My Thoughts . . .

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Member # 1: The preacher is sound and the congregation he works with has a sound eldership and the church is sound.  The preacher believes and teaches from the pulpit that women who work outside the home are sinning unless she is a nurse, a schoolteacher, or the church secretary.

Member # 2: If he preaches that, do the elders and church back him up in what he says from the pulpit?

Member # 1: What do you mean?

Member # 2: What I mean is, are there women in the pews who work outside the home, but not as nurses, schoolteachers, or church secretaries?

Member # 1: Yes, that’s the reason he preaches against working outside the home.  He is preaching to those women who work but are not nurses, schoolteachers, or church secretaries!

Member # 2: Are the elders counseling with those women who are working outside the home but are not nurses, schoolteachers, or church secretaries?

Member # 1: No, why should they?  The preacher has informed them that it is sinful for them to work outside the home unless they are engaged in those three occupations.

Member # 2: If those same women were guilty of engaging in prostitution, would the elders and church be sound if the preacher just got up and preached on the sin without a follow up action?

Member # 1: The preacher is sound because he has the courage to speak out against that sin from the pulpit.  The elders are sound because they are backing him up.  The congregation is sound because they want that kind of strong preaching.

Member # 2: But, isn’t the preacher, elders, and congregation guilty of “saying” but not “doing” anything about the sin?  If those women are engaged in prostitution, would it not be the duty of the elders, with the backing of the preacher and the congregation, to withdraw from those women if they will not repent?  If they don’t follow up and the sin continues, are they still a “sound” congregation, eldership, and preacher?

Member # 1: You are right and to continue to be sound, they would need to withdraw from all those women who will not repent of that sin.

Member # 2: What about your preacher and elders who believe women working outside the home, who are not nurses, schoolteachers, or church secretaries, are sinning?  If those women working outside the home in other professions do not repent, why are they not being withdrawn from?  Why is the congregation considered “sound” when they will not deal with what they believe is sinful?

Member # 1: They are sound because they are standing up against the sin.  They are working on it.  If they were not working on it, then they wouldn’t be sound.  But, since they are working on it by showing they don’t agree with it, they express their soundness.

Member # 2: Haven’t the preacher, elders, and congregation been condemning those women working outside the home for the past twenty-five years or more?  Besides, where does the Bible say that women may work outside the home if they are nurses, schoolteachers, or church secretaries?

Member # 1: Those three professions are implied since they are in jobs that women usually do.

Member # 2: If men began filling those work roles, wouldn’t that make it sinful for the women to continue in those activities?  Besides, what scripture implies that women may work outside the home if men are not engaged in such?  If those professions are “women roles,” wouldn’t it be sinful for a man to engage in a “woman’s role”?  If so, shouldn’t the preacher and elders deal with that sin those men are engaged in?

Yes, this actually happened.  Yet, there was no follow up.  Those women continued to work at their “unscriptural” jobs and the collection plate gladly continued receiving their contributions.  One side note.  On the Monday after that sermon was preached, the secretary resigned.  That’s when the preacher informed her that being a church secretary wasn’t a sin.