The Story
Calvary Chapel pastor Jimmy Kempner was convicted of hiring a prostitute in 2008. Here's a link to the plea agreement. This story has broken in a number of places including OC Weekly and the Daily Pilot. From the Daily Pilot story:
Beach Cities’ pastor the Rev. Jim Kempner, who has presided over the church since 2001, was arrested as part of a special prostitution investigation conducted by the Tustin Police Department in May 2008, police said Friday.
Jimmy Kempner History
Jimmy was the primary Saturday night concern evangelist at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa in the late 1970s. I came to Christ at CCCM in that time frame, although Jimmy wasn't the preacher on the exact night I came to Christ (ironically that was Chuck Smith who preached that night in Oct 1978.) While I have respect of Kempner's role in my own spiritual development, I don't believe that should give him a free pass for future misdeeds.
Thoughts on the Matter
It's impossible to know the inside story on what would cause a person to go outside their marriage for sexual fulfillment. Perhaps it was just that the thrill was gone. There are many pastor's marriages which are extremely stressed and dysfunctional. Unless the Kempner's open up their personal business, all that can be done is to judge by the act.
On the good side, Kempner wasn't having an affair with a woman in the church.
The question of whether this was a one-time event or a repeat offense is also unknown, although it immediately comes to mind. It is a fairly safe assumption that these things are rarely isolated events.
Defense By Calvary Chapel Pastors
Here's a mixed batch. Some CC pastors defend Kempner. Others denounce his actions and have called for him to step down. One pastor stated that this is a 1 in a 1000 situation in Calvary Chapel. Given that there are somewhere around 1400 CCs this seems like a vast underestimate.
Calvary Chapel Affiliation
Jimmy's affiliation was pulled by Calvary Chapel Outreach Fellowship. That is unqualifiedly good. There is no evidence that CC participated in any coverup or assistance to relocate Kempner to another CC.
Form of Church Government at Fault?
Kempner's board bears responsibility but not as much as the form of church governance at many CCs. In these churches, the pastor has a hand picked board and can hire/fire the board at will. That's well documented as being part of the CC Philosophy of Ministry (see the Korean pastor and his board example in Smith's booklet). There were many irregularites in this case.
The Three Consultants
Three CC pastors were brought in by the board. One of them was Dave Rolph. I've got a lot of respect for Dave, but for the three to have given anything other than a recommendation that Kempner be removed is unbelievable.
Entrapment Charge?
One man's sting operation is another man's entrapment.
From the news report this was a case where Kempner was in a hotel room alone with a prostitute. When he put a $100 on the dresser, he was busted. Whether it is legally considered entrapment is not relevant to the appearance of guilt.
Claims of Signing Paperwork to Avoid Expensive Legal Fees
One of the claims presented is that Kempner was "forced" into signing a false confession because it was the easy out is also not relevant. For this reason, a pastor must protect his legal reputation at all costs even if it means financial ruin.
Biblical Standards
One of the Biblical qualifications for being a pastor is that he be of good reputation with the world. Hard to imagine how this could not be the key issue in this situation:
1Ti 3:7 Moreover he [a pastor] must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
Interestingly, this is the reason that many Calvary Chapel pastors are Biblically unqualified to be pastors. Taking someone who is a drug dealer one day (one such example among many) and making them a pastor shortly thereafter demonstrates poor judgment by Calvary Chapel.
Other thoughts to come as the facts come out.
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