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This is not an easy question to answer, since we do not know in what way the pastor has fallen, how public his offense was, and how much damage was done. In some circumstances he should never again serve in a pastoral role. One of the reasons many men fall is a result of the isolation they experience due to the common structure found in many churches. When a man is placed in a spiritual class above the rest of the assembly, he is by definition isolated, at least on the local level. This is one reason why we believe both churches and pastors are far better off if the clergy-laity split is removed and the pastoral responsibilities are placed in the hands of several men rather than just one. For more on this subject, please see the articles on Shelf 2 of the Apostolic Free Library on this website.
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