What happened
The Roys Report says the largest online booksellers in the United States have stopped selling Pastores para la gloria de Dios (Pastors for the Glory of God) by Tony Segar. The book was slated for publication on Monday; a retailer listing gives October 6]. According to the Roys Report, Amazon stopped taking pre-orders. Books-a-Million and Barnes & Noble removed their pages. Walmart lists it as out of stock. Christianbooks.com reportedly still listed it. The publisher's site no longer does.
Segar, 68, was charged in June in Whatcom County, Washington. The Bellingham Herald reported that he pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree child molestation. A conviction could bring up to life in prison. The Roys Report says trial is set for December 14.
The Roys Report also says it obtained the arrest affidavit. It reports that the pastor of Spring Creek Bible Church called the sheriff, and that a deputy wrote that Segar confessed. That confession is the deputy's account. It has not been tested in court. We are leaving out the details of the alleged abuse.
The Roys Report says Editorial CLIE, the publisher, made no public statement and did not answer emails. It says Logos Bible Software did not respond either. It also says Segar's name appears to have been quietly removed from the CLIE site. It adds that his devotionals remain online and that one has been completed 250,000 times on the You Version app. We do not know who decided what, or whether the book is formally cancelled.
Why it matters
Who decides what happens to an accused person's work before trial? Retailers use business standards. Courts use the presumption of innocence. Churches use standards of character and care. These do not always agree.
Some will say pulling the book protects a young survivor and avoids profiting an accused man. Others will say removal before a verdict treats a charge as guilt. Others will say quiet deletion helps no one, and that silence leaves readers confused. Thoughtful Christians land in different places here.
A Christian response
The first concern is the girl and her family. A child was allegedly hurt. Jesus' warning about causing little ones to stumble in Matthew 18:6 is not background noise. The church must protect the vulnerable and cooperate with the law (Romans 13:1-4). Charges are still charges, and the court must do its work.
Here is the lesson for teachers like me. Segar reportedly said that guarding the heart was one of the hardest parts of the Christian life. That is honest. It is also a warning. Knowing about holiness is not the power for holiness. Rules and discipline can look wise, yet Colossians 2:20-23 says they cannot stop the flesh. Our old self was crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20; 5:24). We put the deeds of the body to death by the Spirit (Romans 8:13). We walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). First Corinthians 10:12 tells any of us who think we stand to take heed.
Traditions differ on how effort and the Spirit work together in sanctification. Many Puritan writers also taught that holiness is the Spirit's work “Sanctification is an immediate work of the Spirit of God on the souls of believers.” Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Thomas Watson — A Body of Divinity, “Sanctification” “Sanctification is a flower of the Spirit’s planting.” biblehub.com
Richard Sibbes — The Difficulty of Salvation “The Spirit of God must first work a holy frame and disposition of heart in us.” Reformed Theology at A Puritan's Mind
Thomas Watson — A Body of Divinity, “Perseverance” “The Spirit of God is continually at work in the heart of a believer, to carry on grace to perfection.”
This is not a point against the Reformed. Leaders have fallen in every camp, including mine. Any of us can drift into trusting our own strictness in place of the cross.
Grace is not a way to hurry past the victim. The same grace that saves teaches us to say no to ungodliness (Titus 2:11-12). We can grieve, tell the truth, and protect children without fear, because the gospel does not rest on any teacher. Christ's finished work stands when men fall.
For retailers and platforms, I offer no single rule. Say plainly what you did and why. Silence leaves readers guessing and families hurting.
Questions to consider
- What should a publisher or Bible app do with an accused author's work before trial, and who should make that call?
- What safeguards does your church have for adults who spend time alone with children?
- Where might you be trusting your own discipline more than the Spirit and the cross?
Sources
- [Bellingham man who preached at local church charged with child molestation] (https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/bellingham-man-preached-local-church-180840175.html)
- June 24, 2026 News Transcript - KMRE Radio
- Merlo Oscar Merlo · Palabra, predicacion y Espiritu: Predicacion transformadora en contextos hispanos polarizados (Paperback Book) (2026)
- Book on Puritan pastors cancelled after author arrested on charges of child molestation