No Lapdancers Can Join OUR CHURCH...Nosiree Babe...Take Your Pasties and Scram!

[Bruce S]

Two weeks ago, I was visiting a great Christian couple in Florida. As a newly Born Again, believer, they were helping me with issues, and things I was unsure over. Anyway, in our discussion, we talked about belonging to a church, and the benefits and detriments of this and that.

They relayed a story to me that I found troubling.

The wife, owns a tanning salon. [So did I for a long time] and obviously, some of the clientele is female [about 70%] and strippers, ladies making a living by taking off clothing and entertaining male clients, makes up a portion of that customer base.

Christine had witnessed to a few of them, and got them to forgo that lifestyle, come and attend her church for a few times.

Now this gets bad, when those ladies showed up, many in the congregation thought that they were "inappropriate" for that church, and some ladies got insulted and went to the board complaining. Their basic position was that having such "disreputable females" attending services [they still looked and acted like strippers ... not badly, but in hair and demeanor...they were just new to this] and demanded that the leadership "talk to" Christine and get the gals out of there. Some of the women thought it would lead their husbands to "fall from the Lord" etc.


{image removed due to content - Oblio}

I was appalled. To the point where had I been a member of that congregation, I would have marched up to the pulpit, taken the microphone, and told the congregtion about WHY Jesus came. He didn't hang with the "nice good religious folk"... in fact, he mostly fought with them, issuing condemnation. He did hang with PROSTITUTES, LEPERS, INKEEPERS, and the outcasts of the day, he came for them, he went to them, and they are the ones who count, not the already saved. IMO.

I was fuming and wondered if anyone else ever had an experience like that Christine related?

Oh, forgot, the strippers were turned off from God, and stopped attending church anywhere after this, and Christine and Jim have stopped attending services too, they were so deeply troubled by the way the good folks acted that for now, they are soured on Christian fellowship. [This was not the only horror story I heard while there, Benny Hinn was a friend of theirs in the past in Orlando, and the stories they had about him and others so called Christian leaders that they knew PERSONALLY were terrible.]

[Bruce S]

PS: the male leading the charge to get these ladies out, was thought to be, by Christine, worried that those ladies might recognize him...as a customer....grin. My thoughts too on this...

[ZiSunka]

I went to a mennonite church for a long time. And we had homeless people, former prostitutes, former gays, unwed mothers, former bigamists and other former sinners in our congregation.

We operated with I Corithians 6:11 in mind, "And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."

[BBAS 64]

This is very unfortunate for these people but I am sure that God can bing them to a clear understanding of him self reguardless of the bad behavior of some of his own. "I HAVE BEEN THERE" I am also somewhat ashamed that I know people like these and most of the time let them go on their merry way with out questioning them on this type of additude and the fall out that does result.

BBAS :)

[didaskalos]

I do not know what a "pastie" is....
I am glad. I think.

What a fogie I am.

[Jenna]

Grrr...... I know that I'm supposed to be slow to anger, and that is something that I've got to work on. It more than angers me to hear people professing to be Christians, and then turning people aside when they seek God. :mad: Who knows, maybe it is because I've been so well aquainted with ignorance and hypocracy amongst those who claim to be Christ-like. I'm not a stripper or anything, but believe me that there are many people out there that think that if you look 'gothic' that you can only be full of the devil. People like that are an embarrassment to me, especially when it comes to MY efforts to touch people with light of God ineffective because I become one measured by the same rule as the jerks.

At times like this, I really struggle with things like this.......


1Co 5:7 Purge out the old leaven, in order that you may be a new batch of dough, since you are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

1Co 5:8 So then let us observe the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1Co 5:9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to associate with fornicators.

1Co 5:10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world!

1Co 5:11 But now I write to you not to associate with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous person, or an idolater, or abusive person, or a drunkard, or a swindler--not even to eat with such a person.

