Roland Martin writes on cnn.com: The power of any pastor over his or her parishioners is derived from their “calling” to minister the Gospel from God, or as some call it, the anointing by the Holy Spirit. But the role of a pastor — the Bible speaks to being a shepherd of a flock — also comes from the belief that it is their moral standing as the earthly representative of God to lead their congregations spiritually.
If you read the writings of Paul in 1 Timothy 3 (New International Version), he offers the following instructions: “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church)…He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”
As we witness the salacious and troubling sex allegations leveled this week against Atlanta mega church pastor Bishop Eddie L. Long, it is clear that many are confused to hear four young men come forward and allege that the man of the cloth, the husband and father, sexually coerced them and used the power of his prophetic position to engage in sex with them.
…If guilty, and if he truly cares about his enormous flock, he will stand before them and admit to the error of his ways, and not put them through more pain and heartache. He is a charismatic pastor who has always been known to preach an uncompromising Word, unwilling to say what folks want to hear, but instead, what they need to hear.
