On one hand, Lamb obviously committed a terribly selfish act, breaching his family's trust, violating his marriage, & compromising his integrity. In reading his letter, I respect his forthright acceptance of responsibility & the consequences of his actions. It's also good to see hat while he helped build that church, that it's not irrevocably tied to him. That being said, I don't know if I can say his actions necessarily required resignation from his pastorship. Suspension, perhaps, or a voluntary leave, but I can't say that being fired was automatic.

1.) To what extent is this a private matter? (As a principle, I'd say that the fewer church resources are used, the less the church should be involved.)

2.) There are many sins; adultery is just one of the more embarrassing & salacious ones. What makes that sin so much worse than some others, like greed, callousness, etc?

3.) What about forgiveness? It seems sometimes that in many "religious" circles, of many faiths, the moment the scent of blood is in the air, the wounded person is devoured and given a scarlet letter, as if we are not all imperfect. Wouldn't a more Christian thing to do be something like, "we're not going to expel you, we will forgive & work w/ you, and after time & penance, you may take your former position?"

The position of Pastor is a sacred trust. This trust has been violated with his congregation and his staff. God's church at Revolution is left to pick up the pieces. God help us all.

Life isn't over for Gary. God will use all of this for His glory and for Gary's good… if Gary allows God full-access to his heart/life. No one is immune to failure.

Thanks for your comments man! I have been wrestling with many of the questions and issues that you pose here. The Bible does spell out some specific qualifications for a pastor/bishop, etc. Some of us meet those qualifications and some of us don't.

God is not finished with Gary. Gary's calling is not null and void. However, he and his team felt (rightly so) that, because of what transpired, that this calling was going to have to be best fulfilled elsewhere. I understand that decision.

They could have made other decisions and still been right as well.

I'm not saying that you are implying this, but I just feel like we're making it all final when it really shouldn't be. Did Gary really throw it all away for good? I don't think so. I feel this thinking is anti-grace and anti-kingdom. The picture creates is one where we say, "sin disqualifies you from what you were born and called to do." It says, "if you mess up, you'll never be able to recover. God has given up on you and your ability to advance the Kingdom. We give the devil glory"

Here's my thing- if we're saved by grace, how come we don't live and operate by grace? I'm not justifying Gary's sin b/c it was wrong and ungodly, however should this sin disqualify him from being able to pastor. Is Gary's purpose and assignment in the earth cancelled b/c of his sin? If we believe in grace and the eternal purpose of God and that ALL things work together for good, and that goodness and mercy follows us all the days of our lives then I find it extremely hard to believe that his work is over.

Nowhere in scripture do we ever find a REAL believer permanently disqualified and kicked out of their calling when they are repentant- nowhere. Actually, we see God still working through repentant and good-hearted men in spite of their sins. God never called for King David to resign his crown, Samson didn't resign his judgeship, Moses didn't hand over the reigns to Joshua when he smote the rock, Jacob "lied, cheated, and stole" but God still kept the calling on his life, and Apostle Peter still went on to preach the 1st message, be the lead Apostle, and lead the church after he swore by God that he didn't know Jesus (the greatest sin to me besides blaspheming the Holy Ghost).

Yes, God is calling for us to live a holy lifestyle and to have a righteous standard, however b/c of grace and God's eternal purposes for our lives, I don't believe God throws us (our purpose and assignment) away. Therefore, when we fall short of God's mark, we shouldn't throw them away. I wonder how many men and women of God have thrown away what God is still intending on using?

And here's the biggest oxymoron of this paradigm to me- people can do what disqualifies Gary from being a pastor (the sin) before they're pastors, bishops, leaders, etc. and still be able to fulfill their calling. But if they do the same sin while they're pastors, bishops, leaders, etc., they've thrown it all away.

So, I don't believe Gary has thrown it all away. I just believe he has delayed the full manifestation of his assignment and purpose for a temporary period of time. Do you disagree with this perspective?

And you may not be saying that it is "over", but that's the kind of vibe I've been getting when I read what others bloggers say and what not (the few that I've read). So this is NOT against you in any way.

P.S. I pastor The Kingdom Center in Akron, Ohio so this isn't from a random, uneducated, pissed-off, rebellious "christian" who thinks everything is a conspiracy. LOL.

And for you and all the other pastors committed to that call God has placed on their lives, which automatically means satan has a big special attack target placed on you guys too. Stay clothed in that armour.