As a potential church planter, I follow a lot of other pastors who have planted churches and try to learn as much as possible as I can from them. One of the guys I followed was named Gary Lamb. He pastored a pretty radical church called “Revolution Church” out in Georgia but I was shocked to hear a few months ago that he resigned his church because of an affair that he was having with his secretary. Like everyone else, I immediately judged him and talked about how much shame he has brought to himself, his wife and the Body of Christ. In most situations like this, the fallen pastor usually disappears, never to be heard from again. But, Gary Lamb got a “regular job”, got a divorce but continued to keep on blogging and believe it or not, his life has really spoken to me. It has shown me that I am no better than he is and it would take just a few really bad decisions on my part to be in his shoes. It has shown me that I’m a big, judgmental hypocrite who talks about grace but is more like a Pharisee when the rubber meets the road. The dude screwed up, BIG TIME but he needs to be restored and encouraged and forgiven, not judged.
Anyway, check out his latest blog to understand what I’m saying:
http://www.garylamb.org/2009/10/31/transition-from-pastor-to-real-world/
