Days after disclosing, via video message, that a former deacon at his church had “committed a sexual sin that could also be described as abusive,” Pastor Willy Rice addressed the controversy during Sunday worship. During his April 3 sermon at Calvary Church in Clearwater, Florida, Rice emphasized that the man had repented and that Jesus’ blood washes away sins. “The world cancels people,” Rice said. “Jesus cancels sin. There’s a difference.”
On Friday, April 1, Rice, one of several candidates to be the next Southern Baptist Convention president, described a past incident that led church leaders to “reevaluate” the deacon’s role. The pastor emphasized that for years, the layperson had shown “genuine fruits of a repentant life.”
According to Baptist News, the deacon was a high school teacher and coach in Tampa Bay in 2005. He admitted to having an inappropriate sexual relationship with an 18-year-old female student. No criminal charges were reportedly filed. Rice, in his video, emphasized that the man didn’t serve in children’s or student ministries at Calvary.