I was devastated — heart sick — this morning to open my Facebook and the top story shared by a couple ministry friends was the resignation of pastor Bob Coy due to moral failure. Coy founded and led Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, one of the largest and fastest growing churches in the United States, attracting some 20,000 people every week. In addition, Coy shared on a radio teaching program heard worldwide.
I heard of another pastor within the last couple weeks closer to home. I have personally dealt with nearly a dozen churches in the past couple years who lost a pastor due to a moral issue. One of the leaders in our denomination used the word “epidemic” recently to describe the number of pastors who are leaving the ministry because of moral failures.
I debated actually posting anything about this, however, having dealt with this issue so many times, and knowing there would be a flurry of news reports about this resignation, I decided to add a perspective to hopefully help steer some of the thoughts and discussions. Most of my readers are from the church — the body of Christ. This is intended as family talk. I believe there are things we can learn from times like this — as tragic as they appear to us.
My thoughts:
It does not negate Bob Coy’s teaching. No doubt now there was sin in Bob’s life. And, obviously, this sin was occurring while he was teaching. But, that doesn’t mean his teaching wasn’t true. Frankly, I love his teaching. My first church was an hour from where I lived. I was there for a one year commitment and I listened to Bob Coy every Sunday driving to that church. His teaching helped me be a better teacher. I’m certain his influence still impacts me today in a positive way. Many times I hear people wondering what it means from all the things they learned under a pastor who falls. There are thousands who have been positively shaped by the teaching of Bob Coy. If the person was teaching truth, God’s Spirit is the ultimate teacher and that doesn’t change with yesterday’s resignation.
The enemy gets a new “attaboy” for his efforts. Satan loves to attack the good ones. Others will now say, “See, pastors are no different from us.” And, we are not, but the enemy will attempt to use this to draw people away from their faith in Christ.
Bob Coy can be restored. Fully. It will depend on his repentance, humility, willingness to be completely transparent to those who need to know, and his acceptance of the grace of God. But, he can be restored. God used Moses, David, Noah, Jacob and so many others as Biblical examples of how He can use what is sinful for eventual good.
Every pastor is susceptible. Stand guard. If we ever believe we are above temptation we have opened the door for the enemies prowl to be effective. Most of the time it begins subtly. No one wakes up in a single day and thinks about destroying their personal life. It happens gradually over time. The time to build our systems of accountability, support and protection is always now.
Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale is still a great church. From what I read they are handling this as well as could be expected. My prayer is that few would leave and the church would see a renewal during this time. Many times, as in our personal life, with proper leadership, a church can grow stronger during a trial.
We don’t need to know any more. We now know enough. It’s bad. We need to avoid our natural tendencies to want to know more about the situation than what the church and the Coy family chooses to release. And, hopefully that will be minimal. More information only stirs more false information and broadens the damage. People often criticize a church for “not extending grace” to the fallen pastor, but many times the grace is extended — to the person, family, and everyone involved — in not sharing all the details.
Christ and His church will survive. The gates of Hell shall not prevail. Jesus promised this.
I’m so burdened by this news. I have a heart for the hurting pastor. For several years I’ve owned the domain name hurtingpastors.org. I recently acquired ministrytransition.com Right now they point to my blog, but my hope has been to launch a ministry aimed at helping fallen, burdened, or misplaced ministers. We are losing too many men and women who once sensed a call of God on their life, but have, for whatever reason, left their current position. The Kingdom is left void of the ideas, passion and work of someone God intended to use for His glory. As my friend said, it’s epidemic.
This is a good time to pause, pray for Bob Coy and his family, for Calvary Chapel, and for your pastor and church.
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I continue to pray for Bob Diane and their kids. He sinned, obviously caught up in Satan’s snares of addiction. Bobviously was never God, he was never Jesus but he was an anointed teacher of the word who made the Bible come alive for me and thousands of others. I have not found another teacher like him and I wish they would make his teachings available again.
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone….. thank you for this post. Praying for repentance, revival, and restoration for this pastor. Remembering King David's and Bob Coy's moral failure reminds us how desparately we each need daily to set a guard over our hearts. The enemy is a punk who knows how to wield just the right bait for each of us. Pride, power, gossip, fear…….we all fall short of the glory of God. May this man learn more about God's grace and loving discipline that will turn his heart back to His first love.
Marantha!
Ron,
I see that you stated that Bob Coy can be restored Fully”. What is your experience of an actual full or fully restored pastor in this day and time you can point to that would by actual evidence say that the pastor was “Fully” restored? What is half restored if not fully restored? Restoration is almost like asking you at this very moment if Boy Coy is crying every second as a sign of repentance or watching him turn down a secret meeting with a woman other than his wife as a sign of repentance. What is FULLY restored? Fully restored to preach in the same pulpit, with the same respect? What is your measuring stick? I’m curious.
That's impossible to answer for Bob Coy. I don't know the details of the offense of the measures of accountability in place. I don't know the church or the way it functions or is governed. I don't know it's culture. Fully restored means to me he is right with the Father and fully used of God for whatever purpose God may have for him at that point. I would guess that would be difficult within most churches to get to that point In the same positio. Too many peoe have been injured and trust is just too hard to rebuild. I do know of a couple examples whee I've seen people that I believe have been “fully restored”. God is using them again. They are growing again. They've righted their wrongs as best as they could with people they've injured. Sorry, I'm not one to tell other people's stories, but I know it's possible. I'd people can't be fully restore under the context of being 100% right with God again and used again for His purposes then it doesn't sound like amazing grace.
Thanks Ron for the reply. I appreciate your time. But I totally agree with you when you say that it would be difficult for most churches to get to the point whereby they “fully” restore. One thing that we must be clear in our message to people is that being right with God is not the same as being right with the church. Let us not forget the words as recorded in Galatinas of “…ye that are spiritual restore..” If Bob Coy’s church has no one spiritually qualified to restore then its an indictment on his church rather than on his moral failure. Two wrongs don’t make a right. A Moral Failure and a church lacking spirutal people who can not send anyone to assist in the restoration is not in line with biblical understanding of restoration. So if its ddifficult for most churches as you stated, then it says to me that we need another article written indicting anyone who claims to be a spiritual restorer but is absent from Bob Cody’s life. The sinner being right with God is only half the process that leads to full restoration. If the church can’t locate “ye that are spiritual…” besides the pastor then God help us all. .
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It has been a process but pastor bob’s situation was the last straw for me that broke the camels back. I’ve become agnostic.
I'm praying for you. But I would say that our hope is in Christ. Man will disappoint. Christ never will.
Sam this is proof of Gods love for us all especially for Bob Coy. He didnt let him live in his sin. Man will always fail you. I’ve trained myself not to put anyone especially Christians on a pedestal and expect perfection. My trust will always be in Christ. He will never leave us or forsake us. He will never disappoint us. I will be raising you in prayer.
*meant die in his sin. He was exposed so he can confess, make amends, and repent. Gods grace us immeasurable.
I’m so confused after this that I don’t know what who what to believe anymore, what do I do?
Pray for God to comfort yoh and to reveal it to you. Try to look at it through Gods eyes. God gave him everything. Bob was blessed. Bob failed and God is disciplining him and not letting him die in his sin. Praying for you Sam. Jesus loves you.
Yes, my wife and I is praying for Mr.Bob Coy, his wife,family and all who knows of him and the way he presented the word. May God be Glorified through this. I enjoyed his teachings that helped me with my walk with God. Mahalo (Thank you) and Aloha (Love) from Honolulu, Hawaii.
Forgot to mention the people that was affected by this situation, that’s why i say all
This is more affirmation to put our trust in Jesus Christ. Not man. Calvary will go on. This is the bride of Christ. They have done a superlative job with this. Humbled.
I do believe in the Jesus Christ that died on the Cross of Calvary and rose form the dead. I also believe He is the God of all comfort! I also believe that what is sent to to destroy us God can use it for His Glory. Pastor Bob Coy is still my Pastor in my heart! I may not know all the details (and it is none of business to know all details)-but I do know that his teachings have helped me in many ways. Honestly I cannot say things is the same for me as part of the Body at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale..my Pastor/Brother in the Lord is hurting! By his teachings and approach to us while he is on the pulpit-tells me this man cares for the flock of God! He needs us now to pray with and for him until The Glory of Lord be revealed in this situation..It is Resurrection Sunday! My Pastor is not with us..God knows I hurt for him..my prayer is that God will get the Glory out of this and that Pastor Bob will be restored to a greater place in the Kingdom of God–my heart is with Pastor Bob Coy-I celebrate his victory in advance! Thanks be to God who gives us the Victory through Christ Jesus our Lord..I know the Love and Grace of God! He has restored me over and over and over again..even when I made stupid decisions! Please help me pray for my Pastor..Bob Coy..thank you!
How did he teach truth? He did not believe God's teaching on election. What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded Romans 11:7. Free will Pastors never are given the secrets of God because they can not be trusted as we see with Pastor Bob. I went to Calvary and people just want the feel good preaching and the comedy act of Bob. It made my soul sick to hear it. The rapture is a lie designed by satan to lead them to the antichrist. I hope people leave that false doctrine church / oh but the Graham's are there they need a bigger name then Coy so now we have the Graham's to save Calvery. The whole world will whore after the antichrist accept God's elect. Small as we are God doesn't need the 20,000 free will christians at Calvary.
