William Shakespeare once said, “No legacy is so rich as honesty.”
Perry Noble, former senior pastor of NewSpring Church in South Carolina, recently broken his silence in a post on social media. The post—a brutally honest read—cuts right to the chase about the “EXTREMELY unwise decisions” and habits that led to a removal from the very church he founded in 2000.
“I spent last week with my counselor,” Noble said, “and was able to make major progress towards healing. In meeting with him, he helped me to dive in and discover the areas where I clearly dropped the ball. After we discussed this he and I both felt it would be beneficial to share these things as it helps in my healing process – but also so that some of you will not make the same mistakes that I did.”
His post on Facebook outlined how he chose isolation over community, alcohol over his family, control over relationships, and silence over crying out for help.
“I was sick,” he said, “deceived by sin, alcohol and myself. I justified this by saying I needed it to take the edge off, to help me relax, to help me deal with the pressure at home. Honestly, I knew the entire time I was using it as an excuse to zone out at home, thus causing me to neglect my role as a husband and a father. As I look back on making this foolish exchange, waves of self condemnation crash into my soul. I know I’ve been forgiven for the sin, but I must now deal with the consequences.”
Though he is unsure what is next for him, we are confident that God isn’t done with Perry Noble yet. In fact, it’s clear to see God working to restore and mend him and his family.
Noble closes his post with a message to others who might share a similar struggle:
“If you are in a bad place, I mean you are living through hell on earth – my prayer for you is you would make the immediate decision to tell someone ASAP. Because, you are not the only one, people will not abandon you, and, believe it or not, more people will understand than you could ever imagine.
“Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. I was weak–I did not ask for help, and the end result was a train wreck. What happened to me doesn’t have to happen to you – you can ask for help today.”
M Schultz
agree with chris rosbrough that we need to also expect repentance from bad and false teaching than just when someone fails morally. Perry Noble is an example of a man who needs to see the broader sin that likely led to dip into alcholism and that is the sin of self endulging into the tank of narcissistic rather than Christ centered preaching.
Drake De Long-Farmer
I never understand how such things are ever helpful. Making wild assumptions about a persons character when we barely know any of the details. It is possible you are quite right, but why is it that we need to speculate such things against a persons character when we are not certain. We should be quite careful to make such accusations lest we fall into sin as well (1 Timothy 5:19 ).
ExPastors.com
Self-righteousness is also a sin. Friend, please don’t kick someone when they’re down. You must be better than that.