Journal: Faith and Mission
Volume: FM 05:2 (Spring 1988)
Article: Following A Fallen Pastor: Recovering From Docetism
Author: Richard Porter

FM 5:2 (Spring 1988) p. 45

Following A Fallen Pastor:
Recovering From Docetisma

Richard Porter

Pastor of Suburban Baptist Church,
Somewhere, USA

I believe you should go. You have the abilities to serve that church.” I did not hear these words during my prayer time, as I struggled to know God’s will, but during my group therapy session. The words were spoken by the psychiatrist who for the past year had been helping Anne and me to understand ourselves. The other members of the group, which included a Jewish couple, an Episcopalian bishop and his wife, and a young couple without any church affiliation, all nodded in agreement.

This affirmation of my gifts was the deciding factor in a struggle which had gone on for over three months. This affirmation was important because I accept as a good definition of God’s call “a task to be done and the ability to do it.”

Anne and I decided to permit the Pastor Search Committee to present my name to Suburban Baptist Church for consideration as pastor. In retrospect I see this incident as the first clear indication that God was at work seeking to lead us and to uphold us in what was to be the most difficult and rewarding pastorate in my ministry.

I had struggled over going to Suburban for several reasons. The most important was that the previous pastor, Fred Sharp, had resigned under pressure because of charges of sexual indiscretions and inappropriate conduct. I first learned of the charges of sexual indiscretions from the members of the Pastor Search Committee who reported them in general terms. There was a note of sadness in what they said because they all agreed that Fred was a man of unusual abilities. The basic assumption was that Fred’s popularity had gone to his head and had led him to assume that he could do no wrong. Other people whom I contacted, such as the interim pastor and a former pastor, shared the same views.

I had been pastor for at least six months before I learned that Fred’s sexual misconduct had been going on for most of this ministry. Fred seems to have had, whether consciously or subconsciously, a Docetic theology which permitted him to carry on a strong evangelistic program and at the same time be involved in extra-marital affairs.

I identified other problems at Suburban besides the charges of sexual improprieties against Fred. I lacked experience ministering in an area of high stress and mobility. A pastor friend who served a church in the same area told me, “Dick, the people in this area are overextended emotionally, financially, and spiritually.” Moreover, Fred was living in the community and had started a “Church Without Walls.” The church staff at Suburban...