I liked what Ivan said. But, amid all the loss, in terms of family, reputation, ministry, trust and the unsaved community, Bob evidently letting go of the value for fundamental purity– is what hurts me the most. I am literally heartsick because that is who (I thought) he was, through and through!! He MADE being pure fun, attractive and desirable through the teaching of the word always examining the condition of the heart. My pain is great. I don't know when he lost that value and personal purity. It's not that I had him on a pedestal, rather, his inexhaustible encouraging style led me to believe that that was his heart. I will keep praying.
While I agree we should be praying for Bob Coy and his family, let us not forget the woman/women involved- and more specifically, their husbands (if they are married- I have not seen reports either way).
Too often in these kinds of situations, we pray for the healing, reconciliation and repentance of the perpetrators, but we forget about the true victims- the spouses and other family members involved. May God be with them as they struggle to come to grips with the destruction that has befallen their families at the hands of someone who was in a position of trust and love.
Any reason why you are deleting posts that are not praising you? You deleted my comment, why? Was there something obscene? Profanity? No, nothing of the sort. Do you delete all comments that don't start with, " Thank you so much Ron…"? Very dishonest on your part sir. I bet this comment here will have about a 30 min. shelf life. If your offended at scriptures, which was all my last comment contained, then you have more serious problems. Looks like you have a major pride issue and love the praise of men. " Woe to you when the world speaks well of you".
please disregard the above comment, my first comment was not viewable because it was a reply, but I did find it. My apologies to you, for jumping to conclusions and accusing you of being dishonest and prideful. The error is mine, my last comment was to expose the lie of " once saved always saved" , and in most cases it is not accepted, and I thought it was the same here. Sorry Ron, I was wrong. However, I do know of other comments that were deleted, and I thought mine was one of them.
Thanks for your gracious apology.
It's my blog. I don't have to accept comments at all. There's am option for that. I delete comments that are rude. I don't believe Christians have to be rude to disagree. In fact, I think that's contrary to Scripture or the heart of God. Jesus came full of grace and truth. If you want to bash only find another blog post. Leaving this one. That's called grace. :). Thanks.
Thank you so much for this post. My family and I attend Calvary Chapel Ft Lauderdale. Hearing the news Monday morning absolutely filled my heart with sadness for Pastor Bob and his family without even knowing the claim. I immediately knew we needed to pray for him, his family, and the Church. Although he will be missed, We will continue to attend Calvary. I would like to remind everyone that our focus must be on Christ. Pastor Bob began a great work for God, that has not changed…”until the whole world hears”.
Yes. Thank you. Praying for you church.
Excellent article. I loved the last point about the church of God surviving. Although the pain is very real and anyone who serves in ministry experiences heartbreak, God will always have a church and it will prevail. Lord help us all to live for You!
Thank you.
Ron
this is a great post. my heart aches as well. my wife and i have been in ministry to pastors and wives and missionary couples as well for the last 18 years. doing what has been on your heart. we along with a host of other ministry don't often get noticed, but we are here sometimes to help restore and more often to walk along side ministry couples to help them stay true to their calling and not fall into the trap of moral failure.
charley & bev blom
Of course this happened. This is not God's design for the Body of Christ. Read Jon Zen's latest book, 58 to 0: How Christ Leads through the One Anothers. The one-bishop rule (one senior pastor) with much power and control is not found in the New Testament. The New Covenant is all about Christ alone, Christ only, as Head of His Church, mediated solely through His Holy Spirit. All other ways are anathema, heresy, blasphemy. Ask any authentic Christian in the underground church in China, or India, or Africa, and they will tell you the same thing. What we see in American churches with their powerful "pastors" is not found in the Bible and is wrong, wrong, wrong. So naturally you are going to have many Rob Coys having moral failures because God did not intend them to be in power positions. Christ intended His people to be all equals, all using their Gifts in the Body of Christ, all making decisions together. Get a clue!
And I would say get some kindness of God that might have a chance of leading to repentance. Get a clue there. Thanks for your comment. Ungraciously even as it was delivered.
great post, very informative. I’m wondering why the other experts of this sector don’t notice this.
You must proceed your writing. I’m sure, you’ve a great
readers’ base already!
A few points:
1) The Bible calls it SIN, not 'moral failure.
2) It does call Coy's teaching into question – a tree is known by its fruit.
3) Restoration as a pastor is not possible, Coy no longer meets the biblical requirements of an elder.
Pastor Edmondson, thank you for sharing your heart regarding Pastor Bob Coy. It brought a sane, balanced and most importantly Godly perspective in the midst of this heart-wrenching situation. For me, it is the 4th Pastor that has “fallen”. None of those occasions have been pretty. But we all fall, don’t we? We just have to reach out to the Lord’s saving arm and ask for mercy and the grace to change. One thing I learned from these experiences, is that God will expose what’s in OUR hearts. At first, of course there is shock. Then as hours, days, weeks go by, and we’ve had a chance to digest a bit, are we angry, unforgiving, condemning, “hunting for truth”, even justifying or excusing? This is where the rubber meets the road, where we cannot hide from our own hidden issues, where we have to come clean and confess that our life in the Lord needs refining at best. And we fool ourselves thinking that this just happened. Sin is like a seed: it takes time to grow and finally show its rotten fruit. So I encourage you to search your hearts, guard your hearts, pray for Pastor Bob, his family and Calvary Chapel and continue in the race, always looking to our Perfect, Faultless Shepherd!
This is such a good word.
Pastor Edmondson, thank you for your sharing your heart regarding Pastor Bob Coy. It brought a sane and balanced perspective on the midst of the heart-wrenching situation we at
God's Word does not come back Void. A man spoke the Gospel, a man was in the pulpit.
A man sinned.
In the beginning was the Word
And the Word became flesh
Jesus was and is The Word.
HE came to show us what human suffering was at the hand of man (sinners).
HE has overcome the world but we are still in the world.
This is why we need Jesus
We do not need Bob Coy as he was a great messenger but know keep your eyes on Jesus only.
Pray for Bob as he was deceived, he is hurting, he has also hurt others and they are hurting too.
Pray especially
Pray for his loving wife and children that he was leading and that they also looked up to lead them.
It must be a very painful and scary time for all of them.
May they have faith that Jesus is their Redeemer!
I have cried for all of them.
I have cried for myself.
I have had to answer to others who have asked me.
I am hurt myself.
But my eyes remain on Jesus.
HE is my rock.
My faith shall not be moved by a man.
Just a man.
Bob was put in a most high place and Bob could not stand the heat.
Sad.
I thought he could.
I trusted him and thought he was able to overcome, stand faithful, be so rooted that he would surely not be moved by…….what?
Really?
I am sickened, and I know his family is also sickened.
I pray for a miraculous healing.
While I agree with all your thoughts, I think you can do better than "we don't need to know more" about Bob Coy's moral failure. King David's moral failure was put out in detail and I think Bob Coy should do it too and willingly accept God's punishment as David did. By keeping it to himself, his sincerity in repenting is questionable. Why not tell it all so that other Christians can learn from it and serve as a wake up call.. Bob already knew that God will not spare him for his sins. Bob is a Christian leader and what did God say about it? It is better for man not to know the law of God than those who knew and yet knowingly disobeyed.
Are you in the church? Are you directly impacted? If not, then I disagree. We aren't writing another Bible.
I have been attending Calvary chapel for 2 years. I really don’t care to know the sordid details of Bob Coys indiscretion. Does it matter if it was 1 woman or 15? I have been completely great Bristish stricken for the past few days. Until today. The Lord has really given me peace about this. Bob Coy was very well taken care of by God. And Bob Coy sinned knowingly. God will not be mocked.
*grief stricken (SORRY)
I have been following Jimmy Swaggart for many years so I know a bit about what happens after a pastor's fall. I still watch the Son of Life broadcast and I am still a fan of the entire Swaggart family.
Wow…thank you… a blog with sense and decency. What sickens me is Speculation, Assumption, Presumptions made by people who have no business even talking about it. It's done! Leadership has begun the process of his consequences. Somehow the Speculations, Assumptions and Presumptions of others not involved immediately turn into facts that they have now become and authority on. The flip side are those who choose to split hairs or are offended when someone doesn't use the now politically correct term of "Moral Failure" in place of "Sexual immorality". 1 Timothy 5:20 "Those who sin should be reprimanded in front of the whole church; this will serve as a strong warning to others" We need to be paying attention to "a warning to others". We need to trust the Holy Spirit to teach us what He wants us to learn from this lesson that God has brought to light….(your sin will find you out Numbers 32:23) A revival of Repentance is coming if each of us submits to the Holy Spirits convictions…
Sad to see that you posted this last night, but I found this early this morning: http://neosoulfaith.wordpress.com/2014/04/08/trai…
No bueno. #plagiarism
Your link doesn't work but what are you talking about? I found this blog and they don't have anything relative to this issue in recent days.
