Go Public with Sins?

Denise pointed out the following news item, Woman Says Church Threatening To Make Sins Public. The article tells of a church in Mandarin, Florida harassing a woman even after she has left the church:

A divorced Jacksonville woman said her former church has threatened to "go public with her sins" and tell the congregation about her sexual relationship with her new boyfriend.

Rebecca Hancock said harassment from Grace Community Church in Mandarin over her sex life caused her to leave, but she said that didn't put an end to the problem. She said she received a letter from the church's elders telling her the church plans to make her personal life very public.

"I'm basically run out. I'm the church harlot," Hancock said.

The 49-year-old said she has been dating a man for a while and she said members of the congregation at Grace Community Church haven't been happy about the relationship.

"Because I have a boyfriend that I'm involved with … to not be married to that person is a sin," Hancock said.

She said the issue caused her to leave the church. However, she said the church has not let go of her.

The letter Hancock received from the church states that because she has refused to end her sexual relationship with her boyfriend, "you leave us with no other choice but to carry out the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ" … "In accordance with Matthew 18:17 we intend to 'tell it to the church.'"

"On January 4, my sins will be told to the church, publicly, with my children sitting in the church and my friends," Hancock said.

The irony is that the church is named "Grace." Grace is God's free, unearned gift of love. Oh well.

In partial defense of the church, scripture does have higher expectations of the faithful than of the newcomer. We are to be transformed over time by God's presence in our lives. This ongoing work of sanctification (being made holy) is the work of a lifetime. Jesus did not condemn the woman caught in the very act of adultery, but he also told her to "go and sin no more."

So much for defending the church. This story sounds like opposite day in the Kingdom of God. When I was in elementary school, you could tell someone, "You are handsome, well dressed and the smartest person in school." Then follow it up with, "Haha. It's opposite day." They read the Gospel about the woman caught in adultery and then said, "Haha, it's opposite day. Let's stone a woman for her sins."

Kidding aside, Grace Community Church is clear about who they are. Their website lists one of the purposes of a church as, "The church exists to provide accountability to the purity of the church (Matthew 18)." Their holding this one member publically accountable is not some arbitrary decision, but is part of a core value this congregation maintains for itself.

I know that they will see my views as being conformed to the culture and not to God's will, but I think they got the letter of the law, but missed the spirit of it. Jesus said that you know a tree by its fruit. The fruit of this decision will be to encourage more highly judgmental people to seek out Grace Community Church as their kind of church, one that will be pure. But the Body of Christ is messier than that.

We are a mixed body in the Church made up of saints and sinners alike. And this is not just in the church, but within each of us. Each of us is within ourselves a mix of saint and sinner. Until my whole life is in conformity to God's will, am I in a position to condemn another person? And when my whole life is in conformity to God's will, would I still want to condemn another person?

I see that the church opted to publically judge this woman for her sins. I just don't understand where they found the person to cast the first stone. Jesus said he wouldn't do it. Neither will I. I trust you, gentle reader, would not do so either.

Some of those who seek out this congregation as their kind of church will find themselves on the pointy end of the finger, with the judgment of the congregation falling on them, because life works out that way. In fact, life usually works out so that it will be the pastor whose own sins will be made public one day. I hope not. I truly do. But this kinda thing has a way of happening so frequently as to almost be predictable.

One final note, the church did get its way. She made their judgment public as a way to condemn their actions against her. So they don't have to wait for January anymore. Jacksonville television news has already let everyone know about the boyfriend. It sorta takes the punch out of condemning her in church now that their plan of action has been broadcast by the media.

I still think that Jesus words apply here and we should judge not, lest we be judged in the same manner. That's my take. What do you think?

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor