Backslid husband

[The Lemon]

Last but not least, don't rule out the possibility of attending church elsewhere if your husband suggests it. If you find out that he is terribly dissatisfied or upset with your church for some reason, then ask him if there's somewhere else he'd prefer to attend. IMO, it would be better for him and better for your marriage to go somewhere he likes than to not go at all. You owe your husband more loyalty than you owe your pastor or friends.
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Your whole post was great, but this was so true and so profound! Bcriswell86, if I could be transparent for a minute with you. I have been in church for nearly 20yrs. I was not raised Apostolic, in fact I was not raised in church - but I did have very good and hard working parents who taught me right from wrong and the importance of personal responsibility. They taught me morals that are based in the Word, although we as a family did not attend a church.

I was so enamered when I walked into a Apostolic Church at 16yrs of age and took to it like a fish to water. The Lord blessed and I grew. I was dating my wife when I came to the Lord at 16, and we have been together for 20yrs in total. She knew me bfore I was saved, and now afterward. I always had nagging questions concerning some doctrines and involement in our church but I pushed it in the back of my mind. As time went on I became so zealous for God that I also became extremely critical of anyone that was not "sold out". I refused to see that there was the proverbial "beam" in my own eye.

Three years ago my pastor backslid and the church was rocked. Many folks lost their way. By this time I was a licensed minister, so i took over for a short time. Many of the issues that caused the pastor to had visual symptoms that I and others saw but did not have the courage to speak up about. My wife and i hung in there as long as we could but were bruned out pretty quicky and decided to leave.

I said all that to say this - we went through a tough time, and yes we backed off alot of things we were taught, and as a man my frustration was manifested verbally, and there was some inappropriate language at times and attitude. Do I believe I was backslid..yes, but I had friends that assured me that the Lord would bring me through and that I was not backslid, just going through a rough patch.

My wife and I communicated continually, and it has taken a few years and we are still being healed by God. No matter what anyone else thinks or what you may think, if you support him, let him vent, and undergird him with prayer and encouragement, it will make all the difference in the world through this rough patch. Don't let the word backslid come out of your mouth, and protect him from anyone else that would want to confront him and make that type of statement.

A tree looks dead in the winter...but it comes alive in the spring. If he has the goods, they are there, maybe dormant, but there. When the season passes, life will return.

Praying for you.