RESTORATION PLAN ASSIGNMENTS

Following are the “restoration assignments” for a three year process toward restoring the person, the relationships, and possibly the ministerial credentials following a moral fall on the part of an ordained, licensed or commissioned minister.   The list is generally sequential and the process requires considerable written records and twice-monthly meetings with a “restoration coach” and regular reports (and sometimes meetings) to the “restoration committee.”

1.     Meet monthly with your restoration mentor.

This starts now and continues three or more years. 

2.     Start a Restoration Journal

Keep this journal with precision throughout the entire process… only to be seen by your restoration coach unless you decide to share it with other people.

3.     Write out a full and complete confession

Come clean with no excuses or defenses.  Write the details of your infraction (without being too graphic) place, dates, events—come clean, hide nothing, including how you “got caught” or decided to confess.

4.     Records.

Keep a detailed record of meetings with your restoration mentor including a record of the assignments done for each meeting in your restoration journal.

5.     Sign the “Covenant of Restoration” agreement.

6.     Tell the unedited story.         

Find two persons (not your restoration coach) and tell the full unedited story in order to seek their forgiveness as representatives of the church--- and establish an ongoing accountability relationship with both individuals which will last throughout the restoration process.

7.     Establishing accountability.

Establish monthly accountability with two persons—one in-person and another by email.  Develop a list of questions approved by your restoration coach to be used in these sessions.

8.     Damage assessment and repair strategy

Write out a carefully detailed “damage assessment” showing damage to those who were affected and emotionally damaged by your moral failure.

9.     Repair Strategy

Write out a detailed strategy for repairing the damage detailed in the “damage assessment” above.  List the actions and “penance” you will undertake in each case, and keep a detailed record of your efforts throughout the restoration process.

10. Letters asking forgiveness.

Write carefully-worded letters asking forgiveness from those you have wronged.  Get your restoration coach to revise and approve those letters.  Your restoration coach may ask you to send some letters, and other letters will be given to surrogates to respond to (in some cases there are people you should not write to—your restoration coach will decide which ones).   Make the list with your coach, send the ones selected, and then send others to surrogates with an attached note as directed by your coach.  (Some telephone calls may be required instead of letters.)  Keep an “accounting record” of forgiveness granted by these people VIA letters, notes, e-mails or other responses—follow your coach’s instructions on how far to press for forgiveness and with whom.

11. Read the book  Rebuilding Your Broken World by Gordon McDonald.

12.          Full written prayer-of-confession and repentance.

Memorize Psalm 51 then write your own prayer of confession and repentance

13.          Written forgiveness from God. 

Write a letter from God to you detailing what you believe God is saying in response to your sin.  Be detailed and as far as possible, writing it the way you believe God would speak.

14.          Reporting plans on the restoration process.

Keep a running record of your reporting to your restoration committee supplying a copy of your report to your restoration coach for revision before submitting it.

15.          Restitution penance plan.

While we know God forgives us without any penance on our part, penance is good for us---and good for others in the body.  Design a plan for “restitution” which includes regular deeds of “penance” for your sin.  Such  "penance" can be a means of grace which God uses to mold and improve you during a "time out" from ministry.  In a sense, you are to "go sit in the corner" apart from ministry for a time.  What else will you do for “penance?”  Again, not to entice God to forgive you—nothing you can do (beyond repentance) will entice God to forgive.  But what will you do for you and others—to make practical restitution and penance for your sin?  List the activities and keep a running record of your penance.

16. Contributing patterns and practices.

Develop a list of the “contributing patterns and practices” which may have led to your sin.  Not that these were directly the “cause” but that they contributed to the a pattern of life which opened you up to this sin.

17. Plan to correct the “contributing factors.”

Make a detailed plan to correct the underlying factors which contributed to this sin.  Keep a running record of your corrective actions.

