This is the way it was in the churches I was raised in. And my husband never shared all the UPC politics and news with the congregations we pastored either.

Elder you are top shelf material. My hat is off to you my Brother.

In Jesus name

Brother Benincasa

www.OnTimeJournal.com

Hold on Brother Eastman, don't give WholeHearted a hard time, no one should give any Brother who leaves a hard time.

And perhaps this has been a problem with the UPC as a whole movement....the have nots or the "are nots" are disenfranchised sheeple.

I wonder how many UPCs get the Pentecostal Herald for their members

Oh and let's also not forget the impact it can have on a member that finds out what the UPC believes or does from a NON_Upcer.

Perhaps I shouldn't speak for Coonskinner, but he was pastoring his church long before he was in the UPC. In other words, his church wasn't upc and therefore has no reason to wonder or worry what the upc is doing.

Just because he joined doesn't mean he abdicated his leadership to someone two or three states away...or that his church should be bound to or worried about some decision made by men ten states away.

While I personally have a different perspective from yours and C.S.'s, generally speaking, I think you make an important point here.

A lot of the discussion has been around the phrase "When you accepted the pastorate in a UPC church..." (or words to that effect). Josh points out that there are a lot of UPC pastors that never "accepted the pastorate of a UPC church;" Coonskinner apparently being one.

The UPC Manual and its Affiliation/Disaffiliation processes take into account churches that are still pastored by their "founding pastor" and gives the founder extra leeway in administration of the church's affairs. I think the same consideration can be (and certainly will be) given to men ("founders" or "successors") who had brought their churches into affiliation with the UPC.

In these cases I don't really see how these men can even be remotely said to be "robbing or taking from the UPC." They merely entered into an arrangement, an arrangement that included a "back out" clause.

Coonskinner can come and go and come back and go again as far as I'm concerned. :) I wish he'd do something about the racoons that have been coming up through the storm sewers around here though. They make an awful mess and one even chewed on my garage door. Firearms are out of the question (sigh!).

Telling your UPC church what the UPC does is not abdicating his leadership to anyone...I'm not sure why you would say that.

That seems to be an entirely different issue you are discussing from one of informing them of what is happening