Hypothetical

[nebula]

Aww . . . come on guys!

No one is going to "Gospel blitz" them?

[apothanein kerdos]

These questions were two-fold. For one, it shows me that we do have some pretty neat people on here...however the answers provided here seem to contradict the overall attitude that has been present recently of celebrating the destruction of sinners and bashing them as well.

Anyway, I'm glad that the answers provided are ones that show grace and truth and not condemnation.

[HisWordIsSufficient]

A prostitute walks into your church in the middle of a Sunday morning worship service. She is in her street garb so the clothing is quite revealing. She sits in the back of the church and tries to sit still so no one notices her. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

Were a very very small church because were just starting out. theres only about 15 of us! so she certainly wouldnt go un noticed hehe. We would all chat with her. See what shes doing there. Make her welcome and show her what Christianity is all about and invite her back next week.

A very well known and well respected member of the community decides to stop by church one day and sits in one of the pews. He's called an upstanding Christian, but lately some of his other business transactions (that are illegal) have been surfacing. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

it totally depends on what these "business transactions are"

A middle class self-proclaimed skater punk walks in. For those not familiar with the stereotypical clothing, he is wearing a black t-shirt with black shorts that come down to mid shin. He has a beanie on his head and is pierced in both his ears, lip, and nose. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

haha it would not bother me one bit. Heaps of my friends dress like that. Its got nothing to do with who they are, its just what they like to wear. The oldies in my church would LOVE it! Something different just fascinates them. Again, we would welcome him just like the prostitute woman. But i mean, whats to say this punk rocker isnt already saved? What you wear has nothing to do with it. Jesus never talked about keeping in fasion or looking a cerain way.

A very vocal homosexual activist walks into your church and sits down in the front row. He is there not to cause a commotion but to see what is said. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

Pray that Christ would minister to him during the message and that the Holy Spirit would convict him and show him love during worship and then after the service have a right old yarn with him about shopping. hahaha

[nebula]

however the answers provided here seem to contradict the overall attitude that has been present recently of celebrating the destruction of sinners and bashing them as well.

LOL!

Sometimes you need to remember that in the Boards, people are expressing thoughts and feelings about topics and issues.

When dealing with people one-on-one, though - you see a person and not an "issue."

[bad biker]

Excellent point, Nebula!

[Ovedya]

A prostitute walks into your church in the middle of a Sunday morning worship service. She is in her street garb so the clothing is quite revealing. She sits in the back of the church and tries to sit still so no one notices her. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

I suppose it would depend on what your definition of "revealing" is. Is she sitting there in thong underwear, a short skirt, or what? If it's too revealing it would be appropriate to have a sister or two discreetly ask her out into the foyer for a couple of minutes. Once there the sisters could ask her if she would like something to cover herself with, or if she'd maybe just like to go back into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Once there the sisters could preach the gospel to her.

Reason: While we would definately want her to stay and listen, and even participate in the meeting, we also need to take care of the saints already in the meeting.

A very well known and well respected member of the community decides to stop by church one day and sits in one of the pews. He's called an upstanding Christian, but lately some of his other business transactions (that are illegal) have been surfacing. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

Nothing. Let him sit and enjoy the Lord. Perhaps the Lord will bring him to repentance.

A middle class self-proclaimed skater punk walks in. For those not familiar with the stereotypical clothing, he is wearing a black t-shirt with black shorts that come down to mid shin. He has a beanie on his head and is pierced in both his ears, lip, and nose. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

Same answer as above. Let him sit and enjoy the Lord.

A very vocal homosexual activist walks into your church and sits down in the front row. He is there not to cause a commotion but to see what is said. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

Let him sit and listen. After the meeting he might not be asked back.

