The minors were members of the church that Gilyard led as pastor.  That is right.  Darrell Gilyard was the pastor.  These crimes were not the first and isolated times that Gilyard had sinned sexually while being a pastor and preacher.  He was a serial sexual offender.

In his early days of preaching, I heard Gilyard.  He was extremely talented when speaking.  Yet his sexual life majorly collided with his preaching life.  He followed a predictable pattern:  He preached.  He sinned sexually (either consensually or without consent).  He moved to another church.  He preached.  He sinned sexually.  In total, Gilyard resigned from five different churches due to his sexual sins.  Finally he was convicted of criminal sexual activity.

This is not a rubber-necking issue for me.  I, too, was a pastor who sinned sexually.  Almost three years ago, I wrote about my sinful fall.  It has been 15 years since I blew my life up.  I have not returned to a pastoral ministry nor have I stepped into a pulpit to preach.  I am not sure if I ever will.

So it concerns me when I see men who sin in this manner and so lightly regard the consequences of their actions.  If a return is even possible (we can discuss that at a later time), wisdom would apply this principle that I am paraphrasing from something I once read.

Restoration to a preaching ministry can only occur when the man is known more for the grace in his life than for the sin he committed.

Back to Gilyard.  Upon his release from prison, he did a newspaper interview.  I am going to highlight some of the quotes from Gilyard that are problematic.

I’m happy to have that dark part of my life over.

The darkness for Gilyard may be over, but the shadows still linger.  Those shadows can be dark enough to thwart the sunshine.  Fifteen years later, I still have to peer through the shadows at times.

Legally, Gilyard is a newly registered sex offender.  It does not get much darker than that.

He might have put the darkness behind him.  But what of the girl who was 15 at the time he molested her?  She is probably now about 20 years old.  I seriously doubt that the darkness in her life is over.

In the interview, Gilyard was asked about the possibility that he might begin a new church as pastor.  Here is his response,

I’m not sure–I’m just praying about my options right now.

I am not God, but I am fairly confident of what the answer to that prayer would be.  Based on his subsequent actions, I don’t think Gilyard was really listening to God for an answer.  He seems to pray like many of us.  We have a desired outcome in mind.  Say a prayer.  See events that confirm our desire and call it an answer from God.

Continuing in this interview, Gilyard plays the trump card for all who jump back into the ministry after moral failure.

Moses was a murderer, David was a murderer, Paul was a murderer and Peter denied Christ.  It’s clear God uses broken vessels.

To paraphrase Lloyd Benson, “I’ve read about Moses, David, Paul and Peter, and you and I are no Moses, David, Paul and Peter.”  God does use broken vessels.  But before he does, he reshapes them and rebuilds them.  As I mentioned before, this reconstruction must be more evident than the destruction which preceded it.  For Gilyard this is not the case.

But that has not stopped Gilyard.  In less than two months after being released from prison, he was back to preaching at Christ Tabernacle Baptist Church in Jacksonville.

To avoid violating the terms of being a registered sex offender, the church had to make sure that no minors were in or around the worship service.  That should have been enough to pull this escapade to a screeching halt.  But it was not.

Gilyard preached.  Afterwards he said,

It was refreshing and invigorating…I was scared to death.

I doubt that the woman he was accused of raping and fathering her child would feel the same way except for possibly the scared to death part.

A deacon in the church offered this rationale for hosting Gilyard in the pulpit,

He was down on the ground, and the church was down on the ground, and we both needed to get up.

–Paul S. Newman Sr.

What do you get when you place a down on the ground preacher with a down on the the ground church?  Everybody is down on the ground.  That is not really the best of reasons for choosing a preacher.

A trustee at the church offered her reasoning to the mix,

We are a group of Christians who are not afraid of controversy.  He needs and wants to preach and we need somebody to minister to us spiritually–so why not him?

–Eloise Bolden

What Gilyard needs and wants should be the least of anybody’s concerns.  Operating on his needs and wants is what put him in prison in the first place.

I would suggest that if this church can find nobody else to minister to them, then it is time to close up shop.  Go find an existing church that can minister to them.  Because this isn’t ministry.

