My heart sank when I saw that Tim Armstrong is currently in another pastoral position in Florida. It’s not that he shouldn’t be able to make a living. But after the harsh and horrible way he treated staff and others in his ‘care’ for 7 years, this should disqualify him from a shepherding role. He does not have an ounce of a shepherd’s heart.
Tim Armstrong, an Ohio Evangelical megachurch pastor, was fired from his job two years ago after facing allegations of bullying and harsh leadership. Armstrong was later hired by Bell Shoals Church, and now he is the pastor of the church’s satellite location in Riverview, Florida.
Bell Shoals’ lead pastor is Corey Abney. Speaking of Abney, Armstrong stated, “We came here at the invitation of Corey to come and heal from some ministry stuff that had happened that we walked through.” As of the date of this article, Armstrong has yet to acknowledge or apologize for his bad behavior. Yet, Abney has declared Armstrong fit for service. Evidently, neither Jesus nor the Bible was consulted.
Nothing in this story is surprising. Abney and Armstrong are part of the Evangelical celebrity culture. No matter what celebrity pastors do, a new pastorate awaits them if they get booted from their churches. There seems to be little to no moral/ethical reckoning for offending big-name preachers. There will always be a preacher or church somewhere that will give offending pastors a second (or third or fourth) chance.
Armstong had this to say about his return to the pastorate:
I had no thought that I was probably ever going to be used in ministry again . . . It was really Pastor Corey (Abney) who was like, ‘No, man, we gotta get you back in the game.’ For me, I was just very thankful that somebody was going to walk this journey with us.”
“No man, we gotta get you back in the game.” I find it interesting that both Abney and Armstrong view the ministry as a “game.” Yet, that is exactly what Evangelicalism has become, especially at the megachurch level. Churches become well-organized machines; places where the “game” is played out Sunday after Sunday.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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