tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6775781.post5685151395560736215..comments2024-01-29T22:15:00.519-05:00Comments on Mod-Blog: How should churches handle sex offenders?Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03233407619762435670noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6775781.post-87121433651006114272008-07-10T20:16:00.000-05:002008-07-10T20:16:00.000-05:001-4 is the national average for women.Our church h...1-4 is the national average for women.<BR/><BR/>Our church has a policy in place for this, and in fact we have two convicted sex offenders in our church. Both are banned from dealing with children, but then they should be.Jaltushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00888583924037266168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6775781.post-66617192455965969072008-07-09T22:48:00.000-05:002008-07-09T22:48:00.000-05:00SR has a good point about considering the nature o...SR has a good point about considering the nature of the conviction. There is a huge difference between a pedophile and a guy that is 19 having consensual sex with his 17 year old girlfriend. Neither case is good, but the latter is less bad than the former. The latter probably wouldn't be harmful to little kids, though I would keep some eyes on him if he wants to work with the high school youth group.<BR/><BR/>In response to Nomad comment on accountability partners a "better" option may be the AA concept of a sponsor. In the case of a sponsor they have a level of oversight rather than simply being a peer as an accountability partner tends to be. In fact in AA they recommend having both and that would probably be best in this case as well.Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15343760684164879351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6775781.post-499631168735121352008-07-08T04:28:00.000-05:002008-07-08T04:28:00.000-05:00Why such concern about children in all cases? The ...Why such concern about children in all cases? The nature of the crime should be considered first. Sex offender can include many diffent crimes, some of which suggest he poses no unusual danger to children. Judge case-by-case, don't just throw them all in together.<BR/><BR/>People can become a registered sex offender for acts ranging from child-rape to urinating in public. It's too wide a classification to treat them all the same.<BR/><BR/>Your 1-in-4 number is so high, I can only conclude you have a non-representative sample.Suricou Ravenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00322441818160817387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6775781.post-13803686756067831702008-07-07T09:51:00.000-05:002008-07-07T09:51:00.000-05:00Thinking about the problem this weekend, I wonder ...Thinking about the problem this weekend, I wonder if it is a case of "accountability partners" (as our pastors are fond of calling them) are a practical solution here. Buddy up the convicted person with a friend who stays with him/her during church, Sunday School, etc. That way, they are never alone which takes care of temptation and provides accountability without overly restricting freedom.<BR/><BR/>And, yes, of course this is coupled with banning such a person from certain ministries like VBS and the nursery.Nomadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10419122266777226774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6775781.post-55815033222567984642008-07-07T09:37:00.000-05:002008-07-07T09:37:00.000-05:00Difficult situation for sure, but I think that if ...Difficult situation for sure, but I think that if I were the pastor at this church I would welcome him in. Yes it would be hard for the congregation, but in many ways this would be a way of teaching/learning forgiveness. I know the pain is difficult for victims of abuse, but at some point you have to move past the pain or you will never grow. This is an opportunity for both the victims and this man to learn forgiveness. Living in forgiveness is hard and this is just one of those particularly hard situations.<BR/><BR/>As for whether he can serve in any ministries in the church, that is a whole different question. He could volunteer and help with proper supervision, but anything involving youth/children ministries would completely off limits.Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15343760684164879351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6775781.post-10281439096230016442008-07-07T07:24:00.000-05:002008-07-07T07:24:00.000-05:00The sermon at our church was on topic with this ye...The sermon at our church was on topic with this yesterday. (How to apply and balance grace and truth)<BR/><BR/>I think it would be unChristian for them or us to not allow someone to attend our church who has acknowledged their sin and repented of it, no matter what the sin. There would be areas where it would be wrong to allow someone to serve (ie. VBS and other childrens ministries), but to attend and serve in other areas is right.CRCHAIRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03136697073660728119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6775781.post-35207318966959437792008-07-06T20:53:00.000-05:002008-07-06T20:53:00.000-05:00if there are 1 in 4 women that are abused, than th...if there are 1 in 4 women that are abused, than there are probably some worshiping with us. I am less shocked by the church's reaction (which is difficult and understandable) that I am at the statistic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6775781.post-15811092590410897532008-07-06T12:50:00.000-05:002008-07-06T12:50:00.000-05:00I know our church screens all potential youth and ...I know our church screens all potential youth and child workers with a background check. I don't know if there is any policy regarding who is welcome to worship with us. Of course, there could be several who have not identified themselves to anyone. This could be anywhere.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com