Boys, Boys, Boys, if you worked for Holiday Inn and your preacher was bringing in a young woman from church every night for a three hour tour.... would you keep quiet?
So what is the FCC?
And what does God say about what this YOUTH PASTOR is doing?
Firstly this man MUST be confronted, chiefly for his own sake.
James 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way
shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins.
As already suggested by Larry, Matthew 18:15-17 tells us what we must do in these circumstances.
It appears that if Gib does as Matthew 18:15 suggests, then he
will not
be breaking this law.
Matt 18:15 ....go and tell him his fault
between him and thee alone
This doesn't involve disclosing any information to a third party.
If this man is approached in the right way and for the right reasons then I think he will be glad to share this burden. By praying for this man Gib has already shown that he is genuinely concerned for him, and that he is not out to make life difficult for him, but rather to help him.
I'm sure that if you consent to following scripture the Lord will bless your efforts.
I appreciate that this is a difficult situation for you Gib and I pray that things will work out well.
I am certain that no one is advocating breaking a law of onfidentiality or, as I am a pastor, the "sanctity of the confessional".
This does not stop one from following the biblical steps of confronting the individual over sin.
Why go all "around Robin Hood's barn" when the bible injunction to go directly to the person is #1.
Don't bring up "hearsay" or "cable records"; bring up the issue of sin and deal with it.
And please, folks, be careful what you advise a cyber-friend to do.
We ARE responsible to God and to His bride to conduct ourselves with the highest standards and moral integrity, "without spot or blemish or any such thing."
Yes, you are correct, one should be fired if they illegally disseminate confidential information.
Do you their name? No. Do you know what church they serve at? No. Do you know what denomination? No. What do you know?
I have not shared any "personally identifiable information" to anyone. Where did you read that I was going to do so?
I thank you all for responding. I did not mean to dredge up the pornography issue. This is not a new issue to us. Many of your suggestions have been brought up in private conversations. 7 out of the 12 people in my office are Christians. We struggle daily with real life issues related to work, church and family everyday.
Exactly Gib! We don't know YOUR town so we could not even attempt to find out who you are speaking about! I think you handled this quite well and have protected this youth pastor's identity.
I'll be praying for you and your fellow employees. If nothing else, this thread has shown us all that what we do in private WILL be brought to the light.
My mother and step father were visiting us two years ago. My step father stayed behind while the rest of us went on a day trip. When my satellite bill came, I had a number of charges for porn. I freaked out and called Direct TV. They could even tell me how many minutes the t.v. stayed on each program! I searched back and found out it was the day we had left him here alone. I spoke with my mother who outright asked him..... He denied it at first and then said he didn't realize I'd find out.
Maybe Gib should tell the youth minister about the cable record rumor if someone else told it to him.
If Gib discovered this in the course of his job then he should confront the youth minister with the goal being restoration.
It could be that it is just a rumor and some of us are ready to give him the axe before we know the facts.
:mad:
But again,
:confused:
WHY do we overlook everyone else sinful indulgence.
The fat preacher, the busybody, the one driving a $50,000 car while there are those struggling to make it week to week in the church, the deacon slipping off to the bar, who is for sending a letter to or confronting them?
If I recieved that letter the first thing that I would do is complain to the FFC and the cable company, then I would consult my lawyer and see what I can do to bring a prosecution against the cable company.
Encouraging people to break the law is inexcusable, period.
It is also a criminal offense - I still wonder what the legal implications for the webmaster are if this person goes ahead with the course of action that people in this thread have advocated and encouraged.
If you inform anyone of his activity you will have broken the law - you would then deserve to be fired and prosecuted.
I do not believe that the board would be responsible in any way as our agreement states:
However, as Christians we are commanded to uphold the law of the land. (See Romans 13; 1 Peter 2)
Since Gib said on the first page of this thread:
I am closing the thread. Christ told the tax collector to continue his job but to not collect more than their due. I
believe the same principle applies here. If one has a job with directives from the government, one must obey those directives. If the dilemma is too much for one’s conscience, they should probably quit their job.
This is perhaps not the most popular post or decision I have made as a moderator, but I must do what is required of me.