"Get Right or Get Out!": Is There a Middle Ground?

I was recently exposed to a video of Bishop Charles Blake addressing the issue of pedophiles in the Church of God in Christ in the Convocation of 2012.  His message ... "Get Right or Get Out!"  God knows that pedophilia is an extremely egregious offense in my book.  In fact, I often use the idea of the pedophile as the "Gentile", the worst of the worse, in order for me to remember that my idea of love is not God's.  I guess this is why when I heard Bishop Blake say this I rejoiced and was grieved at the same time.

I can certainly understand where Bishop Blake is coming from, after coming under fire for being a "safe haven for pedophiles". I understand what it is like to weigh an individual's development, healing, and restoration against the good of the group with which you have been given responsibility. It is not easy at all, if you are a person who values every person as having the image of God within them, as deeply suppressed as it may be. But, the message, "Get Right or Get Out," still bothered me on some level.

What does this message say? Does it send a message of unintended consequence that the church has a limit on the depravity a person can have before they are able to receive the love of God? Does it say that the social tolerance of the church has preeminence over God's call for the "weary and heavy laddened"? I don't know, but there is a potential for this message to further stigmatize individuals who are definitely in need of both spiritual and psychiatric help.

I have to wonder also if this message is a cop-out. Much like the church handles sex, it seems that this message can say, "I don't want to deal with the frustration of working with you through this issue, so just don't do it or stay away from me." Is the message that we are sending to those who need Christ the most saying that God has rejected them because they are just too bad?

I choose to believe that this was NOT the intent of Bishop Blake when he said this. I believe that he spoke out of genuine concern for the children, for the environment COGIC wants to set for the safety of all people, and for the image of the COGIC in marketplace. But, I believe that in his well-intentioned response is an environment that creates unintended consequences to the Gospel message.

What then would have been a better response? I don't know. Maybe something like, "Get right or we will make sure that you have no access to our children." Or maybe, "Get right, and we will help you find the tools you need to do so." Yeah, even those statements are too long for a sound bite. Hmmm. "Step Down and Get Healed". How about that one? See... It's not easy, but it's still important that we remain the ambassadors of God's unconditional love and God's ever-important accountability at the same time.