Pastors on Facebook

T

Tim

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I recently learned that a local pastor closed his Facebook page out of frustration after watching his people openly sin/live carnal lifestyles and "trash" their testimony. It was reported that he had a hard time looking at people on Sunday the same way after reading their post and viewing their pictures.

Do any pastors on the forum relate/agree with such a statement?

Or, is this guy perhaps in need of a better understanding of the sort of folks one pastors over.
 
I've hidden a number of our teenagers from my newsfeed b/c their posts grieve my spirit, so in a sense I can relate, but I think his solution is a bit extreme, IMHO.
 
Tom Brennan said:
I've hidden a number of our teenagers from my newsfeed b/c their posts grieve my spirit, so in a sense I can relate, but I think his solution is a bit extreme, IMHO.
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I thought it was a bit extreme also. But, I don't know how hard this hit him.
 
Tim said:
It was reported that he had a hard time looking at people on Sunday the same way after reading their post and viewing their pictures.
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Meh. Sounds like he had an abundance of entirely justified sermon fodder.

Jesus made the law personal with the rich young ruler. Pastors should do likewise.
 
Curious if many of these folks were showcasing sinful lifestyles or just failing to live up to pastor's own standards
 
rsc2a said:
Curious if many of these folks were showcasing sinful lifestyles or just failing to live up to pastor's own standards
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I know this pastor. He is not one to push personal standards on anyone.

I think Ransom has a good point.
 
Tim said:
I recently learned that a local pastor closed his Facebook page out of frustration after watching his people openly sin/live carnal lifestyles and "trash" their testimony. It was reported that he had a hard time looking at people on Sunday the same way after reading their post and viewing their pictures.

Do any pastors on the forum relate/agree with such a statement?

Or, is this guy perhaps in need of a better understanding of the sort of folks one pastors over.
[/quote


That's ridiculous, there is no sin except naming a specific sin.
So, this pastor is the only one at fault here.
If you don't believe me ask r2 or recovering....
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Recovering IFB said:
Besides, I thought our testimony was Christ?
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It is. But, we are His hands and feet right? So, if we act and live carnally we have a bad testimony.

Good Testimony:
Luke 8:35
and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

Bad Testimony:
Acts 5
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
 
Tim said:
Recovering IFB said:
Besides, I thought our testimony was Christ?
Click to expand...

It is. But, we are His hands and feet right? So, if we act and live carnally we have a bad testimony.

Good Testimony:
Luke 8:35
and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

Bad Testimony:
Acts 5
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
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So all of these teens are going to be stuck down?
 
Tarheel Baptist said:
Tim said:
I recently learned that a local pastor closed his Facebook page out of frustration after watching his people openly sin/live carnal lifestyles and "trash" their testimony. It was reported that he had a hard time looking at people on Sunday the same way after reading their post and viewing their pictures.

Do any pastors on the forum relate/agree with such a statement?

Or, is this guy perhaps in need of a better understanding of the sort of folks one pastors over.
[/quote


That's ridiculous, there is no sin except naming a specific sin.
So, this pastor is the only one at fault here.
If you don't believe me ask r2 or recovering....
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I would want my pastor to name specific sins in my life ....

I would hope my pastor would come visit me, or post a PM, and say "Hey! You just boasted about stealing _______ and you know this isn't right." or, "I noticed you flirting with another man's wife online and I believe we need to talk about this.", or "You are lying like crazy online Tim with those sock puppets, can I help you?" or, "You really should think about those swear words you use online, they surely are not words a Christian should use."

If my pastor turns his head away and lets me go on in sin ... well ... I know he isn't the Holy Spirit or something big like that, but he is my pastor. "Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account."
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Recovering IFB said:
Tim said:
Recovering IFB said:
Besides, I thought our testimony was Christ?
Click to expand...

It is. But, we are His hands and feet right? So, if we act and live carnally we have a bad testimony.

Good Testimony:
Luke 8:35
and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

Bad Testimony:
Acts 5
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
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So all of these teens are going to be stuck down?
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No, but their sin will surely keep them from growing, maturing, and being as God would want them to be here on earth. I believe their sin will bring death - not hell fire death, but spiritual death. And also, if one quacks like a unsaved man they just might be an unsaved man. We are saved unto good works.
 
