An investigation by NBC news reveals a 50-year pattern of covering up child abuse by pastors, youth leaders, and church volunteers in the Assemblies of God, the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination. Aspects of the church’s theology, which emphasizes both forgiveness and divine “anointment” of pastors gifted with charismatic powers, have created an environment of reluctance to discipline or remove church leaders who are accused or even convicted of child abuse.
In related news, an Ohio pastor who denounced the presence of books with LGBT characters at school book fairs (“I got sick reading that stuff”) convinced his local school board to stop the fairs altogether rather than expose innocent children to such influences. His final words after a long, rambling speech: “Better to die a millstone around your neck and throw it in the lake than lead a kid astray…” You can guess where this story is going. Two years later, he was arrested for molesting a young teen girl over a period of six years. But at least it was heterosexual!
