Mosaic Church
Qualified
Doug Molyneaux
July 10, 2016
DOUG MOLYNEAUX
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24:32. I'm gonna switch gears and flip over to, uh, Timothy Chapter 5, and we're going to go through the verses that uh kinda defined our process, as we walked through the-the-difficult week that we've been in. I'm gonna start with uh, verse 17, it just says, "Let the elders
25:36. When we first heard the allegations. I'm going to be honest with you guys. When I first heard the allegations, the first thing I wanted to do was cover up. I did. I started thinking of places we could bury bodies . And it lasted about a half a second. And, the-uh, I shared the allegations with the other elders, we set a meeting immediately, and that night, it was the very next morning at 6:00 am. Monday night I did not sleep one minute. I spent the entire night studying scripture. How are we going to navigate this, and where God drew me, were these verses right here. Verses 19 and 21 in Chapter 5 of Timothy.
28:40. Here's how we were guided. First thing, we had to confirm that the allegations were true. Uh, approach the sinner. Uh, go back and do some more uh, investigation. And what we uncovered was
a pattern of behavior, going back a few months, maybe longer, we didn't have to go further than that, that was destructive to our church, destructive to families in the church, and that needed to be addressed.
29:07. Uh, eventually we got to confession, repentence, and um, there is uh, uh, uh, a public rebuke that is necessary, and I gotta tell you guys, this is the hard part, because I am a flawed man, just like Dustin is, just like you are, and to rebuke another flawed man is painful.
The verse that says this needs to be, um, let's see. Um, this needs to be public, so the rest may stand in fear, this affected me. Because-I-myself, the other elders, staff, uh, as we see our brother have to go through this, the humiliation, and the hurt, the pain that has caused the church and peole. We are trembling, more resolute, more resolved than ever before, to be holy, as a result of witnessing what we witnessed. So that part is absolutely-- and I hope you will have that same resolve.
All church discipline, whether it's members or overseers, has to be carried out with a motivation of reconciliation and restoration. Now, what does restoration mean? I don't know in this case. David was restored by God, but he still was not allowed to build the temple. That was left to Solomon. 'kay. All church discipline has to be carried out with a motivatin of love, of reconciliation, and restoration. NEVER can church discipline be motivated by vengeance or revenge. Never. Although that's human nature. Can't do it.
31:10. The next thing we had to decide was, how much details to give to you, the church. 'Kay. Well, we landed on, thanks to Matthew and-and-and- some other areas, we landed on we need to give you enough detail so that you know that there's not a coverup, when more details come out later. We need to give enough details to bring about reconciliation, repentenace, reconciliation and restoration. Uh, and that's it. 'Kay? Now, that's the church's responsibilty. And so I really believe, that as we prayed our guts out through this, that we've done that. And Dustin's going to speak to you in-in-in a few seconds, and add some more details to this. But after this, I am, as a leader, I'll be available to-all the elders will be available to meet with you guys going forward, anybody has any questions or needs to meet with us. But I'm- as far as--I'm turning the page, and moving forward, um, after this weekend, as it-as it pertains to the church. So here's a few words from Dustin, have you got that teed up?
32:24. [recording of Dustin speaking being played]. Uh, Mosaic Church, I'm grateful to get the chance to speak to you guys, and uh, the last couple of weeks have been, it's-it's-its hard to wrap my mind around it, I can imagine what you guys are going through, and I just want to say right out of the gate, I'm just, I'm so sorry for what I've done to you, uh, what I've done to my wife, and what I've done to some people that have been good friends to me, and, uh, and, obviously what I've done to God, as well. And uh I wish I could explain it to you, I can't. I, uh.
32:53. Give me a chance to clarify a couple of things real quick if I can. One is that, uh, I resigned from my position, nobody chased me off or anything like that, and, so many of you guys have sent me emails and texts and everything, and, and uh, said, hey we wish you were still our pastor, y'know, I wish I was still your pastor, too. Um, but if I was right now, it wouldn't be good for you, it wouldn't be good for me, it wouldn't be good for anybody, so...
33:14. Our elders have done nothin' but show me grace, you need to know that. Everybody's like, 'where's the grace? Where is it now?' and all that, it's, uh, I've gotten tons of grace. I've been forgiven, and uh, I feel forgiven, in that sense, uh, but the way this has to be handled, uh, it's difficult because, when you're a - when you're a pastor, when you're in the position that I've been in, uh, for the past 8 years, especially here, and in the last 23 years, uh, when you're in relationships with people there's a sacred trust that's given you, there's an extra amount of trust that's given more quickly than in most relationships, there's an expectation that-that you'll do the right thing, um, and that trust -- I betrayed that -- with people that I loved, and that loved me back. And uh, so, it's not that my sin is worse than yours, or anybody else's, it's just that it has to be handled differently, for my good, um, for your good, and for the good of the other people that are affected by this, and, uh, for the good of the church.
34:12. So that's, just so you know about all of our elders, they have been walking with me for 8 years. Nobody's put more time and more of their own money into this church than those guys. They love me, um, they didn't just all of a sudden turn on me. There, these guys are my friends, they're gonna be my friends long after everything is-is worked on, and uh, taken care of, in this situation. They're they're my friends, and they still want to be. And uh, so I'm grateful for that. And these men are prayerful, they're reading the bible, trying to say 'How does the bible apply to Mosaic Church right now?' They've been, they've been really good to us, just so you know, Nat and I feel loved by them, we feel loved by you. And we're extremely grateful for that.