[irishcowboy]

A prostitute walks into your church in the middle of a Sunday morning worship service. She is in her street garb so the clothing is quite revealing. She sits in the back of the church and tries to sit still so no one notices her. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

A very well known and well respected member of the community decides to stop by church one day and sits in one of the pews. He's called an upstanding Christian, but lately some of his other business transactions (that are illegal) have been surfacing. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

A middle class self-proclaimed skater punk walks in. For those not familiar with the stereotypical clothing, he is wearing a black t-shirt with black shorts that come down to mid shin. He has a beanie on his head and is pierced in both his ears, lip, and nose. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

A very vocal homosexual activist walks into your church and sits down in the front row. He is there not to cause a commotion but to see what is said. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

first off, These circumstances are not Hypothetical in our fellowship.......

we have Rick, who once was ( i said was ) probably one of the largest dealers in the area....

we have the Hoaks sisters who were ( like in past tense ) a pair of scammers, one pretending to be a teenage boy, seeking help for him or him and his mother ( actually sister )....

as far as the way people dress, we have those that have dressed "gothic" to "sleezy" to "prim and proper" come in for the first time.... there have been some ladies come in that after a few minutes they were very uncomfortable about their means of dress, even thou no one has said anything, and even the actions were good towards them.... eye to eye contact...... i have seen women go and get a throw, for some one that was not dressed all that proper..... ( we have a female drummer too, and when she is on stage, she has a throw covering her from the waist down, and she wears long dresses and slacks..... just an example for other ladies.....

we have had people come in that were still stoned out of their minds, drugs and booze.... they are welcomed the same way.... one gentleman came in and every other word was a swear word, and it was not long before he was speaking more proper, just a but of love and comfort.....

trench coats, all black, labrea studs, eyebrow rings, nose rings/studs, you name it..... weirded out hair, spiked, straight, rainbow coloured..... dont matter..... bikers, airline pilots, truck drivers, nurses, doctors, you name it, every profession a person can think of...

when some one comes in, they are greeted, by one of our ladies or gentlemen, they may have long hair or short, they may be in a suit, or sports shirt, tennis shoes or loafers or oxfords.... they will welcome any who enter, and if they have children will ensure they are taken care of also.....

the childrens ministry starts at hours old and goes thru high school.... children are prayed for, nurtured, by men and women, they are even taught to pray, even the 18 month olds to the 3 year olds gather in a circle and are taught Bible stories, and learn to pray for each other and their parents and friends and other family members too.... grace is said before snacks, the 4 thru 6th are learning more about Christ and how to live for Christ and to live like Christ..... continueing on in prayer, worship, praise...... love to watch them worshippping the Lord.....

I would only hope that we would not forget what the real focus of a service is..... SERVICE...... WORSHIP.....

worshipping God, and being of Service to God.....

we pray and believe that when we are gathered together, that the Glory of God is flowing thru each of us, and out of the doors of the building and out into the road way to draw passerbys in off the street.... we want them to join us..... we want them to come in..... just as they are.....

mike

[disconnected]

Oh can I ask a hypothetical question here too?

What if a man came in dressed as a woman?

A prostitute walks into your church in the middle of a Sunday morning worship service. She is in her street garb so the clothing is quite revealing. She sits in the back of the church and tries to sit still so no one notices her. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

Our church is very cold at times cause the pastor gets hot and the congregation sometimes freezes...lol. She would probably want a jacket. Everyone would be nice to her I know especially our pastor and his wife.

A very well known and well respected member of the community decides to stop by church one day and sits in one of the pews. He's called an upstanding Christian, but lately some of his other business transactions (that are illegal) have been surfacing. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

What was he selling or doing? Not enough info.

A middle class self-proclaimed skater punk walks in. For those not familiar with the stereotypical clothing, he is wearing a black t-shirt with black shorts that come down to mid shin. He has a beanie on his head and is pierced in both his ears, lip, and nose. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

We have folks like that already in our church. It's nothing new.

A very vocal homosexual activist walks into your church and sits down in the front row. He is there not to cause a commotion but to see what is said. What would your church do in this circumstance and why? What would you do and why?

I doubt most of us would even know who he was, we'd probably not find out until someone saw our church featured on his blog.