Try this link, lead story called "Train wreck". Especially "his" points to offer help. They are…VERY similar to you points. #sadly
http://neosoulfaith.wordpress.com/ sorry, forgot to include the link
Yea. Thanks for pointing that out. I see it now.
Okay. I see this. Apparently he did use some of my thoughts. He posted on the 8th and me on the 7th. I thought you were accusing me. I certainly don't intentionally plagiarize. Certainly not copy and paste. But, I'm flattered when anyone wan so copy me. :). Thanks for pointing it out.
Sorry for being confusing there. Clearly this was your work. I am glad to see you gracious regarding the use of your work, what concerns me is the integrity issue of claiming it as one's own. In my mind, lying is more egregious than the act of copying someone else's work.
I attend CCFL and myself and my family are really heartbroken. I cannot express enough how much I appreciate your words and willingness to comment on this difficult situation. This is an encouragement to us because our lives and family have been so profoundly touched by his teachings and the ministry at CCFL. Our hearts go out to his wife and kids and pray that he will be repentant and restored.
Thank you. Praying for your church.
Ron,
Terrific article and yes, God forgives. I too listen to Bob Coy and received his daily devotions. And while everyone seems to believe there is a jump in moral tresspasses regarding pornography and extra-marital affairs, I find it hard to believe that this is all of a sudden a trend. There a few things in play here, one is information goes so much faster today than even 5 years ago (as there are so many outlets to gossip and spread news), secondly pop culture has invaded into the congregations where celebrity status can often blind leaders and parishioner alike making a pastor much bigger than he really is.Lastly, you cannot equate huge outreach to a bigger status (ego) in the evangelical movement. There seems to be a paradoxical connection that if you have a large church or following that also lifts you to a higher status as a moral beacon. That is our fault as parishioners to allow that to take place. While Bob Coy is responsible and needs forgiveness and restoration, we also need to realize he is no different than us, as we all are common in Christ. The question is why put anyone of these men on a pedestal? That's the danger and the weakness of our faith by not keeping our eyes on The Lord solely and placing a fallible man higher than he (we) should be. Bob Coy will come back stronger and on fire for The Lord and many great lessons will come out of this to make his personal ministry that much stronger. Any christians enjoying a fall of a christ centered man, really needs to dig deep in their soul and pray. We are all used (either by satan or God), but we are used, and it can happen to anyone. Keeping your eyes on Christ always and never losing your foundation from from all the accolades you receive. If he got a black eye we all got the black eye, when he is restored, we will all be restored and praising The Lord for it.
Strong word Ivan. Thank you.
CCFL is obviously hurting from this as all of us are who love and learn from Bob. That said, I also hear in a majority of their comments great practical Bible knowledge on how this should be handled and the heart behind it. That’s a well taught flock! So sorry for their hurt, but the staff and people who attend have my attention for how great they’re handling it over all! All loving and looking for restoration without elevating the one man. Well done CCFL!
A great staff can hold a church together. Thank you. As I said, CCFL is still a great church.
Thanks for your thoughts Ron. As you ended it, it really is a good time to pray for Bob Coy and his family, for Calvary Chapel, and for your pastor and church. So that is exactly what I did.
Amen
Twitter: kmac4him
says:
Oh Ouch… Oh how we need GOD, how we need HIM, His forgiveness, His mercy… more than ever… flesh us out Lord, we need to be holy aligned with You, we need to stay firmly planted in a vital-vertical relationship with You, wholly-holy yours because we ALL fall short of Your glory… help us…
Yes. Help us
Twitter: kmac4him
says:
http://youtu.be/gS9e0nxHP-w
I refused to read the headlines, I don't want my "ticks" to be counted.
Grateful for grace and warning.
Thank you again, Ron.
