They did it too!!

Posted by: Tim
in Editor, ODM Writers
24
Aug

The anonymous editor over at CRN.com has come up with a justification for parading around the failings of his brothers and sisters with joy, its the venerable the “they did it too” defense.

What’s interesting is that the “they” in this case is the secular media. Apparently the standard for the conduct of Christ followers is whatever the secular media does.

If I possessed those kind of reasoning skills I’d remain anonymous too.

Edit:
For a peek into why this sort of thing is so damaging take a peek at this comment on a secular blog. If that doesn’t bother you then maybe you need to re-consider having anything to do with any church anywhere at anytime.

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This entry was posted on Friday, August 24th, 2007 at 12:56 pm and is filed under Editor, ODM Writers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

 

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15 Comments(+Add)

1   Matt B    http://matbathome.blogspot.com/
August 24th, 2007 at 1:33 pm

They respond by pointing out 2 more articles about pastors being caught doing bad things. Again, no call to prayer for the churches these men were pastors at. No call to prayer for the pastor’s family. No nothing. Just smugness.

One of the news stories was about Don Corley, a pastor in his 70s caught initiating sex with a police officer. He has stepped down. Can we offer up a prayer for this man, his family, and his church?

Below is a link to the Don Corley’s ministry:

http://www.bbsfarmington.org/Church.html

2   Rick Frueh    http://judahslion.blogspot.com/
August 24th, 2007 at 1:35 pm

I guess the message was when in Egypt do as the Egyptians.

3   Rick Frueh    http://judahslion.blogspot.com/
August 24th, 2007 at 1:41 pm

By the way, Tim, here is the statement by the pastor’s son:

“The Don Corley family is greatly devastated by the sin which has come to light. We do not condone the sin which has been committed. We acknowledge that our father and grandfather lived a double life. He has accepted the responsibility for his actions and has confessed his sin to God and his family. In light of the severity of his actions, he has resigned from his responsibilities at Bible Baptist Shepherd. He, along with us, his family, would appreciate your prayers at this time as we seek to bring restoration and healing.”

Our hearts should break for all of them. Let him who is without sin cast…well, you know the rest.

4   Sandman    
August 24th, 2007 at 4:50 pm

No one on that site can ever again say

“don’t do as the world does”
or
“touch not the unclean thing”
or
“come out from among them and be ye separate”

and hope to be taken seriously. Talk about perversion…

5   Tim Reed    http://theotstrikesback.com
August 24th, 2007 at 5:30 pm

Sandman,
If only they were that consistent.

6   Chris P.    
August 24th, 2007 at 6:11 pm

Since I am the editor in question let me respond.
First of all, knock off the “parading around the failings of his brothers and sisters with joy” rhetoric. I have seen no evidence of that ever at CRN or any of its affiliated blogs, and it is not evidenced at all in my post.

It’s the spin you put on it.

I live in the same town as Pastor Corley. It was a well known fact that some of the parks are being used for gay “hookups” There were churches praying in the park before the police sting took place. The churches were not aware of what the police were doing.
The police and the newspaper decided to print names purposely. All were shocked when we heard it.
Since Pastor Corley (to a lesser extent), as well as Bishop Weeks and Juanita Bynum and the Whites, all decided to make public spectacles of themselves in the name of Jesus, then let them suffer the consequence. They are responsible for their own behavior.
The release by the Corley family is standard stuff. Let the healing begin, etc. Heard it with Ted Haggard and Jimmy Swaggart, etc. etc.

FYI I lead prayer in my church for all of this situation as we were notified the night before the story was released.

Your sanctimonious blather, is a front for your real purpose which is to be against anything CRN says or does.

The stories in question are put out by secular news media and are read by thousands, or millions, (some of them might even be Christians) before we ever get to them. The church has a right to know what it’s “leaders” are doing.
Guess Paul should have shut his mouth too. eh?

1 Cor 6:
“1It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife.
2You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.”

You wouldn’t obey Paul’s admonition to have the brother removed. Not Christ-like enough. Their arrogance was their toleration of the sin.

Believe me I mourn everyday for what is presented as the Church and its message.

Your link to a “secular” comment is not even applicable. The commenter is talking about those in church support groups who have their shared personal secrets blabbed by other members of the group.
What in the name of God does this have to do with a bunch of self-proclaimed apostles and prophets making idiots themselves for all the world to see? CNN does a good enough job of making sure that their dirty laundry is available for mass consumption.
As for the “unbelievers” who call Christians evil, when they stand before the throne let’s see if God accepts their “Christians are hypocrites” argument for their rejection of Christ.

