A Sad Wake-Up Call

“Pastor: Minister in Sex Sting Resigns”

… you read a news headline like that and you never think that it is going to be your church. The byline kept hitting closer and closer to home: Dallas-area, Megachurch, Baptist. Could it be? OMG. IT IS PRESTONWOOD! That is exactly what went through my mind. My next question was simple: who/ what/ when/ where/ how/ why?

From 2000-2004 I was on staff at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas as their Worship Producer. This was (and in many ways is) my church. I managed the production side of their worship services and events while attending Dallas Seminary. Prestonwood is the church I was ordained in and though i’ve moved on from employment there, I still have many friends from my time there.

I did not know the ‘minister’ that was involved in the sting, he was hired some time after my departure. but I do know most of their staff… and this situation saddens me.

In the 80’s Prestonwood barely weathered another storm of a sexual nature. Prestonwood’s founding pastor, Billy Weber, was found to have been involved in multiple affairs with women in and out of the church. It was the first real revelation of its kind in such a large church. News organizations across the country carried the news and among the church community, Prestonwood carried the dubious distinction for quite a long time. Only in recent times had it truly began to disassociate itself from the memory.

Having worked on the inside, I find myself torn. There is a soft place in my heart for Prestonwood and many of the folks that worked there. I know Pastor Graham and his wife, the Exec Pastor Mike Buster, and many of the other players there. They all have their faults, as do I. But in general they are good people with a heart for ministry.

But in many ways I am afraid that Prestonwood, and the Southern Baptist Convention in general, has done too little to protect from these problems. I fear that the drive for growth, results, and honor among peers may have proved a greater passion than the drive to protect our sheep. Are we fully (and regularly) vetting our shepherds? Whom do we hire… those who are truly best for the job, or those that are a part of the ‘good ol’ boys club’? Are we investing our time and resources in the care and upkeep of our staff or are we investing resources solely in building our empire?

Prestonwood is the first in a long list of churches that needed this wake-up but never hoped to get it in this way. And this is not gonna be a problem that goes away soon. Statistically…

• 37% of Pastors say pornography is currently a struggle.
• 53% of Pastors have visited porn sites in the past year.

Tonight, I am wishing that I were back in Dallas at Prestonwood to help my former church begin the healing process. But this will have to suffice: All things work together for good to those who are called according to His name.

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Prestonwood Baptist Church Minister in Plano Texas Arrested and Charged With Solicitation of a Minor
Prestonwood Baptist Church Minister, Joe Barron, has been arrested and charged with online solicitation of a minor in a sting operation. The girl turned out to be a Bryan police officer working in an ongoing Internet sex sting, pretending to be a thirteen year-old girl. Mr. Barron, 52 years old, had been one of 40 ministers in the 26,000 member mega-church in Plano Texas for the last eighteen months, ministering to married adults, prior to his arrest on May 15, 2008. Mr. Barron was nabbed by police after driving about 200 miles from Plano to Bryan to meet with a girl he thought to be thirteen years old, having asked the girl to skip school and meet him. Inside the car Mr. Barron borrowed from his wife, police found a box of 10 condoms, a Web camera and headset that authorities believe he was going to give the girl, police said. Bryan police Officer Lesley Malinak, a Police Department spokeswoman commented, “It is common for people that are engaged in this type of activity” to give gifts to the minors that “they are grooming.” Pastor Jack Graham has since accepted Mr. Barron’s resignation from Prestonwood Baptist Church, telling church members, “You need to know that we are appalled and we are disgraced by this terrible action, an unacceptable action by a minister on our staff. I’m so sorry for the injury that this kind of behavior has brought to many people in our church and outside of our church.” The pastor said he was eager to move on, promising church members that the church would continue to make sure it hired ministers and staff of the “highest character”. “We want to put this in the rearview mirror,” Graham said. “We will handle anything we need to handle in terms of our responsibilities and obligations, and any ongoing investigation. Prestonwood’s executive pastor, Mike Buster said in a prepared statement, “church officials had no record or knowledge of prior improprieties, nor had they observed any inappropriate behavior in the time Mr. Barron worked on staff.” If convicted, Mr. Barron could face up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for the second-degree felony. Bryan police also are investigating and looking into whether Mr. Barron may have engaged in previous sexual contact with minors, but at this time Mr. Barron does not appear to have a criminal history. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has in recent years expanded its focus, with attention to abuse by Baptist pastors. “Baptist officials, we believe, need to compile a thorough, online database of proven, admitted and credibly accused pedophile clergy, so that kids can be protected and parents can be warned,” said David Clohessy, SNAP national director.