Thank you very much for your post. I attend Calvary Chapel and this has been a terrible blow to our whole family. As a long time Christian, there isn't much that I haven't heard nor that I am surprised with. Our faith is not in a man, yet what has occured is devastating because it has so many ramifications. We are sad for Bob, for his wife, for his children, for the leadership, and all those that will share in the consequences of his decision. We have wept, we have prayed, and our hearts are tender. Thank you for deciding to write this post. I have read so much condemnation from other "christian" blogs. However, I am thankful that there have been many christian leaders that have reached out to Calvary Chapel. Those that are praying and reaching out both to Bobs family and to the congregation. I know that there are many that will be helping Bob in restoration, and when we had the meeting on Sunday it was encouraging to know that there are many pastors stepping in to both teach and counsel those hurting, with questions etc. Thank you for saying that it doesn't negate his teaching, that Calvary Chapel is still a great church and that Bob can be restored. I have been deeply saddened because Bob Coy has helped, encouraged, rescued, taught, and layed down his life for many people. I do believe he has been a man after Gods own heart. There is much good he has done and it makes me sad that he probably will be more known for this than for all the endless time he has loved God and invested in peoples lives. He has fallen in a big way, I dont think it has to be hammered into him or his congregation. He has confessed, he has asked for forgiveness, he has been rebuked, he has resigned, he is being counseled and it has been made public. I don't know how he or his family feels, but our family has already had to answer difficult questions from others, both christian and nonchristian. It isn't easy because it is true. He has fallen. There are consequences. This is one of those consequences. If we are in pain I can only imagine that the Coy family must be going through that exponentially. It is humiliating and painful, but I am not afraid to express that I am thankful to God for Calvary Chapel, thankful that there are other men able to teach and lead. I am thankful that Bob Coy resigned and confessed, that he wants to please God rather than man. Whether he has truly repented or not I don't know, only God knows. It is between him and God and this sort of thing takes time. Although people are asking for him to return and his teachings to be put back up on the website, that would be a grave mistake at this time. I am thankful that people are being forgiving and accepting , but perhaps they don't understand that some sins need to be dealt with deeply and it takes time. That there is a certain biblical standard that pertains to those that teach that needs to be followed in order for restoration to happen. Regardless, I am thankful for their forgiving hearts and I am thankful for the leadership that will be rotating to continue the teaching etc. This situation is helping me see that I need to be careful with what I think and say about people from other churches. That I need to be vigilant in my marriage and my first love. May God forgive me for not thinking of others at times that I have heard things like this before. This can happen to anybody. It can happen to me.Your words are like a healing balm to my heart.
Thank you. Praying for your church and family.
Was Bob sexually active with a young man or a young woman? Or, both?
No clue.
Does it matter to YOU PERSONALLY??? Or are you just digging for dirt? In any case GROW UP! People are hurting
Thank you Ron.
Every time is hurts to hear that a soldier is down. (yes it is a war).
we have to pray for him, for the other soldiers, for us.
because the race is not over. stay focused and tuned to Jesus.
Yes
I pray the brother will repent of his "moral failures" – I believe the Bible calls it sin. I must ask why we are so quick to "graciously restore" when we have seen no evidence of repentance? Didn't John the Baptist call for "fruit of repentance"? And by all means the " sin" of being "judgmental" is far worse than adultery or fornication – at least it seems.
Yes Brother Coy is a sinner, as I am, as all are – and cleansing and peace comes when we repent. I pray he is sorry for his affront to a holy God, for bringing dishonor to Jesus who bled and died for his sin — not just sorry he got caught.
Yea, that's why I wrote “It will depend on his humility, willingness to be completely transparent to those who need to know, and his acceptance of the grace of God.”Thanks!
" A righteous man who falters before the wicked is like a murky spring and a POLLUTED well." prov. 25:26
" We" are not all sinners as you claim. Judging also is not a sin, and to make the fallacious claim that it is worse than adultery and fornication is absurd, try explaining that to Bob's wife and children. The bible says " Do not judge according to appearance but JUDGE WITH RIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENT." John 7:24 Judging is not wrong nor sinful, but one MUST be righteous in order to judge righteously. I am not a sinner, I was a sinner, so speak for yourself. I have been born again ( John 3:3), become a new creation ( 1 corin 5:17), passed from death to life ( John 5:24), I walk in newness of life ( Rom. 6:4),I walk in the light as God is in the light ( 1 John 1:7), I've been SET FREE FROM SIN ( Rom. 6:7, John 8:32), sin no longer has dominion over me, for I am not under the law but under grace ( Rom. 6:14). This is the life of a true born again christian, the christianity of first century, the christianity that the disciples had, the ONLY christianity that God honors. If this does not describe you, you are not saved, christians are NOT sinners, they are saints, and that is exactly how the apostle Paul addressed the christians he wrote to in his epistles. HOLINESS is mandatory, not optional, it is not a suggestion, it is a commandment! " Without holiness NO ONE will see the Lord." Heb. 12:14
Bob Coy is in sin, that's what makes him a sinner, he needs to repent for SALVATION'S sake. He is NOT a victim, his family is. He willfully sinned against God. " For if WE sin WILLFULLY AFTER receiving the knowledge of the truth, there NO LONGER REMAINS A SACRAFICE FOR SINS but a terrifying expectation of judgement, and the fury of a fire that will consume the adversaries." Heb. 10:26
Jesus said " He that endures to the end shall be saved." Mat. 10:22 Many will not endure to the end, mostly because they believe in the false doctrine of " once saved always saved ", that teaches christians are still sinners, and that sin itself will not separate you from God, although the bible teaches the opposite. Eternal security is an anti-holiness doctrine of demons, that is conducive to all kinds of debauchery and wickedness, hence Bob's example. It removes the fear of God and the urgency to crucify the flesh, deny yourself, and continue in the faith. Jesus said " Enter through the narrow door, for MANY I tell you will seek to enter but will NOT be able." Luke 13:23
Comforting message to read…Thanks for sharing it!! Feeling very sad for Pastor Bob and his Family!! They need our prayers and support!!
