Starting Church "Small Group"......No Go!

[BergenCountyJohnny]

To the OP - I agree with your church on this issue.

I have no problem myself with boating, Hooters, drinking beer, playing poker, or secular music. It's all fine and good if someone chooses to do those things. However, when representing a Church, a group needs to consider their appearance and how it will reflect on the Church as well as how it will affect the members and visitors and neighbors of the Church.

Paul instructed that while eating meat offered to idols was not "wrong", being a stumbling block to others was indeed wrong. He taught that if eating that meat offended someone then a Christian should not eat that meat, not because it's wrong in and of itself, but because it's wrong to offend a brother.

And that's why I can understand your church's contact person insisting that your group follow guidelines if they are to be considered an official church group or ministry. What of the people in your church who may have an alcohol problem? What of the ones who lived a rock-and-roll lifestyle who find that music offensive? It is best that the Church not sanction a group unless that group will go out of their way to be extra-open to all.

If the Church doesn't want to sanction it (for very good reasons), why try to impose your will upon the Church? Organize your "club" or whatever without the Church's support. I don't see why it's so important to drag the Church into it, much less to challenge the Church's wishes regarding conduct.

And, by the way, the Church IS being hypocritical in supporting a motorcycle group/club. That crap has no place in a Church. The Bible says to avoid all appearance of evil, and the "biker" subculture is all about the apperance of evil. Often it is just the appearance, and the people involved are not evil or criminals, but they still follow and glorify a style of a subculture that is rooted in evil.

[BabyBoomers2]

Have to agree with you here! Actually, I told my wife "now that I've had time to think about it, it was probably the wrong thing to try and form within the church."
I don't really think the church is being "judgemental" (as a friend of ours said), I now see it that the church has it's standards to uphold and abide by and that is fine and SHOULD be that way. We can go to a church function, like the one this Sunday evening on the grounds to celebrate the 4th. We can talk to couples there, find out their interests/tell them ours, tell them what kind of music we like and even hint that we do like a beer at times out on the water......then, go from there. If they are interested in us, fine......if not, fine also. We really don't need to start something up within the church that would not be what the church would support.
Thank you for your reply.

Originally Posted by BergenCountyJohnny

To the OP - I agree with your church on this issue.

I have no problem myself with boating, Hooters, drinking beer, playing poker, or secular music. It's all fine and good if someone chooses to do those things. However, when representing a Church, a group needs to consider their appearance and how it will reflect on the Church as well as how it will affect the members and visitors and neighbors of the Church.

Paul instructed that while eating meat offered to idols was not "wrong", being a stumbling block to others was indeed wrong. He taught that if eating that meat offended someone then a Christian should not eat that meat, not because it's wrong in and of itself, but because it's wrong to offend a brother.

And that's why I can understand your church's contact person insisting that your group follow guidelines if they are to be considered an official church group or ministry. What of the people in your church who may have an alcohol problem? What of the ones who lived a rock-and-roll lifestyle who find that music offensive? It is best that the Church not sanction a group unless that group will go out of their way to be extra-open to all.

If the Church doesn't want to sanction it (for very good reasons), why try to impose your will upon the Church? Organize your "club" or whatever without the Church's support. I don't see why it's so important to drag the Church into it, much less to challenge the Church's wishes regarding conduct.

And, by the way, the Church IS being hypocritical in supporting a motorcycle group/club. That crap has no place in a Church. The Bible says to avoid all appearance of evil, and the "biker" subculture is all about the apperance of evil. Often it is just the appearance, and the people involved are not evil or criminals, but they still follow and glorify a style of a subculture that is rooted in evil.

[ptsum]

Well, I think this thread has about run its course and it's time to close it..