FORMER senior pastor of Auckland City Elim Church Ian Bilby, who resigned due to seasons of ,immorality, is coming back to an Auckland church.

In 1998 Challenge Weekly published a statement from Auckland City Elim saying that he had stepped back from all ministry due to a moral failure in his life.

The damage was done to his spouse, to himself, his children, to the church, the cause of Christ, & against the Lord God.
An ex-work colleague and other sources close to the Bilby family told Challenge Weekly that there were between 10 - 20 women who had had an affair with Mr Bilby or were preyed upon by him over some 20 years.

Sin has a way of tripping up the best of men, even to the extent that a comeback seems impossible. What happens when a nationally well-known Christian church leader confesses to a moral failure in his life, even though he has a reputation for preaching on what is right and wrong, and. decrying the breakdown of today's marriages and family life? How does God respond to a good man who falls into a flagrant sin? Has God any use for such a person again?

Comeback
Now, four years later, after a divorce, & counselling in the US and living in Northland, reliable sources contacted Challenge Weekly saying that Mr Bilby is coming back on the Auckland church scene.

Just over a year ago, Mr Bilby married Sophia, the former youth pastor of Auckland City Elim, and they have been attending the Kaitaia Elim Church. Since February it has become a Destiny Church.

Senior pastors Brian and Hannah Tamaki told Challenge Weekly that when the Kaitaia Destiny Church was launched, to their surprise they saw Ian amongst the congregation. He was going along there as part of his four years of sitting back.
"That's how we made the initial contact. I believe it was no coincidence. If there is a church that can start to restore what was done wrong, what was broken and fallen, that is us! It is from then onwards that Hannah and I have had frequent time with Ian and Sophia. That rekindled a relationship which goes way back," explains Brian.

Restoration
Brian has invited Ian and his new wife, to come to their Auckland Destiny Church."Right now he's coming in here and being part of this ministry but not in a leadership role. He has totally submitted himself to Destiny Church. We will draw from his resources and he will be working directly with me. He is accountable to me, and one of my senior Pastors as well. We want to begin to bring a process of full restoration.

"I think personally the full deal of restoration is not just repenting and counselling, and proving this is right over a period of time, but also to be restored back to ministry, to what ever that level is. To disqualify somebody forever, even after having repented, and shown the fruit over a number of years, that is not right"

Another chance
"I think a lot of the problem is not whether or not he has properly repented and been restored, but with those who feel robbed or betrayed. That is more the issue, I think. Of course someone can be forgiven and given another chance.
"The fact that he got married again to this person from his past, I've come to terms with. I wouldn't have accepted them here at Destiny, if I didn't think there wasn't something there between them and God. To the end of my probing him, I came to a point where I was reasonably satisfied.

"I know that some people will comment and that is their freedom. I'm big enough to take that. The criticism is fine but I've got to trust God that somehow I'm involved in a restoration process that I haven't walked before either."

Deep concern
Pastor Luke Brough from Auckland East City Elim Church, and president of the Elim National Executive, commented that the Elim Church of NZ has not been consulted regarding the return of Ian Bilby to ministry.

"Our position at this time would be one of deep concern, particularly as there has never been any expression of sorrow or regret from Ian to the Elim National Leadership Team for his actions.

"Church leadership is a position of trust, and although there is certainly forgiveness for those who repent, when that trust has been broken, it is not necessarily wise to place that person back into a leadership position.
Consideration must also be given to the people and families that were affected by Ian's actions," says Mr Brough.

Reconciliation
Brian Tamaki says he is aware of the sensitive nature of bringing Mr Bilby back to where he came from.
"Do you think I would jeopardise the presence of this church by bringing in someone who I thought, hadn't done the work of repentance?

At the same time, I believe there are very few churches who have the abilty or depth, to be able to properly restore broken and fallen ministries in this country

I'm not saying it is the fault of the church in NZ, but somewhere a church has to begin to make some steps towards that reconciliation and the full process of recovering and restoring a broken and fallen ministry

"Who is to know that after six months Ian trusts me enough, and the time has come for him to face Auckland City Elim and do what he needs to do," says Mr Tamaki

But the big question remains, what does the immediate family think of all this, and all those other people involved who were terribly hurt and had to go through the worst couple of years in their lives

They are alarmed and mortified by the idea that Mr Bilby and his new wife are coming back to the scene where it all began four years ago

Moriel New Zealand's Comments on the above Issues are as follows

We are absolutely dismayed that anyone who claims to have been a born again believer, and a Pastor, who should have been completely knowledgeable on the scriptural position on adultery, would dare to attempt a return to ministry of any kind while he is still living in a sin, which the Lord himself declares must end in Spiritual death & hell. 1 Cor. 6: 9 - 10
As Ian Bilby is the guilty party his wife is freed by the Lord to re marry. However Bilby's position is that the Lord only gives him the right to be rejoined to his wife after real repentance, or if that is not possible because she will not have him back, or she has remarried, his only choice then is to stay single and live a fully repentant and clean life for the Lord due to the fact that his wife is still alive.

This man has not only previously sinned in adultery himself, but by marrying any other woman while his first wife is still alive (whether he and his wife are divorced or not) actually causes that new woman to commit adultery as well. They both then continue to be joined in the sin of adultery, this is because he is illegally divorced (in God's eyes). Scripture clearly points out that anyone single, married, or widowed etc. who marries a divorced person, that is, one who has not been legally freed (in Gods eyes and Law), commits adultery with that person .

In God's eyes, illegal divorce is every divorce that is not caused by the adultery of one spouse or both

The only provision made by Jesus Christ in Scripture for a believing husband and wife to divorce is the adultery of one spouse or both

The case is different for those who are not yet true believers and are not yet truly Christ's. They only come under his Law after being called & accepted by him (The Lord accepts you where you are) 1 Cor 7:24.

To summarise, the only party who can remarry with God's approval, is the innocent spouse.

The fact that Brian Tamaki says he has come to terms with Ian Bilby's adultery and is suggesting a come back into God's service with the sin of adultery still inherent in the lives of Bilby and his new wife, will completely stagger any real believer. For him to say this, one of two things becomes very obvious, either Brian Tamaki has an extremely poor knowledge of God's Word, or he is deliberately prepared to ignore that Word for the sake of friends in the flesh, making Tamaki a participant in their sin .

And it's no good Brian Tamaki saying that he has to believe and trust that God is showing him a special thing regarding Bilby's reconciliation, or that his church is one of the few who can restore people, as it is only God who can restore anyone or anything and that has to be done in strict accordance with his Word, because God never compromises, never changes his mind, and never ever breaks his own rules.

I believe that the only choice Ian bilby has, is to first repent properly, give up his illegal wife; and ask forgiveness from the Lord and all those he has hurt, (which would be a staggering number if a full talley was taken) and then pray that he can satisfy God's standard of repentance and not Brian Tamaki's or the standards of any Church.

Brian Tamaki should also be aware that Ian Bilby has no right to be in his church or any other church for that matter, while he remains in the sin of adultery. 1 Cor 5: 1 - 2 and 1 Cor.5: 11 Also "and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them" Eph. 5:11

Finally we must all remember that human compassion, human forgiveness, or whatever our human feelings or wishes are in cases such as that above, They must not be allowed to have any bearing on how we deal with such matters. God requires us to do strictly what he commands and not what we may like to see done, always keeping in mind that His ways are perfect, and ours are not.

Nigel Nicholson
For Moriel Ministries N.Z.
7th Nov.2002

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