This post is the one of the worst fabrications I have read here, and there have been a few.

There are several presidential candidates who could use you guys as press secretaries.

7   Rick Frueh    http://judahslion.blogspot.com/
August 24th, 2007 at 6:18 pm

“The release by the Corley family is standard stuff. ”

The empathy is palpable. Does it get any more callous?

8   Joe Martino    http://joemartino.name
August 24th, 2007 at 6:24 pm

Chris P,
Do you really think they’d hire us? I could use a new job. Do you think that would be flexible around school? Man, I hope so.

9   dave    http://www.mindfulmission.com
August 24th, 2007 at 6:35 pm

“The release by the Corley family is standard stuff. ”

Unbelievable.

I am blown away at the grace and support you show, especially to a hurting family.

10   Tim Reed    http://theotstrikesback.com
August 24th, 2007 at 7:45 pm

Chris P,
I am honestly disappointed this was your work. You were one of the few of the writers at C?N I had some respect for. That’s gone completely.

To address your points:
1. Paul was addressing the leadership of the person involved, attempting to benefit the church directly, and ultimately the person involved in sin. You are doing neither.

2. You are the one who included in your post the taking joy bit, and you didn’t deny it, you justified it.

3. The only justification you gave was that the the secular media did it.

11   amy    
August 25th, 2007 at 9:10 am

Utmost sympathy should be given to the Corley family.
These type of downfalls should not be paraded by the church. Neither should they be hidden.

Neither should they be hidden. By this, I mean that the Christian community at large does need to know when a leader has been accused of some type of inappropriate sexual activity. There are too many stories of Christian leader’s inappropriate behavior being “forgiven,” ignored, swept under the rug. Some Christians leaders leave one place of service because of “rumours” that are really true accusations about them, to go on to other places of Christian service. They can likely find someone who will give them a good recommendation. They move on to wreck more and more lives. Those “lives” are often children and young people who will suffer many, many years, maybe even their entire life, because the accused Christian leader was not really held responsible for his actions.

12   Chris L    http://www.fishingtheabyss.com/
August 25th, 2007 at 12:21 pm

Love is hate.
War is peace.

Thank you, amy…

13   amy    
August 25th, 2007 at 12:45 pm

Chris,
I said, “Utmost sympathy should be given to the Corley family.”

There are many, many people who have been hurt by Christian’s whose abuses were not brought to the public’s attention.

Children hurt. Families devastated.

Love is not turning a blind eye.

14   Rick Frueh    http://judahslion.blogspot.com/
August 25th, 2007 at 1:05 pm

Amy – only two choices – To parade or not to parade, whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous … never mind.

You must either be a gracious steward of tragic information or you post it complete with the world’s eager rush to uncover fallen Christians so as to discredit Christ Himself. Background checks for sure and maybe even an information sharing nationwide via an internet site that requires an official non-profit password for each individual church.

But a public airing of dirty laundry about an already disgraced and resigned youth pastor from who knows where and presented in a “Lokk at This!” attitude, as if to suggest it never happens in MacArthur’s (for instance) church is simply wrong in every sense. Of what benefit is it to the average reader? None. Who is surprised by these events? Who has never heard of a pastor commiting immorality in the church?

There is an obvious agenda going on that any objective onlooker can see. Amy – we all have agendas, overt or subliminal, but the only way to minimize their influence on our writings is to admit it and attempt to avoid it. When some will never admit any type of subjective struggle is when the agenda becomes the substance.

15   Charles R    
August 25th, 2007 at 8:03 pm

The Bible does say “them that sin, rebuke before all, that others may fear” and church discipline is in order. Their words make it sound like the double life had been going on for some time. What is going on with us? Yes, we need to pray. Yes, we need to repent (change our actions, face consequences for our actions, etc)

One Trackback/Ping

  1. CRN.Info and Analysis    Aug 28 2007 / 2pm:

    [...] What is it with the popularity of this defense? I mean, I understand when children use it, but sometime before adulthood there should be some recognition that “they did it too” is not a defense. If an action is wrong, then its wrong, no matter how many people do it. Essentially what the watchdoggies are saying is that their standard of conduct doesn’t come from God, it comes from humans (something we saw before here). Also on display here is the continued and complete inability by the watchdoggies to understand anyone other than people who are exactly like them. It’s terrible, just terrible, that Slice, how they are always posting articles about Church Viagra Conferences and Elvis impersonators and Saddleback Sunday morning carnivals and clowns in the pulpit. Somebody has to speak up for these people! [...]

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