moves beyond regret as it moves beyond consequences and into true, personal sorrow.
Repentance is the final step as it is the determination to live differently. Repentance is the English translation of metanoia, a rich word in the Greek language that carries the idea of heading in one direction, realizing that it is the wrong way, and then turning your life around toward the right direction. More than regret, beyond even remorse, repentance involves a resolve to turn away from the sin.
How long away before a restoration? That, too, should be determined on a case-by-case basis. The greater the sin’s harm, the deeper the issues, the longer away. But it would be difficult to imagine a case of, for example, adultery resulting in restoration sooner than a year.
All to say, every pastor is a sinner. Ongoing, active, present tense… today. And there are sins that are disqualifying, whether for a season, or permanently for life. This must be acknowledged and embraced. But equally acknowledged and embraced should be the potential of repentance-marked restoration for those who qualify.
And many, if not most, do.
Sources
Aaron Earls, “Pastors Split Over Ministry Return Time Frame for Pastors Who Commit Adultery,” Lifeway Research, August 11, 2020, read online.
This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.