“Why not him?”  Let me count the ways.

I close this article with a quote from another deacon. It needs no reply since it is so clearly out in left field.

It’s the first time in my 70 years that I can say I saw a miracle happen.

–Elliott Chatman

We hear so often about Muslims as victims of abuse in the West and combatants in the Arab Spring’s fight against tyranny. But, in fact, a wholly different kind of war is underway—an unrecognized battle costing thousands of lives. Christians are being killed in the Islamic world because of their religion. It is a rising genocide that ought to provoke global alarm.

With these words, Ayaan Hirsi Ali begins an article for Newsweek that should be read by all.  Ali is originally from Somalia and now resides in the United States.  She spent years in the Netherlands and served in parliament there during the past decade.

We often read about Islamaphobia, homophobia and a host of other religio-political phobias that are usually ascribed to Christians.  Why have we not heard more about the Christophobia that Ali details in her article?

Christophobia is about more than words by the opponents of Christianity.

From blasphemy laws to brutal murders to bombings to mutilations and the burning of holy sites, Christians in so many nations live in fear.

Ali points out the global spots where Christians are suffering at the hands of earthly oppressors.

1. Nigeria
2. Sudan
3. Egypt
4. Iraq
5. Pakistan
6. Indonesia
7. Iran
8. Saudi Arabia
9. Ethiopia

In her article, the author calls for taking a real stand against Christophobia.  A key component of her proposed stand is to tie aid and trade dollars to this issue.  I whole heartedly agree.

Yet as Christians we should understand that the gospel message about Jesus is offensive to those who do not know Christ.  Christians will suffer.

For those who do suffer for the name of Jesus, our Lord ascribed blessing upon them.  Many count it a privilege to be able to suffer for Jesus.

For those of us who do not suffer, we must stand with our brothers and sisters.  We must pray for them – pray for their protection and pray that they glorify God when they do suffer.

Often those who suffer the most pity those of us who do not.  They have been known to pray for us.

Pray that whether oppressed or free, we would magnify the name of Jesus.  Remember the gospel message – Jesus suffered and died, but triumphed over death.  He will reign in majesty for all of eternity.

Praise be the name of Jesus.

Death Has Lost Its Sting

Words by Isaac Watts, Adapted by Rebecca Dennison, Arranged by Mike Cosper

My God, how many are my fears

How fast my foes increase

Conspiring my eternal death

They break my fleeting peace

The lying tempter would persuade

My heart to doubt your aid

And all my swelling sins appear

Much greater than your grace

Arise, Oh Lord, fulfill your grace

While I your glory sing;

My God has broke the serpent’s teeth

And death has lost his sting

But you my glory and my strength

Will on my tempter tread

Will silence all my threatening guilt

And raise my drooping head.

Arise, Oh Lord, fulfill your grace

While I your glory sing;

My God has broke the serpent’s teeth

And death has lost his sting

And though the hosts of death and hell

All armed against me stand

No more will terrors shake my soul;

Secure within your hand.

Arise, Oh Lord, fulfill your grace

While I your glory sing;

My God has broke the serpent’s teeth

And death has lost his sting

The Congregational service at Tabernacle Church is considered to be the beginning of the foreign missions movement in America.  These five men had prepared for this day since their days together in college.

Adoniram Judson (1788-1850)

Adoniram Judson

Adoniram Judson is considered my many to be the father of the modern missions movement.  He was wed to Anne Hasseltine only the day prior to this service.  They spent their honeymoon being set apart for the mission field.

After some time they set sail on the ship Caravan on their way to India.  The journey was one of surviving serious storms and of Bible study.  Judson studied the Bible on the subject of baptism and became a Baptist.

He and his wife did not remain long in India.  Instead they became missionaries to the people in Burma initially in Rangoon.

Judson was taken captive in Burma for two years.  At the end of these two years, his wife passed away.  Judson moved to another part of Burma and focused his work on linguistic studies.

Samuel Newell

Samuel Newell (d. 1841)

In between the service and his departure, Samuel Newell took a bride.  He and his wife traveled on the same ship with the Judsons.  After being in India for a short period of time, Newell lost both his wife and his infant daughter.

