Men who say their church is a threat to their family have two choices: either repent and start to heed your shepherds’ warnings or find a new church and heed your new shepherds’ warnings.
Normally, what happens instead is the man takes his wife and children out of their home church into a new church that doesn’t know them and/or never warns nobody.
Let me warn you. We pastors and elders—along with our wives—never stop listening to men telling us they took their family out of their former church because it “wasn’t a Safe Place.” From long experience, we know this normally means the man or his wife got warned and rejected the warning.
But warnings are the essence of the calling of God’s prophets, pastors, and elders. The Apostle Paul summarized his ministry to the Ephesian congregation saying he “never stopped warning” them, adding that he did it “from house to house,” “day and night,” and “with tears.”
A church led by faithful shepherds is no safe place for hard hearts.
What I write above is inspired by a good article I read this morning which reminded me of the constancy of stubborn sheep. Calvin repeatedly points out that the teachable man is one in a hundred.
If the warning above applies to you, be assured it was written from love for sheep like you—and take heed. Be teachable under your shepherds’ warnings. Don’t despise them. Making their work hard is not good for your soul, nor the souls of your wife and children.
With love,
