Re: The Skewed Priorities of Some Modern Evangelis
Quote:
Originally Posted by AncientPaths
Thank goodness all temptation ceases when you're married
I didn't say that, and of course it is not true, but marriage does temper the temptation a great deal. Makes it possible to do as Paul said, "...I keep my body under...." Men with understanding, know that the price of acting on temptation is NOT worth the "pleasure for a moment". Especially when ones marriage is agreeable. Wise men can acknowledge beauty and the handiwork of the Lord in creating women, but yet be constrained by understanding.
Sex is wonderful and extremely satisfying in context, but can be a terrible taskmaster, and if not kept in proper bounds is insatiable.
__________________ For it is written, "As I live, says the Lord every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God. (Romans 14:11- NASB)
Re: The Skewed Priorities of Some Modern Evangelis
Quote:
Originally Posted by RandyWayne
Absolutely!
After all, why feel the need to look at THIS......
When you have THIS waiting at home!
Randy you are soooo bad!!! What did you do to infuriate your wife like that????
__________________ For it is written, "As I live, says the Lord every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God. (Romans 14:11- NASB)
Re: The Skewed Priorities of Some Modern Evangelis
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissBrattified
IMO, the life of the travelling evangelist is not conducive to a stable family life, and an evangelist is better off if he remains single. However, IF he is married I firmly believe his family should travel with him. As much as possible, anyway. It's for his protection (speaking of his reputation and spiritual/emotional state) and it's for the protection of his family, as far as providing some cohesion and stability.
There are too many evangelists who have strayed while on the evangelistic field, and too many wives who have stayed home and became lonely...or bored. Ideally, yes--they could all be apart and remain pure, holy and devoted to one another. And that CAN BE and HAS BEEN done; but it isn't the most practical or wise way to protect a marriage.
Evangelists should either be single and/or travel with their families. If they can't orchestrate whatever is needed to travel with their families, I think they should stay home and take care of their families. That's a higher priority than preaching.
Regarding LS: I don't think his simply being single has anything at all to do with the snickers.
An interesting take on this issue, based on 1 Corinthians 8:
So Paul is saying, "As an apostle, I have liberty. I have the right to ask for food and drink." That would be daily necessities, sustenance. "I even have the right to ask you to support my wife." Isn't it interesting in verse 5 that he says to take a sister as a wife? And what he means by sister is a Christian sister. There was never any other conception in the mind of a Christian in the early church. If a Christ was gonna marry, he would marry only a what? A Christian sister. I mean there wasn't any other thought. There would never be a mixed marriage, a marriage between a believer and an unbeliever. That was foreign to them. In...in chapter 7:39 says the same thing. "Marry only in the Lord."
So he says, "If I wanna take a Christian sister along with me, you should be able to support that sister, as well." And I think what you have there is a verse that affirms the right of a minister to have an unemployed wife. That's practical, isn't it? I mean that's not up there in the foggy theological area. That's just saying, "Pay the preacher so that his wife doesn't need to work." Doesn't need to have employment. That's a tremendous truth. So many churches, I don't think, see the vision of that, and instead of paying the man of God so that he may support his whole family, they expect the wife to work when the Bible says he has a right to ask support even for the Christian sister he's taken as his wife. Not only to support her, but to take her along with him; and you know something? The apostles apparently took their wives. The other apostles, the brothers of our Lord who would be James and...and Jude and other brothers of Jesus Christ, half-brothers, of course, children of Mary and Joseph, but not of virgin birth as Jesus was. And Peter...Peter took his wife along with him. I...you ever know Peter had a wife? Sure, he did. His mother-in-law got sick, so if you got a mother-in-law, you got a wife...I'd like to meet Mrs. Peter. She must have been some lady...must be...she must be the living example of patience.
But, anyway, Paul says, "You know, the other apostles are taking their wives with 'em," and that's super. You know, I think the church has the responsibility to recognize this, even with missionaries, with anybody. You know, I feel like so many times someone will ask me to speak someplace, and they'll say, "You know, we want you to fly, for example, to Cleveland, Ohio, and there's a tremendous opportunity for a Bible conference here, and we'd like you to come, and we'd like to bring your wife as our guest, as well." You know, I really appreciate that, because me and my wife are one flesh, you know? And when she's with me, I'm a lot better off. I really am. I'm happier, easier to get along with. I can concentrate better on what I'm doing in ministry, and she can be supportive of me, and we share our life together, and that's an important thing.
And I feel, as a church, when we ask someone to come and speak here, it would be the thing to do to say, "Would you like to bring your wife? We'd be more than happy to support the coming of your wife so she could share these days with you." It's a question of generosity. It's a question of having the right attitude, and when somebody has asked us for support for some ministry or some mission or something, it oughta be with that kind of generosity and concern that, not only his needs are met, but those of his wife, so that they may minister together. I think a reason that you have divorces among people even in the ministry so many times is because you got one of 'em running around all over the place, never paying any attention to the other. And I don't think it's a question always of counseling. It may be a question of dollars so that the wife could go along.
__________________
"Resolved: That all men should live to the glory of God. Resolved, secondly: That whether or not anyone else does, I will." ~Jonathan Edwards
"The only man who has the right to say he is justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ." ~Dietrich Bonheoffer, The Cost of Discipleship
"Preachers who should be fishing for men are now too often fishing for compliments from men." ~Leonard Ravenhill
Re: The Skewed Priorities of Some Modern Evangelis
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charnock
Over the years I've heard a lot of people snicker about Lee Stoneking's marital status. He has never married, and this bothers a lot of people. There seems to be an unwritten rule that modern evangelists need to have trophy wives.
However, I am connected to a boatload of evangelists, missionaries and pastors via Facebook, and through years of friendships, and have noticed a distrurbing trend. That trend involves the minister traveling without his wife for weeks and months at a time.
I cannot believe that is healthy. I do not believe doing the work of ministry supersedes, or precludes, the work of fatherhood and husbandry.
For emphasis:
This is Marty Ballestero's blog bio:
"I'm an Evangelist. I miss my beautiful wife every day I'm away from her. Even after preaching 934 revivals, 339 Conferences & 63 Camps... it doesn't get easier being apart. If she lives to be a 100, I want to live to be a 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without her."
I guess I don't get it. If you don't want to live a day without her either take her with you, or find a way to minister closer to home. Seems simple to me.
Also, I recently watched a sermon of GG preaching at an Ohio District camp in which he mentioned that he hated being away from his wife so much, but had to do so because of his call. That his son had a problem with him being away so much, and was backslidden, but he (GG) had to be out preaching the gospel.
I suppose I don't get it. In my mind there's nothing more important than family and God. Ministry is secondary to those things.
Bump
__________________
I'm (sic) not cynical, I just haven't been around long enough to be Jedi mind-tricked by politics as usual. Alas, maybe in a few years I'll be beaten back into the herd. tstew
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