Avoid Any Hint of Immorality
May 5, 2008 — brianmclI, along with all of the Elders at GLBC, are becoming more familiar with Ed Stetzer. We are currently enjoying his book, Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary In Your Community. I have also started reading Ed’s blog and was challenged and encouraged by his most recent post. Kudos to Ed for his commitment to purity.
May 5, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I second your kudos, I don’t know that I would have thought through the situation like he did. A question for the sake of discussion: Would Ed suggest that Pastor’s not have female Doctors?
May 5, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Same deal for me. I’m also growing in my appreciation for him.
Just last week I was going to visit someone at Chicago who is critically ill. A female member of the family asked for a ride and I had to explain why I wasn’t willing to let her go along with me — she understood, but it was still a bit awkward.
May 6, 2008 at 9:22 am
Jeff, you bring up a good question about doctors. I’m not sure…my gut is that the main issue is not being alone with a person of the opposite gender so that we remain above reproach. For example, I’m not opposed to a male OBGYN delivering my wife’s baby because I’m in the room and there are other nurses present. So perhaps the answer is “it depends upon the context.” With Ed’s scenario, I don’t want to be in a building alone all night with another woman.
What do you think?
May 7, 2008 at 10:55 am
I agree with your gut, the issue is to not be alone with a member of the opposite sex, but I believe context is important. I believe common sense is important too. There is a line where diligence becomes paranoia.
Ultimately, pastors, elders and all men (and women) need to be on guard to the impact their actions have on their character whether it’s in relation to the opposite sex, their expense accounts, income taxes or even speech.