Kudos to Daniel for having the honesty and outrage to report his own father for this egregious breach of not only trust, but core ethics. Choosing to secretly work with a volunteer who was professing pedophilic thoughts, as well as consciously allowing this person to endanger children—-not to mention choosing not to report this person to authorities—-its unthinkable.

How anyone could say that this pastor should be in a position of any authority is beyond me. How dare he advise others on how to live their lives, when he so clearly is in need of supervision himself?

Not only is continuing to deal with the issue in secret unthinkable, but equating pedophilia (victims!) with homosexuality (consensual) and saying that your own son has no standing in this matter because of his transition is so over the top wrong that I would expect a full explanation regarding the results of John's "resurrection plan." Anything short of complete and total admission of bad judgment on ALL those parts would be, in my opinion, unacceptable. But then I guess that from church that largely broke from the Presbyterian church because of its views on homosexuality it's a step too far.

Sad, and shameful.

I’d love to know how many women are on the board, but regardless, the tone-deaf board is matched by the the hubris of Ortberg In wanting a leadership role back. Badly done.

These decisions showcase why people are leaving religious institutions in droves.

Wow! Congratulations Menlo Church!! (sarcasm)

Homosexuality is bad, no female ministers allowed, but it's OK to allow a known incipient pedophile to work with kids? Disgusting!!

This "church" serves 6000 local worshippers who ignore (and deplore) standards of male-female equality, love between consenting adults, but allow a pastor to make excuses for & tolerate the participation of a warped volunteer with its children? I don't believe that only the pastor was aware of the problems here.

20+ years ago, there was trouble with the male counsellor for the teen rec group being inappropriately friendly with some teen girls. He was finally dismissed but the abuses were known & ongoing. The "Menlo Church" doesn't appear to have high standards for its employees or volunteers.

I've thought for decades that the group once known as Menlo Pres had a cult-like & sketchy aspect. Now I'm sure. I'll no longer work with or patronize any of the many well-known local accountants, realtors, doctors, dentists, attorneys, retailers, etc. If you want to know who they are, just watch the crowd parking on surrounding streets & using the parking lot in front of Draegers on Sundays.

It's time to turn this place into a homeless shelter or site for construction of affordable housing. It meets all the desirable criteria for those uses - close to transportation, medical services, nearby groceries, city park across the street, etc., etc.

You know there’s something seriously wrong when the non-believer and pedophile show more accountability, honesty, and integrity towards the church than the pastor.

If John Ortberg doesn’t address this with openness and transparency, there is no true repentance or change.

1 Timothy 3:1-7 - qualifications lacking in my opinion

Wow,

I'm curious, (question to the board), what was God's advice on this one?
"after prayerfully seeking God's guidance"

If there is or are Gods, I don't believe they would be on this guys side.

Has anyone checked the Megan's Law website (Web Link to see if this predatory volunteer is a registered sex offender?

Covering up sex crimes is just as bad as committing them.

This is a painful situation in which a pastor is caught between protecting the privacy of a church member and using good judgement to bring this into the light. I do hope this is a learning experience for everyone and that the church establishes a policy of how they plan to deal with these issues in the future. The failure to have a policy often leads to poor judgment. I believe this church to be a strong Biblically based community of faith that unfortunately made a big mistake. Churches and pastors are not perfect (surprise) and I commend the board for restoring him with a plan for supervision. Yes, good job!

@David, there’s a middle course between protecting the privacy of the church member and bringing the situation into the light: continue counseling the person, but NOT LET THEM VOLUNTEER WITH CHILDREN!!

I used to be a member at MPPC, and I wasn’t happy when John Ortberg came in as head pastor. He’s too slick by half, and something about him always skeeved me out. His actions, and the things he said to his son Danny about not having the standing to question his judgment because of Danny’s sexuality, reek of hubris and arrogance. I’d bet this “restoration plan” has more to with creating a cooling-off period for the community and church members than it does instilling any genuine contrition or soul-searching on Ortberg’s part. If I were still a church member and my children had been exposed to potential harm as a result of Ortberg’s staggeringly poor decision making, I’d want him gone, or I’d find a new church.