I just found out today that a nearby church is going through a major crisis...
You may have heard in the news about a music pastor in Wisconsin who has been arrested for sexual contact with at least two teens from the congregation.
Well - this is a church where a good friend of mine, up until very recently, was on staff. These young men who were molested were part of her kids' church at one time.
Please pray for...
*His wife, who has left him [but has a two year-old and is pregnant] *The church leadership and congregation, as they deal with it. *The young men who have been harmed by this person *My friend, who is now several states away and feeling extremely helpless right now *The churches in the surrounding communities - I have seen some very ugly commentary online about the Christian church in general.
This church is an hour and a half away from me - but this music pastor has ties to my community as well, because of conferences and panel discussions he has participated in with local pastors as well.
Let this serve as a lesson to church leaders: the only reason charges have not been pressed against the church is because a background check WAS run on this guy - he hadn't had any prior convictions, so his record was clear when they hired him. The bad news is that background checking ISN'T foolproof...but the good news is that the rest of the church and its staff are not being dragged down by this man's terrible actions. Background check EVERYONE in your church who works with kids under age 18. No exceptions!!! Even if they've attended the church for 50 years. The world is watching us carefully....
I have a question - did the music pastor work directly with these kids as part of ministries of the church or did they just happen to be a part of his church where he was MP? The reason I ask is...everyone may not background check every pastor at their church if they are not directly working with kids. I am just curious, did he work with all ages in the church? Some churches just background check the CP and YP.
How do you feel about that? Do you think all workers should be checked even if they are not workers with children or teens? Just curious.
This particular music pastor led worship for the adult services and the youth services, so this is why he was background-checked....because he would be having regular contact with youth group members.
I'm not sure about every single worker, but I do think that the music pastor/worship team leader should be background checked. In every church I have been a part of, there are talented youth group members who serve on the Sunday morning team - so the head of the music department would have regular contact with students.
I would honestly recommend background checking senior pastors, too - since they spend their time ministering to families. I mean - look at the Catholic church scandals...the priests involved were not specifically assigned to an age group...
Personally, I'm about erring on the side of caution. Someone whose record is squeaky clean should not have a problem being checked, anyway [Note: I look for sexual offenses or violent behavior...I had a guy who signed up to chaperone a trip and was worried because he got a DUI once a few years before he became a Christian, but has not touched alcohol since getting saved. I thanked him for being honest and up-front with me, and still allowed him to chaperone, with my pastor's complete blessing].
FYI - I just met with my SP today and he totally agrees with me - we drafted a letter that we both signed, to be sent to all ministry heads - because we decided that the business of the church is to minister to families, and even if the department is not kids' or youth ministry, those workers are going to be in contact with minors. Therefore, they need background checks.
So I am getting ready to take care of sending that letter out this week.
I use "Lexus Nexis" online background check service. If you are a non-profit, it costs $5 per person, and all you do is plug in their info and most of the time you have it within seconds! It can take longer if the person has a super common name, like Joe Johnson or something, because they want to verify that you're both talking about the same guy...
Anyway, just throwing that out there - if anyone has any questions about background checking or the company that my church uses [the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts use the same service, by the way!!!], just ask!
