Baptists Welcome Sex Offender Back To Pulpit

I guess Jeebus forgave him, but the guy doesn't sound too repentant.
Any bets on how long it takes before he re-offends?

There are so many of these Christian authority figures who prey on
underage teens that activists are organizing to fight them on a sect-
by-sect basis, with quotes in the article below from
StopBaptistPredators.org


Bo Raxo

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/517063,CST-NWS-Baptist20.article

A southwest suburban Southern Baptist congregation allowed a convicted
child sex offender to preach for the last few years -- despite his
past, and a warning from his previous church that he might still be
dangerous, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

In 1996, Jeff Hannah was sentenced to nine years in prison for having
sexual relations with four underage girls -- ages 15 to 17 -- while a
married youth minister at Crossroads Church in Libertyville.

Hannah was paroled in 2001 and joined the First Baptist Church of
Romeoville, where his new wife was a member. Soon after, the pastor
moved on, and church members -- aware of Hannah's crimes -- asked him
to step into the pulpit until a replacement was hired, according to
church members, Hannah and others

Hannah served in that role for three years and ever since has been a
fill-in preacher, teacher and music minister at the church.

'We believe in forgiveness'
Authorities say there's no evidence that Hannah has re-offended -- and
Hannah insists he has not -- but he abruptly resigned his membership
in the congregation when a reporter started inquiring about him last
week.
"In our church, we believe in forgiveness," said Del Kirkpatrick, one
of the deacons who hired Hannah.

In talking to the Sun-Times last week, Hannah, 42, was unapologetic
about his crimes, saying his first marriage had been troubled and he'd
had "urges."

"I honestly believe that had I been a college pastor, I'd slept with
college girls," he said. "But I was a youth pastor. It was less about
age and more about who I spent all my time with."

The Rev. Steve Farish, pastor of Crossroads Church, which has
relocated to Grayslake, said he considered Hannah so dangerous that he
warned the Romeoville church and a regional Southern Baptist
official.


'The husband of one wife'
"We thought he could still potentially be a danger to women and
children," Farish said. "He was never repentant and never told the
truth."
Randie Bruno, the prosecutor in Hannah's case said, "He has the
charisma to fool everybody."

But Hannah led the Romeoville church until February 2006, when the
Rev. Charles Hamby, a 54-year-old divorced pastor with financial
troubles, was hired. When Hamby remarried a few months later, several
church members left, including Kirkpatrick.

"A pastor should be the husband of one wife," Kirkpatrick said.

Hamby, who also knew of Hannah's past, allowed him to continue as a
preacher and gave him even greater leadership roles. "The man ... paid
his debt to society," Hamby said.

Some in the congregation were upset by Hannah's role, but Hamby's
remarriage was a bigger controversy, according to church officials.
The feud bubbled over last week, when Hamby and Hannah abruptly
resigned.

"I just want to live my life," Hannah said.


Activist outraged
The future of the congregation remains uncertain. Sunday worship was
canceled.
With more than 16 million members, the Southern Baptist Convention is
the nation's largest Protestant denomination. Each congregation is
autonomous. Under pressure from victims' groups, the SBC in June
pledged to examine the possibility of creating a national database of
clergy predators.

Christa Brown, founder of StopBaptistPredators.org, was outraged that
Hannah went from prison to the pulpit.

"When Southern Baptists put perpetrators into positions of spiritual
trust again, it sends the message that this denomination doesn't care
about victims," Brown said.