Newell spent the final 20 years of his life ministering in Bombay.

Samuel Nott

Like Newell, Samuel Nott became married in the interim time.  He labored for many years in India.

Luther Rice

Luther Rice served only a short while as a missionary.  He was forced to return home due to health concerns.

Gordon Hall

Gordon Hall was the fifth of the men commissioned that day.

He initially settled in Massachusetts.  Massachusetts authorities were not enamored with his views of religious tolerance and exiled him from the commonwealth.  He settled in what became Rhode Island and is considered the founder of that state.

Williams had an eventful religious journey that some admire and some count quirky or unstable.

1.  Williams was ordained by The Church of England.

2.  He left the Church of England to follow the ways of the Puritans.

3.  In Boston he declined to pastor the church because of the church’s ties to The Church of England.

4.  He pastored in Salem until conflict arose.

5.  He pastored in Plymouth until more conflict arose.

6.  He was expelled from Massachusetts by the Puritans.

7.  He settled in and established Rhode Island.

8.  He founded the first Baptist church in America in Providence.

9.  He abandoned being a Baptist to become non-sectarian.

Despite his constant movement geographically and religiously, Williams did lay the groundwork for much of the religious liberties we value today.

1.  Rhode Island became a haven for other religious dissenters.

2.  He claimed that civil powers had no right to judge the convictions of men’s souls.

3.  He wrote a defense of religious freedom in 1644.

4.  His treatment of Native Americans was exemplary.

A.  He spoke out against the taking of land from Native Americans.

B.  He bought the land that would become Rhode Island from the Native Americans.

C.  He learned the language of the Native Americans in his area.

His influence on the early colonies eventually led to the religious clause in the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.  When rightly understood, this amendment prevents the establishment of a state religion and restricts the government from infringing on the practice of religion.

This is often misunderstood to mean that religion should have no influence on government.  Not so.  Williams exerted his religious beliefs on the government of Rhode Island.  He was a Baptist pastor who founded and established the state.  The church in America should follow his lead in providing prophetic influence on the affairs of the state.  However, we should resist any infringement of the state upon the religious exercise of its people – even if we disagree with those practices.

Too often that line is being blurred or crossed.  We may choose to forego Williams path, but we must surely stand for his values on religious freedom.

First, some were unconverted.  It is interesting to note that she commented that these unconverted folks had long been the subject of intercessory prayers.  The other group of people were Christians who were living without any joy.

At the onset of her visit, Havergal indicated that God gave her a prayer, Lord, give me all in this house.  God answered that prayer.  In the space of those five days, the house became a house of rejoicing.

Unable to sleep this woman who saturated her life with the Bible (she had committed to memory the Psalms, Isaiah and most of the New Testament), penned the words to the hymn that congregations have been singing for over a century.

Take my life and let it be

Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

Take my moments and my days,

Let them flow in endless praise.

****

Take my hands and let them move

At the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet and let them be

Swift and beautiful for Thee.

****

Take my voice and let me sing,

Always, only for my King.

Take my lips and let them be

Filled with messages from Thee.

****

Take my silver and my gold,

Not a mite would I withhold.

Take my intellect and use

Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

****

Take my will and make it Thine,

It shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart, it is Thine own,

It shall be Thy royal throne.

****

Take my love, my Lord, I pour

At Thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself and I will be

Ever, only, all for Thee.

It is refreshing that this woman took to heart the words she wrote.  Four years later she applied these words in a tangible way.

The Lord has shown me another little step, and, of course, I have taken it with extreme delight. ‘Take my silver and my gold’ now means shipping off all my ornaments to the Church Missionary House, including a jewel cabinet that is really fit for a countess, where all will be accepted and disposed of for me…Nearly fifty articles are being packed up. I don’t think I ever packed a box with such pleasure.

With this hymn writer, we should say, Take my life.

A challenge to believers to die to the bondage of living for self.

You can read my review of the book here. I am using Punch Tab to determine the winner.  Registration for the free book will remain open through Tuesday, February 7th.  You have an opportunity to be entered multiple times in the contest.

