A statistical research by FASICLD (Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development) in 1998 interviewed 1050 pastors It showed that about 30% of the pastors surveyed had (or are having) a sexually inappropriate encounter or relationship with a parishioner. Other studies are commonly lower like around 10%, and one done in 2016 showed it …
Category: Christian Ethics
Pastoral Recovery- Knowing What’s Good For You…
I deal with a lot of missionaries and pastors who are suffering with burnout, with traumatization, with moral failure, with relationship break-down. There can be many reasons for this. Within classic 'Biblical Counseling' the answers tend to be along the line of: "You need to 'get right' with God" "You need to confess and repent" …
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Christian Schadenfreude
Schadenfreude, German word that comes from two words that literally mean "harm-joy," is that certain pleasure one feels at the misfortune of others. Do Christians feel this? Take a little look at FB or nearly any other social media outlet and it is there. Just the other day, I saw Christians reveling that an earthquake …
Prophetic Politics?
I was looking at my FB stream a few days ago, and saw a post that was being shared by a friend. It showed two pictures-- one was apparently evangelical pastors in prayer, while the other a catholic priest... pontificating, I suppose. The overlayed captions referred to these two groups' relationships to the new Philippine …
Holy Defect Presentation
Been doing various presentations/seminars on Kintsukuroi (golden repair) as a metaphor of being beautifully broken. I expanded this to include other images of "holy defect" the idea that God does NOT desire in us some unattainable, and frankly unidentifiable, perfection. Rather, God's glory is demonstrated most, and we are most effective ministerially, with demonstration of …
In Service to One’s Countries
It is American Independence Day (as well as "Philippine American Friendship Day"). Americans commonly take patriotism/nationalism pretty seriously. I have never really known how to take that... especially in those who like to mix nationalism and religion. Years ago I was an officer in the United States Navy. I remember the first time that someone …
But is it Biblical?
Here are a few vignettes: 1. Prosperity. I was in chapel at seminary, when an outside pastor spoke... he was talking about how God wanted all His children to be (financially) rich. He then added, "Some of you may not like me saying that, but it is what the Bible teaches." Well, I am not …
The Two Sides of Christian Virtues
"Keep it in the middle of the road, Honey Let's keep it in the middle of the road. Neither left or right right down that center we go." -"Keep it in the Middle of the Road" (Exile) Two short stories: Back in 2005 (I believe) we were returning from a medical mission trip to Baguionas, …
How Do Abusive Churches Learn to Abuse?
I have been long interested in the characteristics of abusive churches. But in addition to the characteristics of abusive churches, I am interested in how abusive churches have developed their methodologies. It has long been noted that the behavior of many abusive churches mirror some of the sophisticated methods used by repressive governments and ideological …
Bartleby, Joshua, and the 2016 Elections
This year, the US and the Philippines are both holding presidential elections. In 10th grade in High School (I think), we read "Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" by Herman Melville. We didn't really understand what this short story meant. I am comforted by the fact that there is no consensus on one …