The Kingdom Come

A Florida woman says her former church plans to make her sins public unless she repents. (see FoxNews report)  Apparently she had been engaged in an ongoing unmaritial sexual relationship & her female Christian mentor was advising against the relationship (Titus 2:3-4).

As the woman continued to basically ignore or struggle with the sexual relationship, the mentor following the biblical pattern of Matthew 18:15-17 included some other women in a sort of intervention.

The woman was shocked & according to the article:

Despite knowing her relationship was against church rules, she never realized that disclosing it would trigger the first in a three-step process used by the church to deal with sinners: private admonishment, admonishment in the presence of witnesses and finally public admonishment.

Well, I say what does she think Mt 18:15-17 is about then?  And it is NOT just this individual church's rules -- it is supposed to be THE Church's rule.

So, the woman left the church but it didn't end there:

“I told them, ‘I cannot believe you people are doing this. I’m not going any further — I’m never coming here again,’” she recalled.

Her boyfriend said the church wouldn’t let it end there.

“The pastor kept calling her, and I informed him that she would appreciate it if neither he nor any member of his church contacted her ever again,”, said her boyfriend.

Many non-Christians & even some liberal-minded Christians would see these actions by this church as outrageous & borderline if not outright "stalking" & harassment but this is perfectly in line with what the Bible teaches.

But there comes a time when all the pleading love of Mt 18:15-17 is exhausted & it reaches the point where the Church must treat the person as a "heathen & tax-collector" -- meaning they no longer consider the person part of the Body -- it doesn't mean the Church is rude or hateful toward such people.  And so, this church too followed Mt 18 & sent a letter to the woman advising her it will announce her disfellowship & reason for it to the entire congregation.  Again, the non-Christians & liberals may gasp but I applaud this congregation for following biblical precept.

The reporters for the story contacted what they must consider expert input & this is what they were told:

Darrell L. Bock, a research professor for the Dallas Theological Seminary, said that public admonishment is not uncommon in churches that focus on discipline but added, "Most churches would handle this much more privately than this particular community is choosing to do."

Really?  Then what does TELL IT TO THE CHURCH mean?  What does this guy mean by "much more privately"?  Do you think it was the church that contacted FoxNews???

But this "research professor" goes on:

Block said, and is normally reserved for church leaders as opposed to "a normal member of the church."

More importantly, he said, the actions are unusual given that Hancock had severed her relationship with the church.

Really???  Do you see anything in Mt 18:15-17 that calls for it to be "reserved for church leaders"???  And as for simply dropping it because this woman ran away from her responsibilities, that would be wrong (& unloving) on part of the church.  Too many people drift in & out of churches without notice or care.  Many churches are for this reason no longer "bodies" where each member is connected to the other but rather like individual cells with no real relation to the others.

The woman expresses her supposed concern for her grown children that still attend the church.

[She] sent a formal letter of resignation after receiving the elders' ultimatum in hopes of solving the dispute. She said she fears for her 20-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter if the church carries out its threat.

“I don’t really care what they do to me. But I am concerned about my children sitting in church with their mother being crucified by the church that they trust,” she said. “I am very concerned about how it would affect them.”

Here is the problem, there is NO "dispute". The biblical precept is clear on this matter.  The church is not in a "dispute" with this woman.  Nor is the church "threatening" this woman.  They are trying to love her back into the body as much as family member would for a drunken-uncle who is harming himself & the reputation of the family.

If this woman REALLY cared about her children, perhaps she would start following the precepts of the Bible -- in relationships, in discipline, & in doctrine.  It is rather ironic that she compares biblical precept with her being "crucified by the church".  Maybe if she spent more time learning about & obeying the One who was really crucified by the world & less time worrying about herself & less time running to the media to cry -- maybe she wouldn't be in this situation.  Her children should REALLY trust the church now, since they can see that it practices what it believes.

For too long, the Church has been kow-towing to political correctness & revisionism.  Too many so-called Christians don't want the Church to practice the teachings of Jesus & the apostles.  Too many so-called Christians merely want a social club or some feel-good group that will allow them to fester their private interpretations & bad theology.  I say amen & praise God for the actions this church followed & I pray & hope this woman does repent & then she can talk about how all of this has "affected" her children, not to mention the members of that congregation & the Church at large.