UPDATE: Contest is over. The winner is Annette L. Congratulations.

1.  Hillbilly 10 Commandments

2.  Matt Chandler: God is for God

3.  52 Lessons from 52 Years

4.  The Grilled Tebow

5.  Flourish Like the Palm Tree

If you ask me that is really not a commitment, is it?

Commitments really are not commitments until players sign on the dotted line.  College coaches will stand around their fax machines awaiting these signed documents.  Once the fax sheets roll out, then the players are committed.

Think about how this differs for the Christian.  Our admittance into heaven is based upon our name being written in the Book of Life.

Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
(Philippians 4:3 ESV)

These words from Paul the Apostle indicate that the Philippian Christians had their names written in the book of life.  Conversely the Bible teaches us that those who do not have their names written in the book of life are not Christians.  In fact, their destiny will be the lake of fire.

And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
(Revelation 20:15 ESV)

Another difference for the Christian is that God is not in heaven watching his fax machine looking for our letter of commitment.  Our names have long ago been written in the book if we are his.

…everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
(Revelation 13:8 ESV)

And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast…
(Revelation 17:8 ESV)

The names have been written in this Book of Life from the foundation of the world.  Since we were not the ones writing at this time, we understand that it was God himself who penned our names into the book.  Since he has placed our names in this book, his Spirit blows into our life to give us a heart which desires to know him.  When this happens we turn from our sin and place our trust in him and his wonderful gospel.

But what if we sin still more?  Or what if this beast spoken of in the Revelation is too powerful?  Those who have their names in the book may falter through sin, but they will strive to live holy lives.  Then we can take heart in the promise that Jesus made to those in the church at Sardis who were striving this way,

The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
(Revelation 3:5 ESV)

So, it is God himself who writes our names in the book from the foundation of the world, and it is the Lord Jesus himself who refuses to blot our names out of the book.

How much more glorious is this than for us to be like the high school athlete faxing in our commitment.  God is not like a coach hoping that his recruiting efforts pays off.  He knows his team.

Yes, we do make a commitment.  But it is not the kind of commitment that makes us smart enough to join the right team.  It is that God demonstrates to us that he has chosen us for his team.  We have already been placed on the roster.  We acknowledge that and show up to play.

Is your name in that book?  Are you on the team?

Church Covenant Wordle

Last night Suzie and I met with our pastor and his wife for dinner.  We enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship and took the final step in being members at First Baptist Church of Boynton Beach.  We love Dr. Buz and Sandy McNutt.

Church membership is taken seriously by the church.  The final step we took was to sign a copy of the church member covenant.  I am sharing it here as an encouragement for those who might wonder if a Christian should be a member of a church.  We are joining together with fellow believers to function as the body of Christ in our community.

First Baptist Church of Boynton Beach

Church Member Covenant

Having, as we trust, been brought by divine grace to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to give up ourselves to Him, and having been baptized upon our profession of faith, in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, we do now, relying on His gracious aid, solemnly and joyfully renew our covenant with each other.

We will work and pray for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

We will walk together in brotherly love, as true members of a Christian Church, exercise an affectionate care and watchfulness over each other and faithfully admonish and entreat one another as occasion may require.

We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, nor neglect to pray for ourselves and others.

We will endeavor to bring up such as may at any time be under our care, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and by a pure and loving example to seek the salvation of our family and friends.

We will rejoice at each other’s happiness and endeavor with tenderness and sympathy to bear each other’s burdens and sorrows.

We will seek, by Divine aid, to live carefully in the world, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and remembering that, as we have been voluntarily buried by baptism and raised again from the grave, so there is on us a special obligation now to lead a new and holy life.

We will work together for the continuance of a faithful evangelical ministry in this church, as we sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines.

We will contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.

We will, if we move from this place, as soon as possible, unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.  Amen.

I am excited about being in this kind of covenant relationship with God’s people in this church.  Does your church have a covenant?  Do you know what it says?  Feel free to post any links to your church’s covenant in the comments below.