Honor or dishonor?

Matthew D. Jarrell was the pastor of the Open Door Baptist Church in Mesquite. He had a sexual assault charge pending against him from 2007. Last month, he told his wife and congregation he was attending a church convention in Pennsylvania. But he was arrested in West Virginia for sexually assaulting a woman he picked up in a bar. The following Sunday, he committed suicide in his cell.

One of the church members was quoted in the newspaper: "We want to honor Brother Jarrell and his family." Excuse me? I completely understand, "We want to stand by Brother Jarrell's family and help them through this." I completely understand, "Who knows what kind of demons this man was battling." I completely understand, "Maybe there's more to the story than we've heard." But I have a very difficult time understanding honoring the man. Obviously, he wasn't where he said he would be. Obviously, whether he actually assaulted the woman or not, he picked her up in a bar -- hardly seemly behavior for a pastor.

The congregation was strangely silent on the women who brought the accusations against Jarrell. Do they not think that perhaps those women need some prayer, comfort, and understanding?

Until Christians stand up and call sin what it is, we will continue to be called hypocrites. No, I don't honor "Brother" Jarrell, because he is guilty of bringing dishonor to the cause of Christianity.

"Suicide stuns small congregation." The Dallas Morning News; May 23, 2011; p. 3A.