Greg and Rebecca Sparks came to our church today. What great musicians and all around great folks! Hey, they're from Pittsburgh, they can't be all bad. Right, George? I highly recommend their music!

We went out to lunch with them and had a great talk about ministry, music, leadership etc. They have a different point of view about the institutional church than we do, but they have great hearts. It was funny, because when we got home we were made aware of another "controversy" we are in the middle of....of course, we are the last to know....

One of my criticisms of the institutional church has been that it sets up leaders to be criticized by people who have no relationship with them. Motives are assumed, assumptions are made, and gossip is started with incomplete information, from a distance, usually behind the leader's back. It would be great if church attenders could just be adult about such things, lets not even talk about being Biblical or Christian! It's like you get up on stage and paint a target on your back. I'm really saddened by this kind of immaturity, but I guess I shouldn't expect anything more....

So, to the folks who are reading through my blog hunting for information to use....Good hunting and God bless you....and here are few things to think about:

1Tim 1:5-8
The whole point of what we're urging is simply love--love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God. Those who fail to keep to this point soon wander off into cul-de-sacs of gossip. They set themselves up as experts on religious issues, but haven't the remotest idea of what they're holding forth with such imposing eloquence. It's true that moral guidance and counsel need to be given, but the way you say it and to whom you say it are as important as what you say. (The Message)

Pro 11:12
Mean-spirited slander is heartless; quiet discretion accompanies good sense. (The Message)