Do many pastors struggle with porn temptations? In a survey of 1,351 pastors, 54% said they had viewed Internet pornography within the last year, and 30% of these had visited within the last 30 days (originally at Pastors.com) .
Below is video footage of one brave pastor who admits to his own struggle:
Comment on this video at ScratchingTheSurfaceDoc.com.
Michael hits the nail on the head when he speaks about the tension churches rightly feel over moral failings of their pastors. On one hand, he says, there is a matter of church discipline: we should rightly desire our spiritual shepherds to be “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:2). On the other hand, the church acknowledges struggling with sin is universal, and the church is called by God to be the place of care, concern, and healing. When pastors struggle, what should we do about it?
Michael touches on part of the answer when he talks about the church being a “brotherhood” of believers. He says,
“Accountability is vital. Relationship is critical. Relationship equals healing: relationship with God, and a relationship with a brother pastor or a brother accountability partner is absolutely vital for restoration to occur.“
Some denominations have started creating guidelines for discipline in this area. What do you think? How should churches deal with the moral failings of pastors in the area of pornography?
