Recently, I read a disturbing article about a local pastor caught in the middle of one big lie. I think the thing that bothers me the most is the fact that this pastor was caught in a lie about his (or lack of) a heroic military background.
Just after Osama bin Laden was killed in a raid by US Navy SEALS the Patriot News reached out to former SEAL members to get their opinion on what had transpired. Unfortunately, Pastor Jim Moats of Cumberland Country responded to the call and weighed in with his opinion, as a former SEAL, on the mission. The story he told was quite accurate and was gobbled up by the eager reporter. Who’d think that a well respected pastor was a fraud? Nobody at the Christian Bible Fellowship Church in Newville thought that he was any different than what he said he was.
So what makes a man of the cloth break into a full fledge lie that can be easily checked on (and it was)? Certainly there are several things going on here and stroking his ego was a big part of it. I know that it feels good to be a part of something bigger, but a pastor has to be above this kind of stuff. Let’s stick to preaching the Word of God and check our egos at the church door. I know for a fact that it is easy to exaggerate our military record, because it is done all the time. Saying you served in Viet Nam (when your duty was stateside) denigrates everyone who ever stepped foot in the Republic of Viet Nam. I am a veteran of the Persian Gulf era with the key word being era…I never left US soil.
With that being said, what should the congregation of the Christian Bible Fellowship Church doing with a pastor that told boldface lies? Is this a small problem that could turn into a bigger one or was just an isolated incident? One phrase that doesn’t come to mind often is “Church Discipline”. Should some be exercised on Pastor Moats…only the church board and congregation knows the answer to that.
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