Jim Bolin, Head Pastor of Trinity Chapel in Powder Springs, GA, Steps Down Due to "Inappropriate Sexual Behavior"

UPDATE

After the barrage of sympathetic responses I received in favor of Pastor Bolin, I scoured the Atlanta Journal Constitution for more information. It turns out that there is another problem for Trinity Chapel--membership and diversity. According to the AJC,

Jason Wiltshire, a 13-year church member who went to Romania for a two-year missionary trip sponsored by Trinity Chapel, said the congregation supports Jim Bolin. “It was a wake-up call for all of us to make sure our lives are in order,” said Wiltshire, a real estate agent. Wiltshire noticed that racial change at Trinity quickened while he was overseas from 2005 to 2007. And attendance has dropped.

“When they first opened that sanctuary, it was full. Now it’s not,” he said. “It’s hard to deny attendance is down. Giving is down. More people have left than come.”“I hope the church can get through this. Jason has his work cut out for him,” Wiltshire said. “It will be challenging. I think a lot of changes are coming.”

Janet Savage said Jim Bolin’s preaching captivated her enough that she left her family church, where she led the outreach ministry, and joined Trinity Chapel. That was four years ago. “It was almost as if I was hearing the word for the first time and it was so clear, so motivating and inspiring,” she said. “That old zeal was back.” Bolin “challenged us to get past the insignificant things like race and gender,” said Savage, who is black. “He would remind us of that periodically because any time you are doing something out of your comfort zone, it makes you a little shaky.”

Some complain Trinity Chapel has been slow to bring black members into the leadership. Of the 28 church staff members and leaders pictured on Trinity Chapel’s Web site, just one, a receptionist, is black. That doesn’t bother Savage. “I’ve gotten so past that now,” she said.

Let me echo the words of Harold Bennett, dean of the Charles H. Mason Theological Seminary of the Church of God in Christ, Trinity Chapel is a community built around a charismatic leader. “In the Pentecostal Church, we believe our leaders have a special anointing on them from God,” he said. “Some people see it as their responsibility to protect their leader. Especially when the pastor is the founding pastor, it gives him a little more authority.”“When we make a mistake, God will forgive us, but that doesn’t mean we have earned the right to stand before people and lead them,” Bennett said. “He’s got to earn the right to lead.”

So, for all those haters out there who have said I act as though I haven't committed any sins, there are a few more things you ought to start worrying about too. Why is it that your membership is falling? Geez, could that have to do with hypocrisy on the part of Pastor Bolin or his church leaders? Gee, I wonder why your pastor preaches diversity, but his own church staff isn't diverse? Do you want me to go on? This reminds of me the mess Bishop Earl Paulk created at the Cathedral at Chapel Hill. Though the accusations against Pastor Bolin are not as salacious, nonetheless, they point to hypocrisy in the pulpit. Yeah, a snake in the pulpit.....



Another prominent minister has resigned due to allegations of "inappropriate sexual behavior." The latest snake in the pulpit comes courtesy of Pastor Jim Bolin, 56, of the 7,000-member Trinity Chapel in Powder Springs, Ga. Like disgraced former evangelical Ted Haggard, Bolin will go through a "two-year restoration process," which will include counseling, through the Church of God.

Bolin’s 32-year-old son, Jason Bolin, who was raised in the church his parents started in an Austell Road storefront 25 years ago with five families, will take over as head pastor, assisted by his wife Sarah Bolin. He had been on the church staff the last 10 years, most recently as executive pastor.

The announcement was made from the pulpit by Donald M. Walker, the state administrative bishop for the Church of God. Walker called the day “rueful and sobering” and often choked up and dabbed his eyes. He began by reading a letter to the congregation from Jim Bolin.

Bolin opened the letter by saying “I have sinned against God” and that takes “full responsibility and blame” for the circumstances that have rocked the church during the last week. He provided no other details. “Today you see what a wrong choice has caused,” Bolin wrote. “Please learn from this.” Bolin also said that “the road to restitution is long,” adding, “I’m not finished yet.” Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution

Bolin is another rogue pastor who has fooled his congregants into doing as he says but not as he does. The Bible did say that there will be wolves in sheep's clothing in our midst. It is shameful that yet another pastor has become embroiled in inappropriate sexual conduct.