Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Doubted

Many years ago, I suspended a Church member from certain duties -- subject to a decision of the Church Meeting -- which is an emergency action, constitutionally. I was standing in a Church doorway, then, when the member concerned came up to me, pressed me to the wall, looked me in the eye, and said, "I will do all that it takes, as long as it takes, to destroy your ministry." I reported this immediately to the Church elders, in a meeting I called in the vestry. One of them responded, "That's what you say, Thomas." This may have been out of caution or impartiality, but I was angrily opposed by others. Today, someone sent me a recent news article (ABC News), which reported on that man's continuing incarceration. At the time of the incident in the Church doorway, I knew what I was doing; I knew what I was saying. OBSERVATION: This happens from time to time in ministry. A minister reports serious trouble, but is doubted or contradicted. 

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