Rob Witham said made such a comment on the last post:
"I recently delivered a message on Lessons in Servant Leadership from Nehemiah.
One of the lessons I mentioned was that leaders are not perfect. We read several
times in Nehemiah how he repented before God. He also was the first to sign
their vow before God. Leaders are not perfect and faith communities need to
remember that and allow leaders to repent and move on. Too often leaders are
pressured to be fake and phony because failing is viewed wrongly."
Rob,
Oh man, don't even get me started on how we pressure leaders... the result is so often what happens to people like Ted Haggard, or the Pastor that recently committed suicide because a local TV station was going to "out" him.
I have had friends in ministry destroyed because of anger, and affairs... great men of God reduced to hiding from their sin and the truth.
I so often see that if these men (and women) could turn to their communities (churches) at least to a few select brothers (if you is one) or sisters (if you is one) to help carry their burden and struggles. We all have them...
That is why I sought out ordination with UMCI as I was planting a church here in Billings. To be accountable to someone beyond myself. I still see them as a resource for just that now even though I am no longer church planting myself and am with Vineyard. Though now I have become friends with some great Godly men at Billings Vineyard.
Yet, so often we let shame paralyze us and weaken us... which is what Satan wants as he is a predator... and that is what they do, they seek the young and old and seek... they feed on the weak.
Somehow, (again I am not at all perfect) I have been preserved from things like divorce and my family has not been affected by unfaithfulness ( though I am open that as a man I struggle with lust... which is not all having to do with pornography! It can have to do with power and placing desires or wants of this world which is "idolatry" as these are common to every man and woman).
We went to one church that almost everyone of our friends divorced... even two of the pastors divorced... so many people had divorced that there was a rumor that my wife and I had also... it was almost assumed that those in leadership or were on the board all had divorced their wives... that is how bad it was... yet at least two of us, somehow were preserved by God. The saddest thing for me is that many of these men in that denomination are then disqualified to be ordained and pastor a churches... Even if the divorce was not their own fault.
Like I have said, some of these guys were great men of God... yet with fatal flaws... I am brewing over a post on that... one how Scofield was a "con man" and some other things about men like Walter Martin... not to justify, nor to show them as "sinners!!!!!!!" but to show that even with all our flaws and knowledge we can have morale and ethical failures... yet God can still use us... and the most important thing is we can overcome these flaws, (not over night!) by the blood and inner workings of the Holy Spirit... and the ones we worship locally with... and with friends... and sometimes even our enemies!
Like I said, don't get me started! LOL!
Blessings,
iggy
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2 comments:
Can't anyone think that Paul had individuals struggling with illict behavior within homosexuallity. Once the Church acknowlege its there just as much as fornication, it can begin to formulate a position on it. Not until then.
I Cor 6:9
I think the real issue is that we think of homosexuality as "outside" of fornication... and I think it is within the idea of fornication.
To me the idea that we have separated homosexuality into a "special" category, helps nothing. There is a lot said about it in the Bible, but the bottom line is when Paul states: "The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." "Everything is permissible for me" yet we are no longer slaves to these ways, but salves to the Higher Law of Love... and of service of doing the works of God, through Christ...
The idea is that we are to grow in becoming more like Christ and not indulging in this worlds impurity of any kind.
Until we address sexual purity as a whole we should not address homosexuality...
I realize I am just restating a bit whay you just said, but I hope to add a bit more clearity to your great comment. = )
blessings
iggy
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