I find it hard to understand how we can send people to help people and not know a bit about who they are. Not saying that we shouldn’t help them we have helped Katrina folks who don’t worship the same way we do.

I think that shaking things up and asking questions is healthy. Our minister preached on that he’s all for it. Good news for me.

God knows where he wants you to be could be he wants Ellen to shake them up! You go girl!

Blessings!

Phil and Gina: I know. I have many of the same feelings, but mine carry a LOT of frustration as well.

In my heart – I like my church. There are parts that I don’t like (like this).

Sometimes I think that Pastor Brian is largely uninformed about the internet. His statement that he didn’t even know they had a website kind of threw me – I found it in less than a minute. But that’s also what I thought, knowing how he has talked about his computer ability in the past.

If I didn’t have that internet resource, I wouldn’t have known that they call themselves apostle and prophet – I would have only been able to go by what they said.

If the folks that went out on the work team are not spiritually discerning (and we don’t exactly teach that) they wouldn’t have picked up on it either (the building was pretty much trashed and there was no literature – and they’re not open about their Trinitarian beliefs; I picked up on it because I’m familiar with the language from other studies).

The church is a puzzle, for sure. There are reasons to leave, but there are reasons to stay also.

I very nearly wore out my welcome on the singles thing a couple of years ago – how close do I want to dance to that edge?

On the other hand, how close can a church dance to the edge of heresy before they slip off the edge?

2) This does not explain their inexcusable poor discernment in letting someone take the pulpit without so much as inquiring about who they are. Any pastor worth so much as an intern’s pay should know by now that the church has people like the Sheltons pushing poison wrapped to appear as truth. A pastor is supposed to be one who protects the sheep from wolves and other predators, in addition to feeding. I cannot comprehend that a “pastor” (let alone two of them in your large church) invited this man to take the pulpit and feed sheep without even so much as checking out his background or finding out about him.

It’s amazing how many ministries hold standards that are even stricter than the Bible when it comes to “protecting” the flock from would-be pastors who aren’t qualified. Yet here the church did no due diligence at all in researching who they put in the pulpit.

After holding the pastors to such a high standard of personal righteousness that it takes to become a pastor, I wonder if the church will hold as fervently to the Scriptures about when a church leader sins? 1 Timothy 5 says that such a one should be rebuked publicly (assuming he doesn’t come forward and ask forgiveness first) so that others may learn. This is a big screw up, but also a big opportunity to teach the fathers and junior leaders in the church about discernment and responsibility.