542 Prostitution Sting Busts Pastor Friend
John Erbele, a well-known pastor, was recently arrested in a police prostitution sting operation. John allegedly responded to an online ad placed by a police unit and then met with an undercover female police officer who was posing as a prostitute. Once he allegedly arranged for sex, John was busted.
News of John’s arrest (in Minnesota) spread faster than the swine flu. Within 24 hours, I was receiving phone calls and e-mails while looking at his mug shot on the Internet and reading blogs about it. I’ve pondered long my response, especially since John and his family are friends (his father was a mentor to me my first decade of ministry).
I disagree with those who say John is just a sinner who made a huge mistake. Yes, like the rest of us, he is a sinner; however, this was no mistake. A mistake is a visitor to Montana calling our football team the UM Babcats or squeezing out some Preparation H thinking it is toothpaste. No, what John is accused of was deliberate and premeditated. It was a lot of things, but it wasn’t a mistake.
I also disagree with comments like this one I read, “This is typical of what Satan will do to discredit someone who is doing a good work in the Body of Christ.” If Satan did this then why wasn’t he arrested? This kind of superstitious, excuse making only gives Christians an even worse reputation.
Listen, any honest man, me included, will admit that he has been tempted by prostitution. So what triggers some to go from thinking to doing? I suspect it is a building up of some issues combined with a breaking down of others; either way we are the ones who screw-up, not Satan.
Obviously, John and his family shouldn’t be doing ministry right now. They have some very difficult work ahead to repair what was broken before this incident and to heal from the event itself. However, I strongly disagree with those who insist John is forever disqualified to be a pastor.
For being a belief system based on love and forgiveness, Christians can be brutally unloving and unforgiving. King David, Moses, the Apostles Paul and Peter were all involved in some form of adultery, murder, lynching and/or public denouncements of Jesus; yet these dudes helped write nearly half the Bible. Enough hypocrisy! With forgiveness, humility and growth, John’s best years of ministry could be ahead of him, not behind him.
Unfortunately, I have experienced the angst of life trials being played out on a very big and public stage. When I came out about my view of hell a few years ago both my life and my family’s lives were radically changed as my status and standing in the eyes of many was instantly stripped. Today’s, “Did you hear about John?” was at that time “Did you hear about Clothman?”
Awkward stares, uncomfortable encounters, painful letters, personal rejection, people talking about you and not to you are the near-term future for John. Some is justified, some is not. Time and humility will sort out which is which, but by then it won’t really matter.
In the context of such turmoil, I pray John doesn’t rush this painful process. May he own his issues. I hope he avoids isolation, for healing and recovery are also public events. Likewise, I hope he doesn’t project onto others what they are thinking and only is concerned that his thoughts are pure. And when rejected, I pray he can still love and accept others the way Jesus does. Most importantly, may John be able to embrace his family and friends who are still standing beside him.
And if he looks over this way he’ll see that Clothman is still standing beside him.
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