OK, I've read all these responses to this thread (past my own) and have decided to post what I know (or what I think I know). Before I get started let me restate that I am Agnostic. I have NO preference to dis/belief in God.
From a theistic standpoint, the only person who is capable of knowing whether the pastor has really changed is God himself. I KNOW what modern psychology says and I KNOW what my own personal experience in life has taught me. My experience has taught me that psychology, though capable and advanced in this day and age, is still VERY fallable. When you can go to a different psychologist and get a different answer for any problem you may have, then something is off. When people who have a doctorate in a psychology field tell you that they only know 1 % of the human mind (with all they do know) and they're trying to fix the mind as a whole with 1% knowledge of it, something is WAY off. When someone can't see a psychologist because they can't afford it (and there are no local clinics) something is wrong. When psychologists will tell you that the reason they MUST charge this money, is so you WILL follow their advice, and then they legally CANNOT get into trouble for it (if it turns out to be wrong) b/c the legal system says it is JUST advice, something is wrong. When someone can go into a psychologists office with a problem, reluctant to tell the psychologist about said problem and then be told they have been lying to themselves their entire lives (which sends them into a depression) something is TOTALLY wrong. When society as a whole starts not to care for each other's problems and tells people with problems that the only hope they have is to see someone like this, there is a problem. Don't get me wrong LOL. I DO support psychology and psychiatry. I just do not support the idea that people should look to these individuals (with nothing more than a piece of paper that says they know 1% of the human brain) and call them experts. I believe there are good psychologists and there are VERY bad ones. One of my most hated phrases coined by some of them though is "once a ____, always a ____."
Onto my experience in life, I have a VERY close friend who was touched by an authority figure when they were younger. They took a ballbat, knocked him over the head and told him if he ever did it again to ANYONE they would make his life a living HELL. He never did. That person brought their children to see him. They talked with him (all the time) and everything. Were they stupid enough to leave their children with him? NO. That doesn't mean he doesn't have a soul. It just means that he made bad choices. He should have to pay COMPLETELY for those choices (being legally required to stay away from children) Those choices could've stayed in his head for the rest of his life or they couldn't have. No one knows. In a majority of the cases, the answer would be yes. The person would dwell on the past, convince themselves that they were evil and then feed off of that evilness. But personally, I do believe that there are RARE, RARE, RARE cases where an individual can do a complete 360. We are not to judge someone for that (as Christians anyways) but as parents, we're not to be absolute retards either.
You see, this is why I like Christ. I don't like modern churches, but I DO like Christ. Christ teaches that the only way to get to Heaven is true repentence. It's not a "Oh, I'm sorry" and then the person turns around and does it again. That's why I get onto Atheists when they say "all Christians have to do is say "I'm sorry" and they get to go to Heaven." Christ himself dispells this belief. If that preacher doesn't have a complete turn around, he is still going to Hell. If he doesn't have a complete turn around and if the congregation does not keep their eyes open and keep from following every whim that man says, and they don't question that man's integrity more (it doesn't sound like they have) they'll go with him. They chose to sit under him. They chose to follow his words.
Though I am Agnostic, I KNOW, for a fact that people do change. The Christian faith has this one right. That's why I said God only knows, but if you pay attention to the situations and don't just lollygag around, don't point your finger at every little whim or witch hunt either you can usually see them when they are about to make another mistake and catch them.
Would I sit under this preacher? NO, for one, he twisted God around to say that God himself said that he could do it. To me, that says he didn't feel any remorse while doing what he did. He instead justified it. That would mean he had a God complex where he believed he was infallable. He may feel remorse for this now. I would listen to his stories about life. Lord knows how he got to where he is/was but I would have a hard time sitting under him while he preached. I would have to be convinced (anything short from an angel coming down from Heaven and saying he had changed wouldn't be enough).
Anyway, onto Jesus and God. God is supposed to be an absolute truth in the universe. God can't violate himself because if I say the color red is purple. That cannot be God. Being truth, he notices that things of value are being wasted. Things which could potentially bring out more truth. This part of him is love. This part of him (a clone of him if you will, there cannot be two absolute truths) was clothed in human flesh. It literally sacrificed itself for humanity (in the Christian faith). Basically, since truth can't violate itself, then sin can't really be erased. It can only be paid for. If I sleep with another women (besides my wife) it is truth that I did something bad and I LIED to my wife about it. The only thing strong enough to cover the truth is LOVE. Kind of like my friend. Her love for her abuser has covered his crimes against her. She's still not stupid enough to leave her children with him but her love has paid for the crimes he commited against her. In the old days, this innocence of love was a lamb. The problem was, the lamb was wasted. It was unavailable in some cases and it wasn't pure enough in others (for the person sacrificing it). The person couldn't get past their crimes because they had a perfect God getting an imperfect sacrifice. Therefore, logically the only way to allow people to feel comfortable was for love itself (absolute perfection) to be the offering. God's clone/son/God himself (as there is only one absolute truth) sacrificed itself to appease the loss of valuable tools which could be used for the persuit of truth. Jesus' blood DOES NOT erase your sins. It only COVERS them. Jesus said himself. I AM NOT HERE TO CONDEMN YOU. I AM HERE TO SAVE YOU. Jesus was the check and balance to God (They both formed God as a whole, plus the holy spirit). Wow, now I'm watching TV and getting back to my class LOL.