2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
-2 Samuel 11:2-3, KJV
When one party exploits their power over the other, this changes what happens from one sin to another.
Pastors who have sex with congregants aren’t “simply” committing adultery against their wives. They are engaging in clergy sexual abuse of their affair partners.
They power dynamic comes from the office of the pastor. A congregant is not simply relating to the pastor as another adult peer. Rather, they are relating to the pastor as someone who has access into their life as a spiritual leader.]
Sadly, some pastors use this access to abuse and exploit.
This is both wrong and–in some cases–I would suggest potentially illegal. It certainly is not how God wants His leaders to behave.
A really sad thing about this dynamic is how damaging it is to everyone:
-It harms the faithful spouse who the pastor treacherously betrayed.
-It harms the pastors’ family who now have to deal with this sin’s fall out and all its destruction.
-It harms the church who expects their pastor to behave in an above reproach manner.
-It harms our Christian witness to the world.
When a pastor sins by having sex with a congregant, it is not simply adultery for that pastor. It is more. Sadly, it is clergy sexual abuse, and its destruction is wide and deep.
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*A version of this post ran previously.
