I don't remember what this sculpture is called (I call it the face twister...there are more faces than what you can see below, but I couldn't get good shots.) It's one of my favorite sculptures in the park,
and from another side...below

(shaking my head) - HT: Jim West.
"sex Offender Back in the Pulpit"

Yes, forgiveness is a good thing...no, stupidity is not.

The basic story is that Jeff Hannah (youth pastor) was convicted of having sexual relations with four underage girls. In 2001 he was paroled and jointed the First Baptist Church of Romeo (where his new wife was a member - yes, that "new" is significant). Soon after, Hannah was asked to fill the pulpit of that church until a replacement was hired.

What makes me think this is stupid? (and there's more later)

What was the state of Hannah's "repentance"? Pretty much non-existent

In talking to the Sun-Times last week, Hannah, 42, was unapologetic about his crimes, saying his first marriage had been troubled and he'd had "urges."

"I honestly believe that had I been a college pastor, I'd slept with college girls," he said. "But I was a youth pastor. It was less about age and more about who I spent all my time with."

If he had been repentant (I was wrong and I'm sorry, help me not to do it again) he might have had a case. What does the pastor of the church where he committed these crimes say?

The Rev. Steve Farish, pastor of Crossroads Church, which has relocated to Grayslake, said he considered Hannah so dangerous that he warned the Romeoville church and a regional Southern Baptist official.

“We thought he could still potentially be a danger to women and children,” Farish said. “He was never repentant and never told the truth.”

The deacon at First Baptist Church said,

"In our church, we believe in forgiveness," said Del Kirkpatrick, one of the deacons who hired Hannah.

Okay...here's more.

Kirkpatrick hired Hannah as interim pastor (paroled sex offender to be in the pulpit).

So what happened when a permanent head pastor was hired? Well duh...Kirkpatrick (the one with forgiveness, remember?) left the church. WHY?

The new pastor was divorced and then he remarried.

"A pastor should be the husband of one wife," Kirkpatrick said.(...)

Some in the congregation were upset by Hannah's role, but Hamby's remarriage was a bigger controversy, according to church officials. The feud bubbled over last week, when Hamby and Hannah abruptly resigned.

Yes...don't let your lip-service to "forgiveness" extend to the divorced. That would be really bad. Way worse than putting an unrepentant sex offender in the pulpit.

They have made "marriage" the god.

I guess it's a good thing that God came to earth, incarnate, to be our Savior, not to be a pastor (Jeremiah 3:8)

More links to takes on this stupidity story:

Scotteriology

The Roland Report

PastorBlog