Living above Reproach Pt. 1

The body of Christ appears to have taken another hit with what appears to be serious sexual abuse charges against Bishop Eddie Long from New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in GA. Let me first make a couple things clear, this bog and writing is NOT to issue judgment or condemn Bishop Long. My prayers are for him and his family as he goes through this and is obedient to whatever God says to do in this situation. I am not one to label and condemn anyone, my destructive lifestyle fueled with infidelity and drug use for also 15 years damaged the body of Christ and hurt many people who knew me and those who looked up to me as a Pastor, mentor and Man of God. My testimony is included in my soon to be published book  "Musings from an Ex-Crackhead".
Many are saying "Don't judge him yet"..or all the information is not in, which certainly is true. Others are saying "How can he (or any other Pastor) preach and have an impact on people and get involved in something like this ?
The apostle Paul gives Timothy some solid advice for the office of a bishop (no intentional reference to Bishop Long) I Tim 3:2 "A bishop then must be above reproach,…. Being above reproach does not mean he is perfect or doesn't sin…or nothing in his/her past, the phrase "above reproach" means to be blameless. Living above reproach means that no one can come and accuse you of being actively involved in sin. As Christians we must be a men and women of integrity and above reproach. One Christian Blog states it this way:
The Scriptures assure us that we can partake of the divine character of Christ, that we can be people of integrity, people who live above reproach. Billy Graham puts it this way, "when we speak of integrity as a moral value, it means that a person is the same on the inside as he is on the outside. There is no discrepancy between what he says and what he does, between his walk and his talk. A person of integrity can be trusted and he is the same person alone a thousand miles away from home as he is in Church or in his home." The Church needs men and women who live above reproach, who are people of integrity. The Church needs men and women who cannot be bought, whose word is their bond, who put character above wealth and who will make no compromise with wrong and who will be honest in small things as in great things.
We put our Pastors and leaders on such high pedestals and don't require that they be accountable and when they fall it is devastating. Satan loves it when we live lives of compromise and we lack integrity. I dont know if Bishop Long is guilty and as I mentioned  certainly would not rush to condem .  However I would question where was the "above reproach" living.   Yes...peopl will talk anyway no matter how you live, but if you are living above reproach and are a Man or Woman of Godly Intergrity...you give them no ammuntion. As we continue in our recovery people will often still suspect we are engaing in destructive behavior but if we "live above reproach" and have a good testimony as Paul instrctions to Timothy in verse 7  ..."lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil"