We moved here so that I could begin pastoring a local church, a church I’m sure has much in common with New Life Church of Christ where Billy Meinsen has pastored for some years now.

Though I’ve been here for about two years, to my knowledge I have never met Mr. Meinsen.

Perhaps in passing I was introduced to him, as I have been with other area pastors, but I recall no such introduction.

In light of the recent allegations made against him, as anyone would expect, even though I do not know him I was devastated to read of his current situation.

Others have been devastated as well. And their responses have been quite varied.

On the one hand, there have been those to quickly defend him, arguing that because they know him personally they know for certain he would never do such a thing.

On the other hand, others have vented their anger, and even voiced blatant hatred toward him.

But neither of these types of responses are Christian in nature.

So how is a true Christian to respond? That is, how is a person who has been radically transformed by the saving love of the crucified and risen Christ to respond in a Christ–like way?

In times like these, we often forget that there are people who have been tragically hurt, and still more to be hurt.

There is the alleged victim and her family. There is the alleged offender, who has a wife and children. There is a church who has been shepherded by a man who loved them and whom they loved dearly as well.

Forgetting these precious people, it’s easy for outsiders looking in to cast stones from their distant perspective.

Now, I stand as an outsider too, and have a very distant perspective as well.

But from my distance I’m choosing not to pick up stones, but instead to pick up my Bible and offer a Christian response.

It is actually to my advantage that I do stand from a distance, because since I have no emotional ties with Mr. Meinsen, no history of a relationship with him, and no knowledge of his public or personal life, it makes it somewhat easier for me to respond in a way that is in accordance with what we know as truth.

Truth. That’s what we need in this situation.

Followers of Christ are lovers of truth because we know Jesus himself to be the truth (John 14:6).

And we love the truth even though we know how painful the truth can be. That’s because we know that abiding in the knowledge of the truth is what will ultimately set us free (John 8:32), free from sin, free from shame, free from the Satan.

A Christian in this situation must therefore be willing to embrace the reality of what has happened, that is, the truth, no matter how much hurt or happiness that truth may bring.

But it’s not enough to merely know the truth about this situation. Many only want to know the truth in this situation in order to use it for their own purposes to vent wrath, bring more pain on others, and justify their hatred for the church of Jesus Christ.

Along with the embrace of the knowledge of the truth must come a proper conduct in light of the truth. In other words, it’s not just what we say about what we know that matters, it’s how we say what we know and how we live in light of what we know that matters most.

So how is one to speak and live in a situation like this? Well, for Christians the Bible is very clear. We are to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), and we are to “walk in love” (Ephesians 5:2).

Love. That’s something we need in this situation, too. Not love the way popular culture defines it. Biblical love. God–like love. Real love. The love that takes our sin to a cross and is punished for it there in our place.

Christ–like love. Love that makes the God–defined needs of others (no matter who they are) the most important priority in all situations.

I wonder what this situation would look like if we all had that kind of love dwelling inside us?

It’d certainly look a lot different. In fact, if we all had this love, this situation would not even be a reality to begin with.

But this love, Christ’s love, if we had it, it would care for the victim. This love would care for the offender. It would care for the families. It would care for New Life Church of Christ. It would care for the community. It would care for Roanoke Rapids. And caring for these, it would not be quick to speak judgment before truth is known. It would not be swift to issue statements that could cause suicidal pain to those involved.

You see, this love, Christ’s love, “is patient and kind,” it “does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.”

And this love certainly “does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:4–6).

Those who say they believe in God’s love ought to have a little bit of it —excuse me, a lot of it — for others.

Especially in this case. For exercising this love is the right thing to do. It is just.

Justice. That’s something we need in this situation too, isn’t it? And if we trust that the government of our city has been placed over us by God for our good (Romans 13:1), then we can believe that justice will come to pass.

There is no way to hide sin. Whoever has sinned in this situation will be exposed sooner or later. “Be sure, your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). “Nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17).

Now, if the allegations in this case are true, Christians shouldn’t pass judgment in the sense of condemning the offender.

Instead, we should let the whole situation be a warning to us all. No one is above the temptation to sin. And when we fall, there is certainly no one above God, including pastors.

No one is hidden from his sight (Hebrews 4:13). Justice will always reign. If not now, definitely in time. “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

But let’s let those governing professionals do the exposing here with the evidence they have. Let’s let truth be known. And let’s let justice be served.

But in the meantime, let’s let love have its full effect. Let those who name the name of Christ be Christian not in name only, but in the way we speak and live, in the way we walk and talk, in the way we respond to this terrible situation.

May those of us who have been transformed by the saving love of Christ in turn let that transformative love be shown to all involved in this awful situation.

Speaking truth in love,

Jordon R. Willard, Pastor

Bethlehem Baptist Church

3902 US Highway 158

Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870