God Bless them!!
Thanks.
I also need to apply grace to those who lacked love. God is growing me but I have a long way to go.
Thank you so much for this post Pastor Ron. My husband was asked to resign from the Calvary Chapel growing church we planted for an inappropriate conversation he had with another woman. The Pastors and Leaders of the cc church were told to not talk to us. The Elders did not so much as come over and pray with him. It was such a broken time with no where to turn. People assumed that an affair must have happened because of the way the church handled it. My husband was repentant not caught. The conversations went on for 1 week. I hope and pray that you do put together a ministry for Pastors and Leaders that are broken. It is a need. I am so saddened that Calvary Chapels have NO restoration plan for Pastors. I'm sad that they put image over loving (at least in our case). Please, please help! We went through your Love and Respect Study and it was fantastic. It strengthened our marriage and gave us hope. Thank you! I still stand amazed that church leaders can turn on you so quickly lacking the love of Christ toward another. We have had to learn that God's love is not always represented correctly in the local church; even in our own church. But God still loves! He still forgives! He is still good!
Praying for you now. Yes. God restores. I will pray you can be restored and the Calvary learns from this. We must learn how to teach and apply grace.
From a 16-yr CCFTL veteran, part time staff member and servant, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this post. I have been so grieved by the many ramblings and postings of others who would condemn him for his actions and this post is a breath of fresh air in the midst of the stench of those who would take joy in this circumstance. Every point you made is exactly on target and I appreciate you sharing your heart and thoughts as a fellow pastor. This unfortunate circumstance has served to remind me that this church, CCFTL, was built on Jesus Christ and not a man, that God can always bring beauty from the ashes and that we need to be praying fervently for our leaders. Thank you, once again! God Bless you!
Yes. Praying for you all. Thank you.
Ron I think this is a very insightful post. I was a part of the highest levels of this church. I agree Bob can be restored but it will take much counseling and accountability. This had become a lifestyle for him over a 17 year period. He was filled with daily anger and rage that was consistently displayed and used on his pastoral inner circle. I believe the anger was a result of the lifestyle he knew he was living. The board and senior leadership were well aware of his affairs and addiction to pornography and did nothing to hold him accountable because of the iron fist of power he consistently yielded. His failures came from a purposeful lack accountability for the lifestyle he desired to live. This is sad on all accounts – bobs failure, the boards lack of oversight and accountability and those closest to him afraid to confront.
Obviously I'm a very outside look, but his is sad to hear this kind of thing. And, I'm afraid it may be more common than we think. Appreciate your approach and hope that this will serve as a lesson for others.
Ron, I happened upon this page on the internet and want to thank you for such a heartfelt, no doubt God led response to what has happened at Calvary Chapel – Ft. Lauderdale. My family and I have been attending there regularly for almost ten years and are so very saddened by what has happened. However, I am finding that it seems all of the times that Pastor Bob reminded his flock to keep their eyes on God, not him, because he was human and one day may disappoint us, came back to memory for I am finding for the most part our family at Calvary are extremely compassionate, understanding and non judgmental and will pray Bob, Diane and kids through their healing and restoration. Those who have attacked are for the most part those who have always had issues with the ministry and are looking for their 15 minutes of fame. Thank you again for your kind remarks. God bless you.
Thanks so much. Praying for the church.
Thank you Ron for your humble leadership in the area of pastoral leadership. I needed the reminder to make sure that accountability systems are clearly in place in my ministry. Blessings.
Thank you.
Ron, your post reminds me of a sermon God gave me back in 1997 from the life of Samson. The first point "Remember your Vows," presents the four main vows of Samson's life… no fruit of the vine, can't touch anything unclean, can't cut his hair, and keep the family line clean (every Hebrew boy was told to keep that vow).
