Pastors and Affairs (part 1)

As many of you may or may not know….Gary Lamb of Revolution Church in Canton, Ga had an affair with his assitant who worked at the church with him. The truth came to the surface this past Friday and was announced at the church on Sunday and to the world wide web yesterday. I do not know Gary well at all. I actually shared a meal with him some 6 years ago in Anderson, SC, but I am not even sure he would remember that. I do know this…he sinned, he disqualified himself as a pastor (1 Timothy 3:2), he hurt his church, he hurt his family, he hurt the church at large, BUT God loves him deeply and forgives him. Pray for him, his family, the other woman involved & her husband, and the church.

So what can we learn…there is plenty…Geoff Surratt does a great job putting some truth on his blog about it here. READ IT.

I will do a series of post based on both scripture and simple practical advice that I think can help us. I am not an expert and do not have it figured out and I am NOT above falling what so ever and need your advice, help, and accountability as well. Today I will throw some practical stuff out there that is laced with scripture. And add to the list if you got something.

Practical Stuff

• Never be alone with a women who is NOT your wife or another family member (mom…sister…etc.) LIVE ABOVE REPROACH
• When meeting with a female bring someone else into the meeting or leave the door wide open. If there is no one else at the office….then don’t have the meeting. Change the time. NO EXCUSES.
• Put computer software or something like Covenant Eyes or X-Watch on your computer to keep you accountable from NOT looking at PORN. (Mark 9:43) I challenge you to make your wife and your mom your accountability partner.
• Have a date night with just you and your wife. PLAN the thing…love her well.
• Have a cook together night. This is just healthy. You save money from eating out…you work together…you talk about your day…it’s just a good.
• Have a hospitality night where you have other folks over for dinner. NOT only is hospitality a biblical thing, but it also brings accoutability to your marriage. I don’t care what you say but having people in your home puts your marriage on display and if things are NOT right then you will have to get things right…make sense?
• Pray together….especially before bed. Why before bed? The bible says NOT to let the sun go down on your anger. If there is tension with your wife then I promise you praying with her will be the toughest thing you could ever do. That is just hard to fake. So it leads to you guys getting things right before the head its the pillow.
• Get away with one another every quarter. YES…4 X a year. Now I am not talking a week at a time but take a weekend take a night and just get away. You don’t have to leave town…get a hotel in town and order in dinner.
• Have sex with your spouse frequently. Read this…1 Corinthians 7:3-6 – ENOUGH SAID! Don’t leave time and space for Satan.
• Talk on a consistent basis about what God is teaching you.
• Read your bible. NOT for the hope of a great new sermon but for the sake of your own soul.
• Put men around you that keep you accountable that have FULL FREEDOM to speak into their life. I didn’t say tip toe around you or walk on egg shells….NO….MEN who speak FREELY into you and are around you daily.
• Repent a lot.

There is plenty more but I will bring a part 2 on Wednesday….do you have any thoughts???

Let’s learn and grow together or you can just sit and do nothing and eventually fail. Apathy leads to great failure.