The Tightrope: A Case Study in Church Discipline
A true account of confronting adultery.
Tim Stafford
July 1, 1984
The following account of a church's experience with disciplinary action is based on Lee and Bev Hotchkiss's memory of events. Names and other identifications have been changed because of the sensitive nature of what happened. Lee Hotchkiss, pastor of the Evangelical Free Church in Pineview, Colorado, knew Georgina's sobbing voice immediately, even though it was 2:00 A.M. and her call had awakened him from a sound sleep. She sounded hysterical. "Jack just told me he's having an affair," she cried. She was a member of the church, her husband one of its five board members. Her voice shook as she poured out her story. She had never suspected before tonight. She still did not know who Jack was sleeping with. Lee listened, then offered what encouragement and hope he could. Trained as a marriage counselor, he was a hard man to ruffle. Georgina's wild voice seemed to calm somewhat, perhaps as she realized that even her pastor could not do much to help her at two in the morning. Lee promised to pray. Finally they said good-by. Lee's wife, Bev, lay beside him, fully awake. He told her what Georgina had said. "Who could it be?" she asked. "The way Georgina is going at him, I'm sure she'll weasel that out of him before morning," he said. Lee felt himself losing the calm self-assurance he had put on automatically when the telephone woke him. He sat on the edge of the bed, his chin down toward his knees. What would this mean? Jack would have to resign his church position. He had just been at the parsonage two days ago for the Saturday men's prayer breakfast, kidding, talking like a champ. Jack, an adulterer? Georgina, who had a plain face with scars from severe acne, had told everyone how happy they were together. She had said almost too ...
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