Tim your right, if I or someone else is in sin then the right thing to do is privately confront, out if love, and bring up the offense and we all grow from it, but I refuse to live regarding my " personal testimony" because what I have done now is live under the precepts of other people, usually other believers to live up to their standards and not Christ's.
 
Recovering IFB said:
Tim your right, if I or someone else is in sin then the right thing to do is privately confront, out if love, and bring up the offense and we all grow from it . . .
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The kind of sin Jesus said to confront privately was interpersonal sin - that which was directed at the individual. What Tom is talking about is public sin, Facebook being a quasi-public forum.

By analogy: Suppose I were a pastor, and a woman at the church tried to flirt with me by sending me a selfie of her in wildly inappropriate swimwear. My first approach would be to confront her personally, and politely but firmly explain that her conduct was not welcome.

On the other hand, suppose the same woman and her friends from the church wore the same kind of swimwear on a public beach, where they were coming onto the male bathers. In that circumstance, a strategically placed sermon about modesty and appropriate expressions of sexuality would be indicated.

In the former case, one individual needs to hear the correction. In the latter, a significant slice of the congregation needs to hear it. Public sin requires public correction.
 
Tim said:
I recently learned that a local pastor closed his Facebook page out of frustration after watching his people openly sin/live carnal lifestyles and "trash" their testimony. It was reported that he had a hard time looking at people on Sunday the same way after reading their post and viewing their pictures.

Do any pastors on the forum relate/agree with such a statement?

Or, is this guy perhaps in need of a better understanding of the sort of folks one pastors over.
Click to expand...

You don't offer what other response he may have had to their FB posts.
Perhaps he did contact them privately.
A FB post is public, to say the least and it can and does affect ones testimony for better or worse.
 
Ransom said:
Recovering IFB said:
Tim your right, if I or someone else is in sin then the right thing to do is privately confront, out if love, and bring up the offense and we all grow from it . . .
Click to expand...

The kind of sin Jesus said to confront privately was interpersonal sin - that which was directed at the individual. What Tom is talking about is public sin, Facebook being a quasi-public forum.

By analogy: Suppose I were a pastor, and a woman at the church tried to flirt with me by sending me a selfie of her in wildly inappropriate swimwear. My first approach would be to confront her personally, and politely but firmly explain that her conduct was not welcome.

On the other hand, suppose the same woman and her friends from the church wore the same kind of swimwear on a public beach, where they were coming onto the male bathers. In that circumstance, a strategically placed sermon about modesty and appropriate expressions of sexuality would be indicated.

In the former case, one individual needs to hear the correction. In the latter, a significant slice of the congregation needs to hear it. Public sin requires public correction.
Click to expand...

So you wouldn't approach said individuals quietly first? use the woman for an example;
 
Tarheel Baptist said:
Tim said:
I recently learned that a local pastor closed his Facebook page out of frustration after watching his people openly sin/live carnal lifestyles and "trash" their testimony. It was reported that he had a hard time looking at people on Sunday the same way after reading their post and viewing their pictures.

Do any pastors on the forum relate/agree with such a statement?

Or, is this guy perhaps in need of a better understanding of the sort of folks one pastors over.
Click to expand...

You don't offer what other response he may have had to their FB posts.
Perhaps he did contact them privately.
A FB post is public, to say the least and it can and does affect ones testimony for better or worse.
Click to expand...

It is my understanding that he personally found Facebook hindered his personal walk with the Lord along with the ability to minister with those walking in sin. He said he did try to be an encouragement and witness - but he finally saw Facebook for "what it was" ... and the constant exposure to the ungodly influence an issue.

One other thing he shared was that there is a difference between Facebook and the local church ministry. God ordained the church, Facebook is not the Church and he wants to minister on a local level, not internet.

I just assumed a Pastor would stay on Facebook as an avenue to reach out to people both in and out of the Local Church. He can always ignore the really evil people. It is another way of being available. And to toss that aside and say it is "more evil than I can handle" seems ... well ... fishy or extreme.
 
Recovering IFB said:
So you wouldn't approach said individuals quietly first? use the woman for an example;
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To what purpose? The sin in queston is systemic, not personal. I think it would require a systemic response.
 
There is an aspect of FB that is being overlooked, so far, in this thread.
Pro 25:17
17 Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house;
lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.

Familiarity breeds contempt.

Some people put way too much of their lives online.

Anishinaabe
 
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