DEL.ICIO.USFall of Cobb pastor occurs at challenging time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Like the biblical mustard seed, Trinity Chapel Church of God has experienced amazing growth.
In 1983, Jim Bolin and wife Robin had a storefront worship center near Powder Springs with five families. Twenty-five years later, the charismatic preacher extolled the faithful in a vast, theaterlike sanctuary, had more than 7,000 church members and oversaw a vibrant international ministry.
ROBERT W. GEE/STF
Jim Bolin, senior paster at Trinity Chapel and father of Jason Bolin, admitted to ‘inappropriate, consensual sexual conduct’ with a woman.
But the church was shaken to its foundation this month when the 56-year-old Bolin resigned after admitting to “inappropriate, consensual sexual conduct” with a woman. The reins of his ministry were handed to his 32-year-old son, Jason Bolin, a low-key, fresh-faced man who can be seen in home movies preaching the good word as a boy in his backyard.
Jason Bolin had been heir apparent, but his elevation to senior pastor comes at a time when he must guide the flock through a crisis in leadership and rapidly changing demographics that have bedeviled other churches.
African-Americans have increasingly moved to south and west Cobb County in the past decade, and Trinity Chapel has been accepting of the new residents. Recent visits to services found a congregation thoroughly interspersed with black and white members.
The Bolins, other church officials and many members who were contacted declined to speak for this story. State Church of God officials last Sunday told the congregation that Jim Bolin would leave his duties and undergo a two-year “restoration process” that includes Church of God counseling.
Jim Bolin, in a letter read at the service, said, “I’m not finished yet.”
In October, the younger Bolin gave an indication where he was bringing the church when he gave two sermons titled “The Elephant in the Room,” which referred to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s observation that 11 a.m. Sunday is the most segregated time of the week.
“There is one thing I was placed on this Earth to do — to bring racial reconciliation to this community, to this nation, to this world,” Jason Bolin told the congregation. “There is a big elephant in this room right now. We all bring a worldview into this room that is many, many years old.
“The turmoil, the scars that this nation has on its body now — the bitterness, the bigotry, the hatred — can be healed,” he said. “You have chosen, black folks, to be in a church with some white leaders. And I thank you.”
Then Bolin, in his steady cadence, brought up Barack Obama and the coming election.
“White people, the black people in this room have something to be proud of,” he said, pausing to note the light applause. “Come on, white folk, you need to be clapping right now. This is a monumental moment for this nation.”
Jason Wiltshire, a 13-year church member who went to Romania for a two-year missionary trip sponsored by Trinity Chapel, said the congregation supports Jim Bolin.
“It was a wake-up call for all of us to make sure our lives are in order,” said Wiltshire, a real estate agent.
Wiltshire noticed that racial change at Trinity quickened while he was overseas from 2005 to 2007. And attendance has dropped.
“When they first opened that sanctuary, it was full. Now it’s not,” he said. “It’s hard to deny attendance is down. Giving is down. More people have left than come.”
“I hope the church can get through this. Jason has his work cut out for him,” Wiltshire said. “It will be challenging. I think a lot of changes are coming.”
Perhaps Jim Bolin was alluding to the upcoming tumult in his last sermon, Dec. 7, just days before the scandal broke. The soon-to-be outgoing pastor spoke about pressure and stress, specifically during the Christmas season.
“Stress,” he said, “comes from trying to do something about something that you can’t do something about.”
Janet Savage said Jim Bolin’s preaching captivated her enough that she left her family church, where she led the outreach ministry, and joined Trinity Chapel. That was four years ago.
“It was almost as if I was hearing the word for the first time and it was so clear, so motivating and inspiring,” she said. “That old zeal was back.”
Megachurches such as Trinity Chapel attract worshippers for many reasons, said Harold Bennett, dean of the Charles H. Mason Theological Seminary of the Church of God in Christ, the largest African-American Pentecostal denomination. Such churches offer a diverse social experience, the prosperity theology is appealing, a huge congregation offers anonymity to those who want it, and many services are as much entertaining stage show as worship.
Bolin “challenged us to get past the insignificant things like race and gender,” said Savage, who is black. “He would remind us of that periodically because any time you are doing something out of your comfort zone, it makes you a little shaky.”
Some complain Trinity Chapel has been slow to bring black members into the leadership. Of the 28 church staff members and leaders pictured on Trinity Chapel’s Web site, just one, a receptionist, is black.
That doesn’t bother Savage. “I’ve gotten so past that now,” she said.
Darryl W. Stephens, a visiting professor at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, said the church must perform a balancing act while going through Jim Bolin’s “restoration.” It must reveal relevant information because he is a leader — but not too many details.
And there must be change. In order to heal, the congregation must be willing to forgive Jim Bolin, Bennett said, to extend mercy and grace and to accept the fact that he is human.
“Forgiving does not mean forgetting,” Stephens said. “Forgiveness entails accountability and remembering. When we forgive, we do not put a person back into a situation that allows them to do this again. No matter how effective a person is or how charismatic as a leader, we are all fallible.”
Bennett said Trinity Chapel is a community built around a charismatic leader.
“In the Pentecostal Church, we believe our leaders have a special anointing on them from God,” he said. “Some people see it as their responsibility to protect their leader. Especially when the pastor is the founding pastor, it gives him a little more authority.”
The fact that Jim Bolin confessed, resigned, asked for forgiveness and submitted to the discipline of the church speaks well of him, Bennett said.
“When we make a mistake, God will forgive us, but that doesn’t mean we have earned the right to stand before people and lead them,” Bennett said. “He’s got to earn the right to lead.”
Staff writer Angela Tuck contributed to this article.
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