18. Running the red lights reflection.

Nobody has a moral wreck without running a series of red lights first.  God always provides a “way of escape” to us, even if we are driving too fast to see the exit.  Make a careful list of how you ‘ran red lights” in this instance and then develop a list of “red lights” for you to stop at in the future.

19. Spiritual life graph

Reflect on your spiritual life from your conversion and develop a spiritual life graph showing your spiritual high's and low's from the year you were saved to the present.

20. Plan for increasing return to service.

Develop with your restoration mentor a plan for gradual and increasing return to service.  In the first year you will participate in no formal ministry or service except “penance-service” like cleaning up after church, or janitor work.  In this first year you will tithe and attend faithfully all services and keep a running record of that attendance and tithe in your journal.  In the second year you will gradually accept some minor assignments in your local church—“laity service” not in a ministerial capacity.  In the third year you can gradually develop some up-front speaking assignments

21. Scripture study.

Do a Bible study on certain Bible characters as assigned by your restoration coach—of people who, for whatever reason, had to wait on the Lord.  It is your job to find these people an develop the written study and journaling.

22. Establishing a life-long group strategy.

You will realize in this process that you will always need accountability—especially group accountability—on a regular basis.  Establish a plan for a lifetime group accountability and report this strategy to your coach, then keep a running record of meetings with this small group.

23. Advice from a restored person.

Meet in person with another minister who has fallen morally, lost their credentials and then later been restored to ministry.  Get their advice and help on your future.  (Expect their resistance to meeting with you—they want to forget the past—but you must do this and be wiling to do it in the future—remember Psalm 51. “Then will I teach others…”

24. Life planning segment.

(At about 18 months into the process)  It is time to quit looking backward now and to look forward.  Develop some life planning work as you look toward  your future.  Make a “wish list” for your future—things you’d dream of God letting you do again some day.  Maintain this “wish list” adding to it as you move toward the next half of the restoration process.

25. Psalm 51:13 plan.

Make a plan for "teaching others" from your own errors.   How will you enable and challenge others?  How can God use even this sin to help others?  Make a plan of surrender to God—things you’d be willing to do in the future. 

26. Calling and anointing reflection.

Reflect on the concept of God's “calling” and “anointing” and how they may be related.  Relate this to your own life to date. 

27. Continued mentoring and coaching sessions.

For at least one year in the process keep a running record of your “third year meetings” with your coach as your process moves away from restitution and recovery to growth and development.  These “third year sessions” will sometimes not even touch on your past but will become enabling and strengthening sessions focused on your present and future.  Though they may not relate directly to “restoration” (in the looking-backwards way) they are extremely relevant to your future .  Keep a running record of your “third year meetings” with your coach including the topic of conversations and a summary of your meetings.

28. Reflection on the restoration process.

You are nearing the end of this process.  Write a careful reflection on the process, draw a “map” or diagram, labeling the stages you came through.  Share this with your coach and keep it in your permanent record of restoration

29. The restoration application notebook

At this stage you will be happy you kept all the record as required above.  Now you are to compile an “application” for restoration by summarizing all of the above activities for your restoration committee.  If you have kept up with your regular reporting, all you will now need to do is to compile and update the reports given to date.  But this restoration application should be a complete report on your restoration—including all the details of dates met and (sometimes) even certain letters you wrote etc.  It is likely to be a 20 page document or more.

30. Planning the final celebration.

Make careful plans for a final celebration to end the process.  Who will be there?  Where will this occur?  What sign-act will you select as signifying the end of this process?  Make these plans and share them with your coach while you are waiting for your denomination to act.

31. Restoration of credentials & celebration.

At the proper time your denomination may restore your credentials.  This may take additional time of waiting, or repeating some activities.  Your job is to complete the application and wait patiently.  Once these credentials are restored follow through with your celebration and your relationship with your “restoration coach” will now be ended—any continued relationship you retain will be as peer, friend or mentor.

© Keith Drury, 1994; revised 2001  Indiana Wesleyan University  http://www.drurywriting.com/keith/0restore.htm    

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