A threat from inside

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I once confronted with a couple in our church, when they’d been invited to join a local Unitarian Universalist gathering. On a particular Sunday they missed our church service for going to the other “church�. After that they explained they just wanted to visit another church. But they posted visiting photos in our church website that they apparently joined a non-Christian religious service. I found I need to ask them for avoiding that kind of service. As a pastor, I only encourage our members to visit other Christian church if needed. I left a friendly reminder under the photos the wife posted publicly. She then took down the photos and my message, and once again posted the original photos with her comment: “every saint and religion share the same faith; the difference is only on forms." I felt I have no choice but warn other members online that there is another religion proactively inviting our people and we need to be cautious.

An unexpected backlash happened against me. The wife obviously complained to her friends in our church for her being warned on church’s social media. Her sympathizers gathered for accusing my way to correct the couple. I clarified my intention to the friends and once again to the couple, hoping them could understand the danger for Christians and church members participating in pagan’s religious activities. Some of our workers came to visit them. The husband seemed more understandable than the wife. Though he continued to attend the church service, the wife however never come back since then. Their friends became lukewarm to the church activities, too. The couple was baptized last year in our church. But before that, they and their families had been involved in that religion for some time. And even before their baptism they began their service as believers in our church and small groups, already bonding with the church family…

It is not hard to recognize a threat to the flock. Yet in a small church, people may see relationship higher than defending truth. A less prudent move may even wage war in the church, although the pastor thinks he is just doing his job to direct an astray sheep and warn the flock cordially.