So I'm sitting with a dear friend recently, a good pastor, with my heart breaking as he told me of a massive exodus in his church by women, who according to him, "Took their husbands and left." My friend was hurting. Badly. I so get that, because I've been there.
His crime? Seeking to teach and apply God's directions for the order of home and church.
Scripture lays out CLEARLY the distinct and complementary roles of men and women in the home and church. CLEARLY. Think about the number of clear precepts: 1 Tim 2, 1 Tim 3, Titus 1, Titus 2, 1 Cor 11, 1 Cor 14, Eph 5, Col 3, 1 Pet 3, etc.
What else would Christ have to say to convince us?
Yet we have a better plan. And our plan is terrible. People are getting hurt. Churches are getting hurt. Marriages are getting hurt. Culture has lost the light of the church. We have blatanly disobeyed God's order for HIS church and we are paying a terrible price.
Below is the most controversial sermon I've ever preached in my nearly 20 years of pastoring our church, and the most watched. It cost me members and friends (literally), but also gained me some as well, by the mercy of God. People are still calling, emailing, and even visiting our church from other states (two years later!) because we were bold enough to actually preach this sermon. Just yesterday, I met another brother in Christ from another state, who found this sermon, and now gets his family up early every Sunday to watch what God is doing in our church before he goes to his. I'm amazed because this just keeps happening. God has sense of humor! :)
In it, some of these issues are touched upon. May the Lord give us the strength to obey His Holy Word.
