Disturbing Incident~Spiritual Immaturity~

[Cookin-with-Stoneking]

Background: I was recently involved in a church discipline situation dealing with a couple that have numerous run-ins with other members of the church, even to the point of threatening and attempting physical violence. The church leadership has on numerous attempts tried to help them, counseling, leadership restrictions, etc. This church is a non-UPC church, but adheres to the basic UPC doctrines of Salvation and view of God. There isn't a culture of outward holiness standards, but a typical orthodox OP church. Some members come from the UPC, some through other streams of Christian faith.

Here is the disturbing incident, yours truly (Cookin-with-Stoneking) sat in with a Pastor to discuss the latest incident with this angry couple. After listening to the couple yell out their one-sided perspective about how another family in the church has done them wrong, out to undermine their latest business venture and how that the Pastor did not intervene or doing anything to prevent it.

After hearing the Pastor say that it wasn't the way that he saw it, the man jumped up, screamed I am out of here, proceeded to kick a trash can, kick the door, all the time screaming obscenities and profanity at the Pastor, saying to him as well that your no man of God, you're ******, you're trash and I don't have respect for you and if you were not a OLD MAN I would come over there and put you in your place.

The Pastor most likely unwise to do so told the man Goodbye and waved his hand, this inflamed the man more and he charged the man, to assault the Pastor, yours truly did his best to stand in the way of the rather large angry man. This did work to deter him from psychically assaulting him, but then he said that he was leaving and proceeded to grab some personnel sound equipment that he left at the church.

Now what was most disturbing as the man was leaving he proceeded to cuss out the Pastor for having those (bad word) Trinitarians and other (bad word) around here (a large singing family of AOG lineage was at the church recently doing a concert).

What a disconnect!

This family had no problem being rebellious, threaten physical violence against an elder minister, cursing all long angry that Trinitarians were ministering in the church.


It left me wandering what kind of disciples are we producing, they know doctrine, confess to have the HG but have become a habitation of demons when it comes to personal relationships and getting along with others. This preacher is quite disturbed.

Was this an isolated event or a symptom of a real disconnect between the weightier matters in the spiritual life of a present day believers?