The Whirlwind

I know I know, it's been like forever since I have written in this. My bad! I will do my best to do better in this area. Did you know journaling is good for you? Anyway, what's new? I have recently been approved for and accepted a position as associate pastor at Faith Church of the Nazarene in Urbana. My job really hasn't changed, but my title has and I have more responsibility for outreach than I had before. It's all good as I have a good partner in ministry in our Sr. pastor.

As we bring new people into the church it is important we keep a sense of unity within the body of Christ and treat the new people with patience and compassion. At the same time it is critical that we as believers don't get caught up in the "he said, she said" that tends to get started with a growing body. As a new pastor and just completing the schooling on this very issue, I feel the need to nurture new people, but at the same time I have been made aware of the need for that nurturing not to a point where we take sides and become a part of the (at this point) hearsay. See if I get mixed up in the hearsay and begin to become a part of the bickering, I am taking part (at least in my mind) in gossip. I didn't witness it, I didn't experience it, and so I have no ACTUAL basis for a definitive opinion. Proverbs 6 speaks strongly against this type of behavior, and goes as far as calling this an abomination to God. An abomination is like the worst thing in the entire creation, it turns even God's stomach, it makes Him literally sick, to see people act like that. Jesus told us how to address this, and it wasn't with a "he said she said", approach. In Matthew 18 Jesus says "If another believer sins against you, go to them and point out the fault. (verse 15) We all know how things can be misconstrued, and we know how a story can be beefed up or melted down to accommodate one's desired perspective.

So keep these two scriptures in mind. Proverbs 20:19 says "A gossip tells secrets, so don't hang around with someone who talks too much." and Proverbs 16:28 "A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends."

My deepest apologies to my closest of friends. You know who you are, and it is my prayer that God, who forgives me, will give you the heart to forgive me as well.

In Him,

Wayne