Posted on 04/07/2014 3:47:13 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
Florida megachurch pastor Bob Coy has resigned from his 20,000-member Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale congregation over a “moral failing.”
A statement on the church’s website reported the news: ”On April 3, 2014, Bob Coy resigned as Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, effective immediately, after confessing to a moral failing in his life which disqualifies him from continuing his leadership role at the church he has led since its founding in 1985,”...
(Excerpt) Read more at religionnews.com ...
Which is worse, a (mega)church with a pastor/leader who has personal (private) failings or a church/national order which redefines “what is and is not sin” (such as same sex marriage, actively gay ministers, etc.)?
We are all sinners, some seek to declare to the followers that their sins are not sinful and should even be celebrated.
Bob Coy did not fall victim to Contemplative Spirituality or emerging church doctrine. Calvary Chapel has been at the forefront in the fight against this doctrinal aberration. Chuck Smith Sr. excommunicated his own son for falling into that doctrinal error. If the Church uses the name “Calvary Chapel of.....” then they don’t teach contemplative spirituality.
Bob Coy did, however, fall victim to the temptation of the flesh. He has resigned and I believe he recognizes that his pastoral ministry is at an end. Doctrinal purity does not guarantee that a preacher will not fall victim to the temptations of the flesh. This has happened to pastors and priests of all denominations and sects. Calvary Chapel is not better or worse than any other. It only makes the news when the church is bigger than most small towns.
how did that come up?
It’s a personal failing but it doesn’t indicate a betrayal of beliefs.
Jerry Lee Lewis studied at bible school. He still believes even if he doesn’t live up to the morals (and he does feel regret).
There was a documentary I saw on Amish youths in their period of “free wandering”. The filmmakers couldn’t understand how even if the kids didn’t return to Amish society (couldn’t abide by it), even when they engaged in sin and liked it, that they still held a belief in a God that may not approve of their actions.
It’s a temptation to identify one variety of wrong for every possible spiritual ill. It’s the old, “if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” problem.
Specifically, Billy Graham (and his associates) had a strict policy: Nobody was allowed to be in a room with a woman alone - another person always had to be there. This applied to secretaries and other assistants. They assumed that all men would be subjected to extraordinary temptation.
My church, a small one, has lost at least one pastor in the past because this rule was ignored.
Oh I think I get it.
There will always be private sins that do not scandalize a congregation. It’s when a sin gets notorious that it can scandalize a congregation.
As I said I hope he makes a comeback, beating not just his past porn habit, but helping others beat theirs too, understanding the evil better than before. (Harmless as doves, wise as serpents.)
It’s a good rule. I once had a job working for my pastor’s son who ran a business. One time I had a closed-door meeting with him in his office. As I opened the door to leave, a woman who had a business appointment with him was waiting to come in. She stepped in just as I was stepping out. I grabbed the doorknob to close the door when he said, “Please leave that open.” When I later asked him why he did that, he told me about Graham.
And even if there wasn’t such a temptation, people could misunderstand and enemies mischaracterize what was innocent.
If you are the enemy, who are you going to go after? satan isn't stupid.
That’s a good idea for reputation’s sake. No room for wagging of tongues. He might have been perfectly ok with the lady. If something private had to be discussed there would need to be a way.
Snatcher, if you are personally involved with Calvary Chapel in Fort Lauderdale,Bob Coy's church, and can attest to that, then I will defer to your testimony and say that I may be wrong. Or it may be that there is a controversy within the church about whether it is right or wrong.
The reason I wrote what I wrote is that I have read that contrary to Chuck Smith’s directive, some Calvary Chapel pastors are drawn to Rick Warren's teachings on "contemplative spirituality", and the "emerging church". Why did I think that Bob Coy's church was one of them? I read the following on www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com (which publishes books on and blogs about the dangers of these new ideas invading the church)...... posted June 24th, 2011
Lighthouse Trails has mentioned CC Ft. Lauderdale in a few articles, particularly relating to their online church bookstore that had carried several contemplative and/or authors such as Rob Bell in the past. After a personnel at the bookstore told us over the phone that they had removed these types of books, a Lighthouse Trails reader visited the walk-in store months later and purchased a Rob Bell book sitting on the shelves and sent us the receipt. Today, the CC Ft. Lauderdale bookstore sells books by emerging mystic proponent Tony Campolo, futurist/globalist John Maxwell, and contemplative advocate Max Lucado. By Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale partnering with Rick Warren on one hand and promoting Roger Oakland’s books on the other it certainly feeds the fires of confusion to the body of Christ further regarding Calvary Chapel. Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale has also brought in contemplative/emerging type musicians for church-sponsored concerts. One was musician David Crowder in a church sponsored concert. Crowder is author of Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi, where he encourages the practice of lectio divina and references and quotes contemplative/emerging figure Walter Brueggemann a number times. The book is of a “road to Rome” caliber. The upcoming Twelve conference at Saddleback isn’t the first time a Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale pastor has teamed up with Rick Warren. In 2007, we issued an article when Bob Coy was to share the platform with Rick Warren and John Ortberg at a conference. After our article, plans changed, and Coy addressed the audience from video cast rather than live on stage.
The key element here is probably pornography. It rots the soul and destroys even strong men and women. Prayers up for Pastor Coy and his family.
An article I read from another site did not reveal what the failing was. The comments contained some speculation. This article excerpt is very brief, and also with no information. I don’t feel like clicking to it.
For all I know he was stealing funds. Has anyone read a release or have backchannel info that says what the moral failure was?
Prayers for him, his family, and the church he shepherded.
We all fail, at least he had the fortitude to step forward, step down, and seek help from the great physician.
Let’s remember we are all sinners, it’s just that some of us will never have our sins plastered on the front pages of the worlds newspapers, as the world shakes it’s accusatory finger at us.
Pastor Coy is taking full responsibility, and is not blaming anyone but himself, and no one would have know had he not stepped forward to admit his guilt.
Prayers are needed right now, not attacks and slander.
Amen, and thanks for defending the truth behind the sin he admitted instead of piling on where it is not warranted.
Amen, and I second that.
Way too many people point fingers, but they will never understand the pressure the world puts on men of God, do all fail, no, but one of the men whom God loved the best did, King David. So if David can fall, what makes us so special today to think we cannot.
I cannot attest to Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale as I have no relationship with that church. I am only specifying that Calvary Chapel founder Chuck Smith, and current leadership who are the voice of that church group, speak out against the emergent church and contemplative prayer. If you are referring to a specific Calvary Chapel location, please make that clear so you do not mislead people into believing it is a Calvary Chapel-wide issue.
Amen. Well said.
But, he should never be in the pulpit again.
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