Well, I am not going to pretend to have an answer to the questions being raised here. I just felt like I should share my story. I became a Christian in 1984 out of high school. Years passed in the small church I was in. Looking back, it was most likely a mixture of God's favor and stupid human zeal in my life that the leaders responded to. Very quickly, I found myself getting invited into various groups like the elder board meeting for my input. I was often blunt, and to the point, and if my point was in scripture that was all that was needed as far as I was concerned. Time passed, the leadership moved on and now I was butting heads with who was put in charge. So I did the "honorable" thing and moved on so that we did not tear the church apart. My wife and I started a small house church, what a steep learning curve that was. But it grew and became very notable among other fellowships. Then the Lord threw me a curve ball. He had us move 400 miles away to a place we had never seen.
Like Missionaries, we boldly went off, but that plant stumbled and eventually fell down with a thud. From there the Lord had us sell our place and we moved across the united states to a major ministry where I was on staff for several years. We got to see the best of the best...and the worst of the worst. They held several conferences every year for themselves and rented out the facility to everyone from the Salvation Army to the most crazy Charismatics groups around. After several years my wife and I were worn out, beat up, and fed up with what I now call the corporate church. I wrote a book about it but got a warning from C.F. for advertising, so I won't be giving you a link..
So we ran away from the east coast and landed in Wyoming. We went silent from everyone, only set foot in a church a couple of times, and we could not stand the show. After a couple of years, we left and returned to where our last church plant failed so badly. Eventually, the local people found us, and after much persuading, I find myself back in the pastor's chair again in a house church.
So I would like to just bluntly say a few things, Church, in general, is under the illusion of being a “safe place,” but it’s not. Nor is it even close, almost every pedophile out there knows if you find the right place it will be your private hunting ground. If you want it safe, then you need to make it safe. That’s hard work, that's being a watchman on the wall. That's leadership willing to stand face to face with someone and say, “do not cross that line.” But then the next day is willing to cry with the lost and broken.
Ministry is not about show and tell, your bank records, and if a person is in it for other reasons… then they should be shown the door for they are unworthy of the calling.