| The Church and the Former Sex Offender Notes from the ReFORM Radio Series Derek “The Fallen One” Logue December 13, 2008, last update Nov. 24, 2009 NOTE: This page will contain notes from the ReFORM Radio Series on the Church and the Former Offender. As each series is recorded, I’ll add the notes from the show to this article. Part One: Redemption -- How the Church deals with the Former Offender North Carolina recently passed a new law barring Registered Sex Offenders from coming within 300 feet of any place children congregate. Since churches have nurseries, churches can be off limits for registrants depending on the sheriff’ s interpretation of the law [1]. Georgia faces a lawsuit over a law barring registrants from working or volunteering at a church, citing the law "criminalizes fundamental religious activities [2].” A number of states or municipalities bar registrants from living in close proximity to churches [3,4]. In these cases, the government has passed legislation limiting the free exercise of religion, so chances are these cases will eventually be overturned. However, in the wake of Predator Panic, many churches are struggling with the issue of whether or not to implement their own prohibitions. One church in San Diego (Pilgrim United Church of Christ) illustrated this struggle when a Former Sex Offender asked to become a member. The ensuing discussion was so heated the church asked the registrant not to attend until the church could resolve the issue. The resulting news article offered a number of questions which needed to be addressed: “Should anyone be turned away from a house of worship? How do people of faith balance redemption with risk? What about liability issues [5]?” Churches are struggling with finding the delicate balance between offering forgiveness and reconciliation to everyone and the need to protect members. Mark Pliska, the registrant who approached the Pilgrim church honestly and divulged the information outright, was met with derision, isolation, and even harassment from both members of the congregation and the community. In a separate church, Christ Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Sandpoint, Idaho, the church arranged for a registrant to be chaperoned and only attend certain services. Even so, some members left the congregation, while others who were critical at first asked for the registrant’s forgiveness. Two churches, two different approaches, but in both cases, the offender was the one who brought it to attention. In response to these cases, the reporter mused, “The irony is that barring sex offenders who come forward and identity themselves from attending services may not guarantee a congregation's safety, since it's likely there are child molesters in the church anyway -- they just aren't talking about it (or haven't yet been found out).” [6] So what is a church to do when approached by a sex offender wanting to join the congregation? The answer is not easy. On one hand the Church teaches Redemption, Forgiveness, and the Community of Believers, among other things; on the other hand, our society places great emphasis on the Former Sex Offender and protecting children, thus adding the element of fear and liability to the issue. Almost every time a Former Sex Offender wishes to attend the church, "there's a split in the congregation where you have people saying 'Jesus called us to welcome everyone,' and others saying 'if a pedophile comes in, I'm quitting.'" "I wouldn't be surprised if some people leave if we do decide to include him, but others have said they'd leave if we don't include him,” another pastor stated [7]. That leaves three possible courses of action a church can take in dealing with this dilemma. Below are the possibilities with the possible pros and cons of each choice:
Ultimately, the Church must make up its own mind as to the course of action to take. In the event the Church wishes to develop a “Restricted Access” plan, there are two programs already available for those churches struggling with this dilemma. “Balancing Acts: Keeping Children Safe in Congregations” [http://www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/balancingacts/index.shtml] Rev. Debra W. Haffner, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations safecongregations@uua.org Congregation Policies and Practices Congregations need to consider three major components to assure that theirs is a safe space for children, youth, and vulnerable adults. They are:
personal histories of the minister and the congregants, and other factors will influence development and implementation. If such policies and procedures are not now in place begin the process of addressing these issues. Adapt or modify these suggestions to meet the specific needs of your communities. Guidelines and forms are templates for discussion and deliberation. There is no “one size fits all approach” to these complex issues. Each congregation will decide what is right and fitting for you. Further this is a process—it may take a year or two to put all of these recommendations into place. The following recommendations are offered as starting points, as procedures to consider. They are based on best practices of existing congregational policies, expert advice and consultation. From the USA Today article: “From there, church leaders can create a list of restrictions, called a ‘limited access agreement.’ Such arrangements might include making sure an offender is escorted while in church. He might only be allowed to attend adult worship services or one-to-one meetings with a minister. Balancing Acts suggests that two adults always be with a child and that children are in open spaces when possible [7].” Balancing Acts also suggests an accountability partner for both safety/ liability and protection reasons, not just for the church (preventing sex crimes) but also for the benefit of the registrant (preventing false allegations, support network). Some people may not agree with me, but I believe in an accountability partner because I am very aware of the real possibility of false accusations even in the church. Faith-Based Sexual Addiction and/ or Offender Resources: There are many faith-based resources for dealing with sexual addiction or issues with deviant sexuality. It is only a matter of reaching out to one of these ministries if you need help:
The bottom line: There are resources to help both the sex addict/ offender to deal with the internal issues, and resources to reach out and support those struggling through recovery without resorting to the fear-based decision making so commonplace in secular society. Honestly deal with the issue at hand, educate the congregation to promote healing rather than fear, assign an accountability partner if you must, and be ready for the split decision no matter what decision you ultimately make. Part 1 References
GREAT ARTICLE BY THE GASTON GAZETTE! http://www.gastongazette.com/news/sex_28335___article.html/offender_jesus.html -- What would Jesus do? State law would bar some registered sex offenders from attending church December 18, 2008 - 5:57 PM The Rev. Ben Robertson believes church doors should be open to everyone - even registered sex offenders. Congregations are grappling with a new state law that prohibits certain sex offenders from being within 300 feet of child care centers, which include church nurseries and playgrounds. If worship services are held in close proximity to church child care, the law could prevent some from attending. "As a church that preaches Jesus Christ as our savior, we at the same time preach resurrection and that Christ welcomes all people, regardless of what they have done, regardless of what demons they are dealing with," said Robertson, the rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Gastonia... PART 2: Interview with Steve Vann and Greg Sporer from Keeping Kids Safe Ministries On the March 10, 2009 Episode of ReFORM Radio, I interviewed the founders of Keeping Kids Safe Ministries. The most striking revelation of their knowledge of how churches handle sex crime accusations is how people tend to disbelieve "good people" can commit sex crimes and can even be enablers to deviant sexual behavior of church members because they simply don't believe a good person can do bad things. The church is as guilty of painting the issue in black and white as the secular community. We tend to focus on the convicted sex offender and not enough on those not yet caught. Certainly more education and accountability is needed. ADDENDUM Aug. 25, 2009 Article from KDSK 5 St. Louis (click link for full article) http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=183424&catid=3 "Imperial billboards ask, 'What's forgivable'?" By Alex Fees KSDK -- Jefferson Hills Christian Church in Imperial is asking a series of serious questions on billboards along Interstate 55 south of St. Louis. Those billboards ask whether God or people should forgive a certain list of offenses, such as: sex offenders, suicide, cheating on your boyfriend, and little white lies."We've noticed that people everywhere, no matter your faith or church background, have internal lists of things they think are forgivable or not forgivable," said Steve Benke, lead pastor at Jefferson Hills Church. "Are there certain things you can do that are unforgivable, and have heaven or hell issues at stake?" ... "As Christians, we believe there is no unforgivable sin," said Benke. "Jesus Christ is our perfect savior, and that means there's not a single sin a person can't turn to God with and find forgiveness." ... The "forgivable" billboards stimulated conversation among drivers along I-55. One driver, Keith Murphy, was asked if sex offenders and people who commit suicide are forgivable. "It all depends on the situation and what happened, how it all went down," he said. Another commuter, Erica Downs, said three out of four of the sins in the new billboard campaign are forgivable. Which one is not? "The sex offenders," she said. So what does Downs think about the campaign? "I guess it's a good one," she said. "I guess that's what the Bible says, that you're supposed to forgive everyone, but I don't think human nature really goes along with that all the time." Benke said it's important people understand what's contained in Christian scripture. "And then, quite frankly, the church gets that message wrong, as well," he said. "But the Bible teaches there is no sin that isn't forgivable in Jesus." ... To see the billboards visit www.whatsforgivable.com; for more information about Jefferson Hills Church, visit their website at www.jhchurch.org. WHAS 11 KY asks should a sex offender be allowed to lead a church congregation: Vote:http://www.whas11.com/perl/common/surveys/display_full.pl? poll_id=24221&site=whas11&vaction=voting&thissite=whas11 RESULTS: http://www.whas11.com/perl/common/surveys/vote_now.pl?action=viewResults&poll_id=24221&site=whas11 More to come! |
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