Can the Convicted Molester be a Church Member?

A friend from seminary, Matthew Hall, writes this helpful post discussing how we would treat, as a church, a convicted child molester who tried to join us. Read the post here. Here is his conclusion.

As churches seek to balance the demand for prudence with a spirit of Christian charity and grace, perhaps there is nothing more important than remembering that “such were some” of us. We know the nature and power of sin in our own lives; we should do all we can to guard against its influence in our churches. Drafting and practicing thoughtful policies to guard against abuse should not be an optional exercise for churches. But we also know how rich God’s forgiveness is; we’ve experienced it firsthand. So we can never refuse to worship alongside a repentant sinner. After all, isn’t that each one of us?