Drawing Lines: Where Do Yours Begin?

Originally Posted by OP_Carl

People who remain or become involved in multi-level marketing business schemes when Holy-Ghost-filled demonstrate to me insufficient discernment for me to fellowship with them on anything more than a casual greeting basis.

I have a hard time remaining friends with men who publicly degrade their wives. They're unwittingly taking a cheesegrater to their own flesh, they're sending a signal to their wife that they have buyer's remorse, and they're informing their audience that they lack the ability to make good choices and/or decisions. I cut a little slack for the guys who married their live-in girlfriend or the mother of their child after they got in church.

I won't fellowship people, of whom there are many in my own church who have broadcast television in their homes. This I do mainly for my children.

I won't fellowship gossipmongers. My wife ends up trapped in the nursery sometimes, and the things she tells me afterwards will stand your hair on end! I don't believe in spreading gossip, and so the corrollary must be that I refuse to listen to it as well. I rebuke those that try it with me.

I avoid the company of men who create nicknames for other men, or call everyone 'Buddy.'

In almost 20 years of Pastoring I've only had one Evangelist who did this openly behind the pulpit. I was mad as a big dog but held my peace. He was young, cocky and thought he had 'arrived' because he was preaching a revival at my Church. He carried this 'demeaning' attitude towards his wife back into the table that night during some after Church fellowship... I looked at him strangely and then focused everything I had on having a conversation with his wife.

If he interrupted, I just kept listening to her.

If he had an idea, I just kept asking her what shethought about whatever we were talking about.

When he had a funny remark... no smiles, no real acknowledgment, but kept focused intently on dialoguing with her.

Eventually I spoke in kind response to him before he left. The next night we closed out revival and before he left I told him why we didn't go on (he was, in fact, a good preacher); ANYBODY that will treat his literal wife with such disregard and disrespect will eventually try to treat the Bride of Christ with the same arrogant attitude. I told him that I focused on his wife and her heartbeat more than him the night before because, to be quite frank, I think God focuses on His Bride a lot more than He does any single Preacher. "You're only necessary because of His love for the Bride."

No thanks. Don't need that in my Church. They are too important to God... and me.

We closed and he never came back.