Goodness. What an ugly situation. I’m sure you are aware by now of the controversy surrounding Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, TN and their pastor Steve Gaines.
I’m greatly saddened by the stress that congregation is having to endure and would suggest to you my readers that this is a perfect time for the Body to pray for a body in the midst of trying circumstances.
I think I can break down what is going through my mind in regards to what is happening at Bellevue in three points:
1. (Already mentioned) Pray for Bellevue. That church has undergone such a great deal of difficulty in the days following Dr. Rogers death that one wonders how much hope of a peaceful Bellevue remains. Dr. Gains has apparently (by his own admission) made poor decisions. Those members of the church who started the SavingBellevue site obviously made poor decisions, whether they know it or not. Bellevue has such a lengthy heritage of ministry and Godly leadership. Let us pray that these situations are resolved in a manner consistent with scripture and that God is glorified in not only the healing but also the progress of the church.
2. I can see why Dr. Gaines did what he did. I’m not saying that how he chose to handle this situation is appropriate. I’m just saying it’s understandable. Hear me out. Apparently, this gentleman approached Dr. Gaines with this information, information about an incident from nearly 20 years ago. According to the first article I linked to the family was notified and forgiveness was sought, after which the man received professional counseling. If I was approached with this type of situation I don’t know that my first instinct would be to dismiss the man. Ultimately that might be the best or unavoidable conclusion but not necessarily an immediately recognized path. The information that arose which (again, according to the first article) indicated the problem might not be resolved does indeed change what I’ve just discussed. However, until that becomes apparent (and I’m not sure when it did) what I’ve written seems reasonable.
I realize that molestation is disgusting, wicked, and deplorable. I also wonder how those who have called “off with his head” would feel if this man had participated in an adulterous affair 20 years ago, repented, and sought help. Or if he had been addicted to pornography. Or if he had cheated on his taxes. I’m not equating those sins on all levels. However, they are equally sinful yet carry different levels of social consequence. So is this a matter of hating a certain sin more than another and expecting a stiffer punishment because of the disgusting nature of the sin? Perhaps.
3. The person I understand the least in this entire situation is Dr. Michael Spradlin of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. You can read Dr. Spradlin’s comments to the Memphis Commercial Appeal to see the context for what I write. I get the impression from the reporting that Dr. Spradlin is piling on a fellow believer in a situation which he would have been much wiser to have refused to comment on.
I realize that there could be some kind of missing context to his words or that, possibly, he was quoted incorrectly. I’m believe Dr. Spradlin deserves the benefit of the doubt on this. At whatever point further information from Dr. Spradlin becomes available his words to the Memphis newspaper will have to be re-evaluated. Until then we can only go on what is reported.
Particularly troubling, to my mind, is this statement:
“There’s a sense of Steve Gaines being the measure of what’s right and what’s wrong. If you agree with him, you’re right and if you disagree, you’re wrong,” Spradlin said. “But I think he’s spent all his credibility and people are losing trust in him.”
That, my friends, if not taken out of context or otherwise misrepresented, is gossip. Those are comments which cast aspersions on a fellow believer which are not grounded in that believers violation of scriptural standards. Furthermore, it gives the impression of internal squabbling in the Christian community and represents opinions that would be best left unexpressed or, if felt with great conviction, should be addressed to Dr. Gaines privately. Literally, Dr. Spradlin could walk across the street and get a better than average shot of encountering Dr. Gaines.
Even if Dr. Spradlin was misrepresented I have to question the wisdom of saying anything other than “I’m praying for the Bellevue family” to the reporter he spoke with. Surely someone who heads such a large institution knows how easily the media can take even harmless statements and use them in a manner not intended. Surely it would have been best to save his opinions for more private and personal conversations. Hopefully something comes to light which mitigates the impression left after reading the comments initially. I will note that a friend of mine in ministry is a student at Mid-America. He is a wise and discerning student of God’s Word and always speaks highly of Dr. Spradlin. Surely there is something missing from the Commercial Appeal’s article.
4. Finally, those who are calling for Dr. Gaines resignation have yet, to my knowledge, produced anything resembling a Biblical standard for a pastor which he has violated. You could, I suppose, stretch the scriptural qualifications to say that Dr. Gaines has acted unwisely and thus fails to be a proper leader of the flock. However, upon doing so you’ve called for the resignation of the vast majority of pastors across the land. As it is, Dr. Gaines might not have acted in a manner demonstrating the greatest degree of wisdom but that is no reason to demand a resignation. Dr. Gaines has been given a difficult situation which has been amplified by uncommon difficulties (some of his own creating). It is to be expected that he won’t navigate each rapid with perfect precision. Bellevue might be one of the countries greatest and most historic churches. However, it is still a church and not a business. Businesses fire C.E.O.s for poor management techniques. Churches hold their leaders to scriptural standards and recognize the difference between disqualification from ministry and bad decision making. Hopefully those thirsting for Dr. Gaines resignation letter will note the difference as well.
