Should a Pastor Who Commits Adultery Withdraw From Ministry?
..and if so, for how long?
Over the years, our team at Cooke Media Group has advised numerous churches and ministry organizations on how to recover from a pastor or other key ministry leader’s adultery. While I recommend excellent counselors and spiritual advisors to help those involved in infidelity, including victims and their families, the goal for our team is to focus on the church – specifically, how they communicate the story to the congregation and community. Do they release a media statement? How do they handle critics or local media? How do they recover?
As I discuss in my book “Maximizing Your Influence: How to Make Digital Media Work for Your Church, Your Ministry, and You,” in a digital, online world, how we respond in a crisis is more important than ever.
That’s why I was fascinated by the poll recently released by Lifeway Research based on how long a pastor who commits adultery should withdraw from ministry.
While it’s a complex question and there are more issues at stake than this survey addressed (such as whether a pastor who returns should start a new church in the area), I think you’ll find it interesting to see how the opinions break down across denominational, ethnic, and theological lines.
Check out the study. As I say in my book, in today’s distracted, digital, media-driven culture, it’s not a matter of if your church will experience a crisis, but rather a matter of when.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to handle a crisis in today’s digital culture, you can order my new book here for a donation to our nonprofit The Influence Lab.
Phil Cooke, PhD. has been called “one of the most innovative communicators of our generation.” As a media producer, writer, speaker, and consultant, his client list includes major film studios and TV networks as well as major Christian organizations like Voice of the Martyrs, The Museum of the Bible, The Salvation Army, and others. He’s also coached and consulted with many of the most influential churches and nonprofit organizations in the world, helping them use media to tell their story. You can hear his podcast here.