The second point, "Resist your Desires" (could also be "Resist your Lusts"). Samson broke EVERY SINGLE VOW because of a lust or strong, overwhelming desire. Tabor's beauty led him to break the family line vow. His hunger led him to eat honey from inside a decaying lion he had killed, the lion, by the way, was unclean. Samson lived in the Valley of the Grapes with Delilah… I believe that the Holy Spirit INTENDED the words "Valley of the Grapes" to be included in this story for a purpose, and so I assume that Samson had something to do with fruits of the vine in this setting because he wanted to live with the prostitute. And, finally, because Samson wanted to sleep, he finally told Delilah to cut his hair.
The third point, "Restore Your Call" leads us to that moment when Samson, in his blindness, finally cries out to God, asking Him if he was still known to God, and begging for his strength to renew his fight against the Philistines. "And in his death, he killed more Philistines than in his life" we read, after "the spirit came upon him."
THIS is the most important part of Samson's life, I believe. Samson, cried out to God, who restored his call to defeat the Philistines, and, just as Christ did thousands of years later, Samson stretched out his hands to bring a culmination to God's call upon his life. Unlike Christ, Samson was not perfect. And, unlike Samson, Christ sacrificed His life once and for all. And, because God's son sacrificed his life for me, and for the Bob Coy's of this world, WE CAN HAVE OUR CALL RESTORED. And, THEN, as did Samson, we can see even GREATER accomplishments for God, but unlike Samson, we do not have to die (professionally or physically) to see our call restored!
My prayer is that we "Christian" folk don't try to make sure Coy (and others) end up under the rubble when he finally comes back to his senses and seeks his Father for restoration.
This is good. Might have to “borrow” this sometime.
I have never commented before, but have been reading for a few months, now, and appreciated many of your posts. My husband and I are missionaries in Mexico. In our nondenominational local churches, we do not have named pastors, but have elders who shepherd the flock, and then there are “full-time” preachers, commended to the grace of God from their own local church, and often invited to go to to different places to help out in series of meetings. About two yrs ago, a dear preacher sinned morally, and has sadly made no move at all towards repentance. This brother was an advocate for marriage and the family, and had written a book, plus there are many messages recorded of his preaching. All this to ask your opinion on what to do with the book and recordings? I believe the book was written before he was in the relationship, but many of the recordings we now know he was already involved. However, in either one, how do you recommend something of someone (however well done it is) who is obviously no longer walking with the Lord? I’d appreciate your thoughts. Thank you!
I realize I'm probably different from some, but I still don't discount his teaching. I would ask: 1)Is it truth? 2)Is it helpful? 3) Can I use it in my setting to advance the Kingdom?I don't think he should be writing right now — he needs to heal — but the work he did previously was good work. And, in the future it will be again — hopefully as we learn from his failures.
Thanks! I appreciate your thoughts.
I would probably err on the side of trusting God's word. As Dr. Edmondson has already replied, if its truth (based on God's word), helpful and useable, it still has its place in our Canon of resources (not the Canon of Scripture, to be clear) by which we might be able ot serve others. When I was working in Christian radio, I got so frustrated because some stations stopped carrying Michael English's music after his affair became public, but resisted the pressure to do the same for Sandi Patty when her affair became public. We can not support double standards. Yes, the man has sinned "before you and before my God" as another pastor involved in a public failure once said. But, truthfully, haven't we all? Does our sin preclude our church members from listening to our teaching and preaching?
My prayer is that Coy will be reminded by the Holy Spirit of his own teaching and be brought back to repentance and restoration quickly rather than later.
That's the key – repentance. If someone is truly repentant – in the real sense of the word – then I would read / listen to what they had to say. If they're not repentant, then they are being hypocritical. There are so many great books, audio teachings of others who have not fallen (that we know of), that we don't need to limit ourselves to one unrepentant sinner. I wouldn't want to financially support them in that way.
I do not know Bob. Never heard his speak. But he is a brother. A fellow pastor. I like and totally agree with what you say Ron.
Thanks my friend.
you nailed it. we need to know how God handled past failures of His people and those He loves. Your thoughts and recommendations were perfectly stated. Will be praying for you, as you counsel others and as you reflect your insights on blogs and thru the internet. Keep yourself safe.
Thank you Denny.
Well said Ron. It is tragic when this happens and sadly we are known for eating our own. But we serve a big God who works all things for our good according to his purpose. I also like your first point "It does not negate Bob Coy’s teaching." Our human failing should not destroy God's work through us. For some reason God chooses to work through fallen men and women.
Yes!
Thanks for your take on this, Ron. I agree completely. Praying for my friends at Calvary and all those who are affected.
Thanks Chris.
RE: hurtingpastors.org
Launch the ministry bro!
Thanks Gordon!