Perry Noble files paperwork for new church; NewSpring says he’s not qualified to pastor

By Carla Field
WYFF
August 11, 2017

http://www.wyff4.com/article/perry-noble-files-paperwork-for-new-church-newspring-says-hes-not-qualified-to-pastor/11667181

ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. —

Former megachurch pastor Perry Noble is not being given a second chance by the church he founded, so he is giving himself a second chance with a new church, despite church leaders saying he no longer meets Biblical standards to be a pastor.

Noble, the former pastor of NewSpring church, filed paperwork July 14 with the South Carolina Secretary of State to incorporate Second Chance Church. The filing shows the request as made by a nonprofit in good standing.

Noble founded NewSpring more than 20 years ago after holding services in a living room, according to the NewSpring website. The church grew to 17 campuses with more than 30,000 members.

In July 2016, Pastor Shane Duffey announced that the leaders of NewSpring had removed Noble from the pulpit because of his “personal behavior, which included alcohol, and marital issues.”

Duffey read a statement from church officials that said, "Perry has made some unfortunate decisions," and that he "is no longer qualified" to continue as pastor.

Noble responded in a letter, "In the past year or so, I have allowed myself to slide into, in my opinion, the overuse of alcohol. This was a spiritual and moral mistake on my part, as I began to depend on alcohol for my refuge instead of Jesus and others. I have no excuse, this was wrong and sinful, and I'm truly sorry."

Noble's letter said, "Let me be clear, neither Lucretia (his wife) nor I have committed any sort of sexual sin. I have not stolen money, I've not been looking at porn, and there is absolutely no domestic abuse."

2005, Noble wrote publicly on his blog about how he overcame an addiction to pornography that he said started as a teenager.

Noble spent 30 days in an Arizona treatment facility in July 2016 and worked with a therapist after he completed the program.

He has since been a guest preacher at several churches, including Elevation Church in Charlotte six months after finishing treatment, and in June he addressed an overflow crowd at Powerhouse Christian Church in Anderson.

On July 21, a week after Noble filed paperwork for his new church, NewSpring Teaching Pastor Clayton King and the church leadership held a “family meeting” to discuss the future of the church and to address questions about why Noble was being allowed to preach at other churches and not as NewSpring.

King said that the church had faced a situation a year ago that forced them to decide if they were really taking the Bible seriously about what qualifications are needed in pastors and overseers.

He cited multiple Bible verses, including 1 Timothy 3:1-5, Titus 1:5b-9, James 3:1 and Matthew 18: 15-17a, and told parishioners, ”You may not like the scriptural guidelines,” but that there are specific qualifications for pastors, elders and leaders.

King said it doesn’t mean that perfect people are not welcome, but that leaders are held to a higher standard, and he said Noble does not meet the Biblical qualifications.

He said Noble has been very vocal about the church leaders not reaching out to him, but he said he and others have “completely forgiven Noble,” and have repeatedly reached out to him for 13 months with nearly all offers declined.

King said the church leaders would not delve into Perry and Lucretia Noble’s marriage issues because those are private matters. He said NewSpring people have spent time with Lucretia Noble over the past year, and she is 100 percent committed to her husband and their marriage and “desires reconciliation.”

He said the choice to remove Noble came because he was “hurting himself, his ministry and his family.” King said Perry Noble is still loved, but that church leaders had to act after they made numerous offers to help him that were rejected.

There was no information available about when or where Noble plans to open Second Chance Church.