34:51. Um, what about the future of the church? Well, uh, the staff that we have here is, is-- you can't even imagine what kind of people they are. Um, the gifts that they have, but just the kind of heart that they have. Uh, y'know what I've done's affected them. And they've loved me, and uh, and been kind to me through all of it, as well. These are absolutely competent, absolutely uh, godly people, so you have a great staff, that hasn't changed at all.
35:20. Um, as far as me bein' your pastor, you know, that's a question, that's something that I'm not even willing to entertain in my own mind. Um, I'm, I- couldn't be. Uh, uh, I-I-I have things to work on, and I'm gonna do that, so. You guys, instead of wishing me to be your pastor, pray for me, and pray for me and Natalie and our family, so that we can become the kind of people we need to be, and work on issues, and answer questions like, 'How could I have done this?' 'How could I have risked all this?' and people's lives, and uh, been careless, and selfish, uh, those are questions you need to pray for me to be able to answer. So that would be, uh, very helpful.
35:56. And uh, so I don't know those answers right now. So, uh, I just know that I love y'all. And my actions haven't shown it recently and I know that, but man, I just-- I don't know of any pastor who has been treated the way I have by y'all all over the years, it's -- and the way you've treated my wife, and my kiddo, it's been - it's been-- I-I don't take that for granted, uh, even though my actions say that I have, I'm just-I'm super-grateful.
36:19. As far as me and Natalie, and many of you guys are concerned about us. Uh, I'm-I'm grateful for her, and our families are there with us. And Natalie and I are doing a very intensive counseling, uh, we're in it for a long time, and um, y'know, we're gonna - we're gonna work on all that together. Um, we're praying Psalm 51 together all the time, where David committed adultery with Bathsheba and had to repent, and we pray that almost every day. And uh, we're holding ourselves accountable, and giving ourselves accountability to other pastors who love us, and so God's gonna heal us.
36:52. And uh, so many of you guys have asked, 'When am I gonna teach again?' and all that stuff, and I don't know, and I don't know what God's plan is for that. I know He loves me, I know He's not done with me, um, but what He does next I don't know. And uh, all I have to do is get healthy, and uh, make sure I'm the right kind of man that God can use. That's all I want to do. And uh, so Nat and I are together, we love each other greatly, uh. We don't know where we're going to go. We're going to be in Ocean Springs for the forseeable future, until God tells us what to do.
37:18. But just thank you Mosaic, I'm so sorry for what I've done, uh, to you. And uh, everybody's praying for me and feeling for me, uh, there are other people that are affected by this, and uh, don't forget them, pray for them as well, and pray for our elders, they have the biggest job of all, helping navigate the church back onto the mission.
37:36. Uh, there are 180,000 people on the gulf coast that don't have a church home. And, uh, if I were them, I'd go to Mosaic. And uh, so don't forget that. And just one last thing. It, um, - I'm not in a position to preach to anybody, but I still believe Jesus died and rose again, you know I do, I've always belived that, um, it's what I've always relied on, so, what I've done over the recent months, and the things I've done, doesn't change what He did. So please don't-don't let what-what I've done cloud what He did, hold on to that, and, uh, I love y'all. I'm grateful. Being the pastor of Mosaic Church is one of the joys of my life, and I'll never ever forget it. God bless you guys."
[End recording]
38:17. DOUG MOLYNEAUX. We've always been about grace, the gospel is about grace. Um, and one of the things that Dustin said there, that I really want you guys to feel is, there are other people affected by this that need our prayers, and need our grace, and need our love, here too. And, um, the church has put out all the details that we're required to put out, and um, more details will likely emerge over the next weeks, you'll hear a lot of, uh, thing out there, some will be true, some of them won't be, uh, it's not the church's place to-to confirm or deny. But we're movin' forward. Uh, and all that other stuff is just gonna be noise, that we are, as elders and leaders, have to ignore right now, as we look forward to the future of Mosaic. What does that look like?
39:07. Oh first of all, uh, I should share with you that we have hired an Executive - not an Executive, a Lead Teaching Pastor recruiting group? For lack of a better word. They're a- that's all they do. They staff churches. This group is called the Slingshot Group. You want more information on 'em, go to slingshotgroup.org. And they have a division in their company that is 100% focused on Lead Teaching Pastors. Um, they will be in our church the week-weekend of the 23rd and 24th - two weeks from now. They will be spending all weekend with our staff, spending a lot of time with our elders, they will be at every service, and understanding our church and our beliefs, our core values, that will never change, we will always have core values of truth, of worship, community, and outreach. We'll always be a "Me Too" church. We'll always be Open-Hand/Closed Handed. Uh, we'll always be about making a big deal about Jesus. We will always teach verse by verse through the books of the bible. We will be a bible teaching, bible preaching church, never gonna change.
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"We are going to take this church to the next level, and we owe it to Dustin to do it as well. It's what he wants, it's what we all want."
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Dustin is an amazing preacher. He's not the only amazing preacher out there. So we are not going to miss a beat when comes to the preaching. The rest of it is character and chemistry with the staff. Leadership has always been with six dudes. We're going to bring a pastor in that we can get behind, just like we were behind Dustin, to let him do his job.
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Wow, I was part of that Mosaic 2.0 next level, or whatever
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We may have a couple of public forums, to help you get past this. Um, the uh, but aside from that, we're turning the page. Uh, there's an old Bob Seger song, one of my favorite songs in the whole world, "Turn the Page" and we're movin' forward.
