Calvary Chapel Lawsuit

[beensetfree]

Apparently some Calvary Chapel churches are dealing with lawsuits due to child molestation. How do you think they are handling it?

http://calvarychapelabuse.com/wordpress/?p=1263

[That'sWhatItSays]

The head of Calvary Chapel is claiming that each church is autonomous and needs to have the freedom to take care of discipline problems on their own. The courts are trying to say that there is a hierarchical structure to Calvary Chapels and that the "headquarters" in Costa Mesa are responsible for protecting the safety of children and its members throughout the 2000 some affiliated churches.

I think it is crazy that churches like Calvary Chapel and the Roman Catholic Church and IFB's think that the committing of crimes should be handled by internal church discipline. The scripture is clear that believers should not take each other to court if there is a dispute, but it is also clear that the magistrates and authorities are in place to be the avengers of justice. This story does not include all of the information about what took place, but known child molesters should be reported to the police, as a matter of rule. As we've seen on these forums, if the right person commits abuse, the "discipline" doesn't seem to do much, not even keeping individuals out of pulpits!