Young Megachurch Pastor Restored to Ministry Months after Stepping Down for Sexual Misconduct
He stepped down from leadership at his church after three former members came forward alleging that he engaged in sexual misconduct with them.
A mere 8 months after megachurch Pastor Ben Courson stepped down from leading Applegate Christian Fellowship in Oregon, he is back in the pulpit and anxious to resume his ministerial duties, being fully restored and ready to rock and roll.
Courson, 34, is an international speaker who is the founder of Hope Generation, as well as a best-selling author. He has a TV show that is played in 180 countries, has a radio show that is played on 520 stations and has 154k followers on Instagram, gaining name recognition and influence every day.
He stepped down from leadership at his church after three former members came forward alleging that he engaged in sexual misconduct with them. Another woman has filed a police report claiming she was sexually assaulted by him. On his way out, he released a since-deleted video acknowledging:
In some of my dating relationships, I have made mistakes, and I am truly sorry and deeply repentant. While it was always consensual, and there was never sex outside of marriage—there was never adultery—still, we let things go beyond what God requires of a relationship. When it comes to this area of women, I take full responsibility.
The women say that Coulson (who recently went through a divorce just two years ago after his wife said he committed adultery) initiated sex acts with them, and tried to grope them, frequently with no time wasted between meeting them and pressuring them to undress. Apparently, Courson’s modus operandi was to be naked in the bedroom and rub his sexual organs against the woman until he ejaculated on her stomach.
After this blew up, he revealed he was taking the next 6 months off from his pastoral roles to “learn and reflect and grow.”
Well, it’s been a little over half a year and he’s back in the pulpit, restored and good as new, announcing on Instagram that he’s embarking on a 5 city tour after reactiviating all his ministry pages that were previously shut down and on hiatus.
He’s been posting tons of videos on all his pages, bemoaning people who are maliciously trying to “re-write his story” by spreading lies about him- ostensibly taking a shot at some or all of the women who have come forward.
Eight months has become the new “two years” for evangelical pastors accused misconduct. Whereas a clear reading of scripture would hgave them disqualified from ministry forever, those who didn’t take this view at least had the decency to step aside for a period of several. Now, an adulterous relationship can be mitiagted in mere months and this timelines will become the rule, not the exception.
h/t The Conservative Truth