On judgment day I don’t believe that God will be asking me what my opinions are on anyone’s choices. Ultimately, each one of us will answer for our own choices on that day … from the big ones to the small ones … each and every step of our walk.

So, with that in mind, I’m going to continue to pray for Gary, his family and C3, as I do for any Christian going through and/or coming out of a tough time..

If you’re not sure what to think or do, then remember these words, Matthew 22:37-39, “Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself…”

No matter where you stand on the issue there are thousands in the Canton area that will die and go to hell. If Gary can only reach two or three – that’s good. If he reaches and disciples thousands – that amazing. Either way, whether you agree with Gary or not – people will be saved. And when it’s all said and done, time will tell…

But doesn’t all sin separate us from God? Didn’t Jesus die on the cross for all of our sins? Aren’t we really defeating the purpose of sharing our Lord and Savior when we’re beating someone over the head with our bitterness and hatred and using the bible as the weapon of choice to do it?

The bottom line here (for me anyway) is that Gary Lamb is still my brother in Christ. My thoughts and opinions on his choice to start another church are just that …my thoughts and my opinions.

Finally, let me take another approach…

I think what we say on Twitter or blog sites won’t matter. I also think that when it’s all said and done, if we don’t agree with Gary we don’t have to go to the church he leads.

And no matter what, it’s a good thing to preach God’s word no matter the circumstances – God’s word will never return void. So why should Gary (or anybody) wait until society or church leaders believe he has repented enough?

How many will die and go to hell that could have heard while Gary waits around? We don’t have the luxury of the time needed to redeem ourselves in the eyes of man

How many lost souls can God reach through Gary in the next 2-5 years that “the church boards” tell you you wait to get back into planting churches?

And are those critics willing to go out on the streets of Canton and preach God’s word?

By the way, here’s an excerpt from Perry Noble’s blog we would all do well to read and remember:

“And pastors…church leaders…please don’t get mad at Gary about this but rather allow this tragedy to cause you to look in the mirror and ask yourself, “is there anything going on in my private life that, if it became public, would disqualify me from ministry?” Things like this should not cause us to force others away from the cross…but rather they should cause us to hold on to it tighter than we ever have!”

I’m can’t say what the right timetable is for Gary to return to ministry. He has to figure that out.

And he has…

Gary has looked at himself in the mirror and asked himself the difficult questions: “Are you back where you need to be to do the job? Are you where you should be emotionally, mentally, spiritually? Are you back in the Word, in prayer?”

Gary’s answer is “yes!”

Gary has looked at himself and he believes he is ready to allow God to use him again.

Gary has experienced God’s forgiveness and grace and he feels he has healed enough to become an amazing leader. In the end, only he can determine that.

Third, what about the present? Does Gary have the option to be a leader in the church again? Some would say “no!” The buzzwords people like to use when it comes pastors who have moral failures are “disqualified from being a pastor,” “doesn’t meet the requirements of Timothy and Titus,” “doesn’t have his family under control,” etc., etc. Those are all good intentioned condemnations but the TIMING of their theology is wrong.

While there are definitely biblical requirements and guidelines for leadership it is also important to note that they are given in the present tense. There is nothing that says you can’t be in leadership because you’ve DONE these things – it says you can’t be in leadership if are DOING these things.

Study the leaders of the early church. They had screwed up, messed up histories. But when their histories became HIS-stories, they experienced forgiveness, grace and healing and became amazing leaders. Some took years for that process, some like David and Peter were thrust right back into the game.

Second, we should ALL remember that Gary’s sins do not negate the Spirit’s work that was done. Whether the leadership at Revolution wishes to admit it or not, God used Gary to build a great church. A large part of the reason that the current pastor at Revolution stepped into a good paying, great opportunity is because Gary was available for God to use. No one can ever take that truth away. The current leadership at Revolution would do well to remember that.

I will not sit here and condemn Gary Lamb or say that the years he spent in ministry mean nothing anymore because he sinned and then made a choice (divorce) that some don’t agree with. Regardless of Gary’s choices and sins, I am not without sin so I am in no position to cast the first stone. That’s what can be said of all of us. None of us, no not one, is without some sort of sin in our lives. Maybe it’s time to look in the mirror before we tweet????

First, let’s deal with the past. It is common knowledge that Gary sinned. He has admitted that – to God and everybody else. That being the case, I don’t believe that any of us should turn our backs on Gary Lamb (or any person) because to me, that goes against the very grain of Jesus telling us that we should love our neighbors as ourselves.

Way too frequently I see Christians turning on those who have a spotlight turned on the sin in their lives. It’s almost as if it makes us feel better about our own “little sins” if we see someone who has a sin that we perceive as being “worse” than our own.