Jeff,
I am completely amazed at this situation. I stayed up until 1:00 in the morning last night reading these stories and trying to discern truth. You are right in saying they need our prayers. The body of Christ is in turmoil in Shelby County. The foot hates the hand. The ears hate the eyes. It is disgusting. I can’t imagine the pain of those who are truly involved. In regard to Spradlin’s comments I am in the same boat as you. I know he could cross the street and say those things. I’m hoping something was taken out of context. And the Commercial Appeal is infamous for doing that sort of thing. It happened the whole time I lived down there and continues today. I’ve been wanting to blog about this situation and couldn’t find the words to sum it up. You’ve done an exemplary job making it concise.
so lets see what we got here… Paul Williams reportedly raped and sodomized his own pre-teen son several years ago. The new pastor, Steve Gaines, around whom so much controversy has swirled, reportedly knew about the situation six months ago and did nothing. Does this sound familiar? Haggard?
Looks like the evangelicals are now the new Catholics. So why is it when people like Gaines hear of something so horrible they decide to keep it quiet? It’s almost like they are trying to cover up a sin in order to keep that clean cristian appearance. I dont know about you but thats wrong. And he should step down.
Brandon,
Can you please provide some documentation of what you said about Dr. Rogers? I’ve never heard about that and it is deeply disturbing to me.
Please, a link, where you heard it, whatever.
Wow…..
whoa!!! wait, please delete that comment… i was reading something on dr. rogers before i read your blog ironically enough and accidently put his name when i should have said Pastor Paul Williams. my bad!!! but besides a major typo, i still feel gaines should step down.
Cool man. I’ll edit it.
I am writing to you because the hot topic of the week is sadly revolve around child molestation, Bellevue, and the comments of Dr. Spradlin, president of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. Sadly, some have said that Dr. Spradlin was out of line and others have said that his comments were motivated by a bad attitude toward Dr. Gains. I do not believe any of those things to be true. Dr. Spradlin was taking a stance on ethics and accountability in the ministry. I think he made a needed statement from a prominent Southern Baptist. We took a strong stance against the cover-ups of child molestation in the Catholic Church. Dr. Spradlin is maintaining that stance, for which I am thankful. Further, he did not specifically say Dr. Gains should resign. I ask that you read the following article: http://www.mabts.edu/clientimages/23267/pdfs/drsclaraification.pdf
In Christ,
Wayne Cornett
Jeff,
I was raised at bellevue, and a former member. I pastor a church just outside of Jackson Tennessee. I personally am broken hearted about the situation at Bellevue. I admit that Dr. Gaines has made some poor decisions since becoming pastor. But I myself have made poor decisions within my church. Mike Spradlin was out of line. No matter how you slice it or dice it, airing a churches dirty laundry for a lost dark and dying world is wrong. Mike Spradlin was wrong, and out of line. These folks that refer to Spradlin as a sensible voice in Southern Baptist Life speaking truth are not correct. Though Spradlin is a Godly man, and I myself am a former MABTS student, he used his title, position, and clout to motivate and initiate an aganeda of the saving bellevue .com head hunters. Dr. gaines should have handled the situation diffrently. But he should not resign over another man’s sin from 17 years ago. If someone places that type of standard of legalism to the position of Pastor, than no one would be qualified. We all make poor decisions. I think some of these people would not be satisfied if Jesus was their pastor. I do not support how Dr. gaines handled it, but I feel He should stay. He is a man of God, a preacher of the word, and a man with a heart for evangelism. Dobson and Reagan are out of line too in my opinion. Miles removed from the situation, they have no undersanding of what is taking place.
Eric – I can completely see your point. I want to believe the best about Dr. Spradlin but I also, as I’ve mentioned, think it is strange that he would openly discuss an issue like that with the newspaper, considering their reputation in Memphis. Anyway, thanks for dropping by.
Many, many people who should be informed but are not, don’t realize that an insidious technique/plan has infiltrated the church and every other area of society and is used to control and change people.
General Systems Theory is the means of control. The people of Bellevue are victims of people trained to control and manipulate. The entire world is in the midst of being trained to operate through Systems Control. The dissenters have not been properly brainwashed yet so they see what’s going on but they don’t see the bigger picture.
so—airing your opinions isn’t acceptable, but it appears that is just what you are doing—–huh?