Pastor Terry Jones Burned A Quran And Threw Fire On Gasoline

 Burning The Holy Quran Was Not Wise

There was a time when no one knew who Pastor Terry Jones was outside of those in the vicinity of his church in Gainesville, Fl., then came the media feeding frenzy when he announced that he would burn copies of the Holy Quran on September 11, 2010.

You see perception became reality when constant national and worldwide media attention focused on Terry Jones and his Dove World Outreach Center when he decided that he would set fire to the holy book of Islam, the Quran. Jones came up with a self-created International Burn a Quran Day. This apparently started on Facebook and grew from there. Before long national and international media attention was focused on whether Jones would follow through on his threat to burn Qurans on September 11, 2010.

Political leaders weighed in on the issue. General David Petraeus, the top commander of American troops in Afghanistan spoke out against it as a danger to United States troops. The white hot glare of the national media focused on Jones and his every move. For a period of time Terry Jones seemed to be a more powerful religious figure than the Pope. In fact The Vatican condemned a Florida pastor’s plan to burn Qurans.

Jones strung the world along and enjoyed his elevated status. He even tried to use his new found fame to inject himself into the other hot issue of the day and that was the proposed “Ground Zero Mosque” issue. Jones travel to New York supposedly to meet with officials involved with the center. Finally Jones said that he would not burn Qurans and the media as it does faded away and moved on.

Then in March 2011, Pastor Terry Jones decided to burn the Quran and posted the video on the internet. Jones says he is not responsible for the death of the U.N. workers that were killed as protests spiraled out of control in Afghanistan. These workers were brutally murdered for something they had no hand in causing. The true blame is on the people that committed the brutal acts, but what about Pastor Jones. While he did not commit the acts, did he light the fire?

Would Most Pastors Pass A Background Check

Should a Pastor have to submit to the same type of scrutiny that you go though to get a job?

Many companies require you to submit to a background check, criminal record check and credit check. You probably will have to go through a drug screen before you can begin working at your new job. Do most preachers go through this?

This question is being raised because of numerous high profile incidents that have brought negative attention to pastors and their churches. There was the ultra high profile gay sex scandal blowup at New Birth Missionary Baptist church near Atlanta, GA where Bishop Eddie Long was accused of have sexual relations with young men in his congregation by the alleged victims. That matter is now in private negotiations for settlement. More detail on the Eddie Long situation can be found here in an article by Morris W. O’Kelly in the Huffington Post published on December 6, 2010.

Another incident came up when a pastor grabbed headlines when he asked his followers to refrain from Facebook because it could lead to infidelity. Then he admitted that he and his wife had participated in multiple partner sexual escapades with an assistant and his wife. An article on Foxnews.com November 20, 2010, details the story.

One of latest incidents that truly will truly boggle the mind is the instance of the pastor that was arrested and charged with breaking into a church member's home and burglarizing it on Christmas Eve 2010. The Dallas police arrived and caught Pastor Sandra McGriff loading coats and purses from the member’s home into her car. The pastor had a lengthy criminal history. The full story of this Christmas Eve caper can be found on the KDFW channel 4 website in an article written by Pat Daut on Sunday December 26, 2010.

These are just some of the latest example of preachers gone astray. From Robert Tilton's downfall in the 1980s, that was recalled in an article by Scott K. Parks in the Dallas Morning News May 28, 2009, to now, there have been transgressions of all types perpetuated by those in the pulpit. These are not perfect individuals, but the screening that is require to hire a retail store clerk could screen out someone with prior problems. The question is how is a preacher brought into a church today? Many founded the churches that they are leading and grew it as the years passed. In that instance the pastor is the power figure in the church and was there before anyone else, in effect member are joining his church. In other situations a preacher comes in on reputation, recommendation or recruitment.

If pastors had to go through the same screening as a new employee has to get a job, how many would be rejected before ever getting in the pulpit.