James L. Lambert - Guest Columnist - 4/3/2009 8:15:00 AM
Across America you will find thousands of courageous ministers and priests who regularly stand strong for moral and biblical positions against the tide of public opinion. These folks take a stand for biblically-based positions on moral issues -- no matter the cost. I admire both their courage and their integrity.
At the same time, however, it is appropriate to confront the thousands of pastors and priests across the nation who, by their silence, refuse to address the moral issues of our times -- issues like pornography, abortion, and homosexuality. Here are just a few examples of what I consider to be moral cowardice among our clergy:
• Approximately nine years ago, the senior pastor of a large church in north San Diego County refused to show his personal support for a men's sexual addiction-recovery group because he was "embarrassed" to discuss the subject from the pulpit. Subsequently the group leader of that support group had to leave the church. That leader told me later that he knew personally of numerous men in that pastor's church who were struggling with sexual and/or porn addiction. The fact that this program could not get the support from this well-known senior pastor greatly frustrated the group leader.
• While on assignment for AgapePress, I covered a demonstration in front of a popular Orange County church that refused to comment to the media why pro-life protesters were camped outside their facility. I reported that "senior pastors were reluctant to comment on the demonstration....Pro-life organizer Steve Klein felt the need to demonstrate in front of [the] church was due, in part, to their leadership's reluctance to support a [pro-life] cause that many inside the clergy felt is too 'political'. Cheryl Sullenger, a spokeswoman for Operation Rescue, goes even further by explaining that with so many women being having abortions over the years, the pastors commonly will place the financial concerns of their church over the moral issues of the day."
For the Rest of the Story (article)
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/ ... ?id=476386
