What do you think of this?

[MissBrattified]

Originally Posted by Daniel Alicea

...A real pastor would have the interest of the soul, first. One should accept whether it be immature or not ... that PEOPLE HAVE PERSONAL PREFERENCES.

Of course, DA, and I have no problem with people choosing where they attend. I object to pastors who use manipulative tactics to keep their saints under their thumb. I don't care about the reasoning, either. Some people simply want a church that is close to their home. Nothing at all wrong with that.

Some people like a certain type of worship (Spanish, Black, Caucasian, Southern Gospel, Hillsongish, etc) ... different types of preaching styles ... leadership styles ... etc.

As a pastor, I would want a Christian to attend the optimal place where they will work out their own salvation ...

It does not offend me if it's not my ministry... The mission is ... and remains ... to serve.

It doesn't offend me either, for a saint to CHOOSE. It does offend me for a member of another church to deliberately affect their choice to their own advantage.

The idea that one ministry is inferior or superior ... is simply ... perspective.

Yet when the country club mentality is where church rolls, territory and sheer numbers are the benchmark ... then the Kingdom becomes a man's fiefdom.

Christ is not divided. There is one body ... where folks congregate should be left to personal choice without the foolish tug of wars that have stagnated the Apostolic movement ... to bickering, isolation, intrigue, distrust ....

I completely agree, but you still have not addressed the issue from the perspective of people who would attempt to persuade others to leave their assembly and go elsewhere, and the motivation behind such.

When we start looking at the Church ... as a corporate entity ... we'll stop thinking our local assembly is the only real church in town.

My advice to the "offended" party is ... keep plugging away ... do what we've been called to do ... and stop the vicious circle of victimization and marginalization.

It sounds like the UPC pastor is trying to do just that, but with some reasonable concerns based on past acts of division.

Also, unless there is ample evidence that there is "double speak" being utilized in a coordinated and orchestrated effort ... I usually chalk up these discussions to ... sour grapes.

The issue would be about character .... not "sheep stealing"

So address the character, and I still think that "sheep stealing" is a reasonable label for those who make a concentrated effort to relocate the saints from another assembly into their own.