Is it acceptable for Christians to bad-mouth pastors (women, churches, preacher)
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I accepted the lord as my savior three months ago and I love going to church and Bible study and learning more about my faith.
But, there's something that makes me uncomfortable. Sometimes I'll overhear people criticizing our pastor's sermons. And I'm getting a sense that it's normal for Christians to bad-mouth their pastors.
For instance, my brother sent me links to some Christian blogs so I could be inspired to focus on God when I'm on the Internet instead of just hanging out on Facebook. Today, he sent me a link to this one: Sunshine Mary | An anti-feminist woman's thoughts on Christianity, Culture, and Family.. He said it's a new blog by a Christian lady with a huge following.
I clicked on it and today's post was a rant about what her pastor had preached last Sunday. She even transcribed his message and critiqued it verse by verse. Plus, she put a link to the church website so people could read what he put in the church bulletin.
The pastor had preached about women needing to submit (i'm still trying to get used it that concept) and she thought he didn't take a strong stand on the issue. She entitled the post "The cowardly Pastor" and put a photo of the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz.
This just seems rude to me. Does the Bible say this kind of behavior is wrong? Why do people think it's ok to criticize a pastor behind his back? It's hypocrites like this that kept me from wanting to be a Christian for so long.
Does the Bible say this kind of behavior is wrong?
It is ALWAYS correct to QUESTION!
However, what isn't correct is acting in a non-loving way. We are to love our neighbor as ourself. Her pastor is her neighbor like anyone else.
What is rather ironic is that SHE is calling someone a coward yet, seemingly won't confront the pastor in person with her questions.
Quote:
Why do people think it's ok to criticize a pastor behind his back?
That he is a paster makes absolutely NO difference. He is just a man. He has no special authority, only that which was given to him by other men like himself. It is not really ok to criticize anyone behind their back in a malicious way. Again, do unto others..
Quote:
It's hypocrites like this that kept me from wanting to be a Christian for so long.
Understandable. But we (human beings in general) can't let other people dictate our lives for us. See it as a lesson on how NOT to treat others. We live in a world of contrasts. We all do things that are not loving. We have to see OURSELVES in others loving actions, as well as their NON-loving actions. We are one. Look into another's eyes and you will see a reflection of yourself.
Labels are what confuse things.
When we LOVE, we are following Christ.
When we are NON-Loving we are turning AWAY from Christ.
Simple as that.
I can't wait for the day when all of our labels we affix to ourselves finally flutter to the ground.
just some thoughts..
peace,
sparrow
I'm a pastor. I'm not a dictator. If one of my congregants was saying mean things about me, like "He's ugly and his momma dresses him funny"....that's not cool. That's just mean-spirited and is a personal attack.
If a husband and wife wants to discuss my sermon? Good on them. If they want to take me to task for what I said? Good. I'd welcome the chance to discuss it with anyone that thinks I messed up something. I would hope they'd come to me first rather than post it on an internet blog...but oh well. It's my responsibility to make sure I'm exegeting the text correctly.
I've seen mentions of that blog (of which I was blissfully unaware) at least three times in the last week. And here it is in someone's first post. Interesting.
Do YOU think it's bad to bad mouth people behind their back? If so.... don't do it and don't listen to people who do. Christians are as capable of being rude, imperfect, mouthy and opinionated as the rest of the population. I've never met a Christian who came complete with the ability to muzzle themselves. Or with a muzzle.
Now I'm going to muzzle myself and not comment on a blog written by someone who calls herself Sunshine Mary and proclaims herself to be an anti-feminist.
The only way to handle the problem is to ask the person criticizing the sermon what the preacher said when the person talked to him/her about it.
As for the "women's submission" thing, two things to think about: what is the man's part and what does it mean in another scripture when it says "submit yourselves one to another" if the idea is that one must simply obey?
Understandable. But we (human beings in general) can't let other people dictate our lives for us. See it as a lesson on how NOT to treat others. We live in a world of contrasts. We all do things that are not loving. We have to see OURSELVES in others loving actions, as well as their NON-loving actions. We are one. Look into another's eyes and you will see a reflection of yourself.
Labels are what confuse things.
When we LOVE, we are following Christ.
When we are NON-Loving we are turning AWAY from Christ.
Simple as that.
I can't wait for the day when all of our labels we affix to ourselves finally flutter to the ground.
just some thoughts..
peace,
sparrow
Seems a bit rude to me, as well.
It is ALWAYS correct to QUESTION!
However, what isn't correct is acting in a non-loving way. We are to love our neighbor as ourself. Her pastor is her neighbor like anyone else.
What is rather ironic is that SHE is calling someone a coward yet, seemingly won't confront the pastor in person with her questions.
That he is a paster makes absolutely NO difference. He is just a man. He has no special authority, only that which was given to him by other men like himself. It is not really ok to criticize anyone behind their back in a malicious way. Again, do unto others..
Understandable. But we (human beings in general) can't let other people dictate our lives for us. See it as a lesson on how NOT to treat others. We live in a world of contrasts. We all do things that are not loving. We have to see OURSELVES in others loving actions, as well as their NON-loving actions. We are one. Look into another's eyes and you will see a reflection of yourself.
Labels are what confuse things.
When we LOVE, we are following Christ.
When we are NON-Loving we are turning AWAY from Christ.
Simple as that.
I can't wait for the day when all of our labels we affix to ourselves finally flutter to the ground.
just some thoughts..
peace,
sparrow
Excellent post!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DewDropInn
Do YOU think it's bad to bad mouth people behind their back? If so.... don't do it and don't listen to people who do. Christians are as capable of being rude, imperfect, mouthy and opinionated as the rest of the population. I've never met a Christian who came complete with the ability to muzzle themselves. Or with a muzzle.
Well said!
Quote:
Originally Posted by nateswift
The only way to handle the problem is to ask the person criticizing the sermon what the preacher said when the person talked to him/her about it.
As for the "women's submission" thing, two things to think about: what is the man's part and what does it mean in another scripture when it says "submit yourselves one to another" if the idea is that one must simply obey?
Good advice.
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