Any Pastor Who Has Been Convicted of Sexually Molesting a Child and is Registered as a Sex Offender Should be Banned from Pastoring for Life.
We ran the sad and unfortunate article below last week. We showed great restraint by not commenting about this matter to this point, as we had made ourselves very clear about this issue two years ago, and we were hoping that a nationally known Baptist pastor or a leader from one of the national Baptist conventions would deal with this matter. Since no one has really responded to this tragic situation publicly, let it be clear, from an evangelical, Bible-believing, Baptist, Christian standpoint, while the church has and will forgive, work with, and restore a pastor for numerous sins and failures which some pastors have been involved in, child molestation and being convicted and registered as a pedophile/sex offender is not one of those sins that you can commit and expect to remain in the pastorate as the spiritual leader of adults or children.
We thought that it was understood by evangelical, Bible-believing, Baptist, Christians that sexually molesting two children, much less one child, should automatically result in a life-long ban from pastoring and preaching in any local church setting or being the leader over any place where there are children involved. Our Savior showed great love, concern, and protection for little children. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 19:14, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” In Matthew 18:6, Jesus said, “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
We are disappointed that this pastor has not voluntarily resigned from his pastoral position and chosen to do something else for the rest of his life. It doesn’t matter how good a preacher may preach, and it doesn’t matter what a judge declares, no one who has been convicted of sexually violating a child should be pastoring a church anywhere because if the slightest thing goes wrong or if there is an accusation, whether false or true, more shame will be brought on the name of Christ, another church sullied, and more children hurt for life. If this happens, the judge who gave this permission, the attorney involved, the pastor, and the church will be responsible.
Please do not accuse us of picking on this particular person. Any pastor who has even thought about having sexual relations with a child should resign immediately. Any pastor who is so-called “struggling” with looking at child pornography should resign immediately. It makes no difference to us whether you are black, white, red, or yellow. It makes no difference to us whether you have a seminary degree or whether you think you are a good preacher. You need to resign the pastorate, leave the church, and go and do something else that is far away from the presence of children.
-BCNN1 Editors
BCNN1’s original statement from February 9, 2012, regarding this matter is below.
BCNN1 and Every God-Fearing Pastor in America is Calling Upon Darrell Gilyard, a Confessed, Admitted, Convicted Child-Molester and Registered Sex Offender, to Voluntarily Step Down from the Pulpit at Christ Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Jacksonville, FL and Let the Little Children, Who Have to Go to Another Building, Come Back Into the Church Freely. C’mon people!
BCNN1 is calling upon all of its pastor-friends across Florida and Southern Georgia to go and get this preacher, love on him, give him something to do away from the church property (for example, he can serve as a research assistant), pay him, and make sure some good brothers are around him to serve as a form of accountability. This way, he can continue serving the Lord without hindering little children from coming to church.
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Jacksonville Judge Modifies Probation Rules for Darrell Gilyard; Former Pastor Turned Sex Offender Can Minister to Child Under 18
A judge has agreed to modify the probation rules for a former pastor who spent three years in prison for lewd and lascivious acts with two girls while he was leading his church.
Darrell Gilyard was arrested in 2008 when he was pastor at Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church.
He pleaded guilty in 2009, and after he got out of prison he started preaching at Christ Missionary Tabernacle Baptist Church.
He’s on probation as a sex offender, and some protesters pointed out that he should not be around children.
His new church is holding an Easter egg hunt on Sunday, and some are saying Gilyard cannot host it because he’s a sex offender.
But Gilyard’s lawyer convinced a judge to modify the probation so he can “minister to children under the age of 18 as long as the children are supervised by an adult other than the defendant.”
The State Attorney’s Office did not object to the change.
Nubia Brown lives in the neighborhood and said she has no problem with it.
“I’m a mom but first I’m a child of God, and I feel like people change,” said Brown. “I feel like ultimately he has to deal with God for that.”
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: News4Jax.com
Tim Pulliam
BCNN1 WP 