#162: Prominent Pastor Speaks Up On Church Hypocrisy and Fatherhood, After his Public Sin

Run The Race

With Father's Day weekend coming up, a dad shares his difficult story related to his son and the Georgia church that he's led for decades. (5:25) Pastor James E. Allen I is releasing a new book on the upcoming holiday called "The Hypocrisy Of The Church." If the name catches your attention, you'll want to hear his story. In ministry nearly 40 years, there was a big change in his life more than 5 years ago when his son was born. He fathered him outside of his marriage. How did his church harshly respond? And how does Jesus treat sinners and wrongdoers? This Reverand wants to make sure sin is not glorified or openly allowed, but hopes his story is a wakeup call for church to give hope, rather than be judgmental hypocrites when it comes to sinners - which we all are. You can find the book at https://www.takingoffthemask.com/. Despite the title, Pastor Allen loves the church and is still leading Macedonia Christian Ministries in Columbus GA. His book is filled with hundreds of scriptures as evidence for his argument. (18:35) He also is open with what it was like nearly 6 years ago with people he hurt through having a son, but not with his wife. A number of people left his church because of it. And he didn't get the right to privacy. But as he says on the cover of his book, with a picture of his the 5-year-old with his same name, "I chose my son," There are stories in the Bible about Jesus stopping them from stoning the woman that had committed adultery too. What is hypocrisy? Is sin a discipline problem? And can sinners have integrity? This pastor and author answers those. (39:26) Being treated differently because he's a pastor, Allen dives deeper into the meaning of righteousness and how Jesus made reparations for our sin with his blood. Since his son's been born, we get an update on how his church is doing now, and his stronger passion for the church to be more effective in bringing people in vs pushing them away. He also tells a story about the leader of a basketball camp, how him bringing his son there was inspiring for someone in the same situation. Pastor Allen says taking all the attacks is worth it, for a greater purpose. He wants the church to be a bright spot! i close the episode in prayer. Thanks for listening to the #RunTheRace podcast, which I hope you'll subscribe to! Share it with your friends. Also, write a quick review about it, on Apple podcasts. For more info and listen to any previous episodes, go to www.wtvm.com/podcast/.