How can a brother or sister be any more abusive than to in essence drive a person from God's loving arms? We know that God invites and welcomes sinners to his house, calling them to his love, to abandon their wicked ways. In an indirect, but thoroughly damaging way, aren't brothers and sisters who turn away those who seek God abusing to a far greater extent than anyone who batters the flesh alone?

I don't know, I feel so torn when it comes to relations with other Christians. Odd enough, I am more comfortable with those that I expect to be defensive, if not combative, because they are having to hear something that flies into the face of what they have believed during their lives. On the other hand, I have great difficulty dealing with any brother or sister who would damage the spirits of their own spiritual kin and chase off those who are searching in an effort to find their way into the fold.

I beg that God forgive me my anger, but I believe it to be 'righteous anger' and not simply a fit of temper.....

[Mr.Cheese]

It's called losing sight of your purpose.

[Lotar]

I would say a church that judges people by their past, isn't worth going to. I'd be looking for a new church.

[Ken]

oppps never mind.....

[Isaiah 53]

Two weeks ago, I was visiting a great Christian couple in Florida. As a newly Born Again, believer, they were helping me with issues, and things I was unsure over. Anyway, in our discussion, we talked about belonging to a church, and the benefits and detriments of this and that.

They relayed a story to me that I found troubling.

The wife, owns a tanning salon. [So did I for a long time] and obviously, some of the clientele is female [about 70%] and strippers, ladies making a living by taking off clothing and entertaining male clients, makes up a portion of that customer base.

Christine had witnessed to a few of them, and got them to forgo that lifestyle, come and attend her church for a few times.

Now this gets bad, when those ladies showed up, many in the congregation thought that they were "inappropriate" for that church, and some ladies got insulted and went to the board complaining. Their basic position was that having such "disreputable females" attending services [they still looked and acted like strippers ... not badly, but in hair and demeanor...they were just new to this] and demanded that the leadership "talk to" Christine and get the gals out of there. Some of the women thought it would lead their husbands to "fall from the Lord" etc.


{image removed due to content - Oblio}

I was appalled. To the point where had I been a member of that congregation, I would have marched up to the pulpit, taken the microphone, and told the congregtion about WHY Jesus came. He didn't hang with the "nice good religious folk"... in fact, he mostly fought with them, issuing condemnation. He did hang with PROSTITUTES, LEPERS, INKEEPERS, and the outcasts of the day, he came for them, he went to them, and they are the ones who count, not the already saved. IMO.

I was fuming and wondered if anyone else ever had an experience like that Christine related?

Oh, forgot, the strippers were turned off from God, and stopped attending church anywhere after this, and Christine and Jim have stopped attending services too, they were so deeply troubled by the way the good folks acted that for now, they are soured on Christian fellowship. [This was not the only horror story I heard while there, Benny Hinn was a friend of theirs in the past in Orlando, and the stories they had about him and others so called Christian leaders that they knew PERSONALLY were terrible.]
Very sad...IMO its people like that that drive others from Christ and give Christians a bad name...:cry:

PEACE IN CHRIST!!!

[Bruce S]

Hey, Oblio. Darn. It took me a 1/2 HOUR to find a stripper pic that WASN'T OFFENSIVE...sniffle.

The one I used was more tame than the artwork they used to paint on the nose's of WWII bombers.

[Lotar]

Why would you need a picture?

[Bruce S]

Why would you need a picture?
Gee...I dunno..... http://publish.hometown.aol.com/oo7nrw/myhomepage/26412_photo.gif?mtbrand=AOL_US

[Lotar]

I think there's a slight difference between a monkey and a stripper ;)

[Gamecock]

Well, Jesus hung out with publicans, hookers, drunks, the dredges of society.

They probably would not have welcomed christ into their church...

[Serapha]

Hi there!

:wave:



Many times, churches forget that they are to be hospitals for sick souls as well as places to revive the saints.

People, even Christians, tend to reject anything that goes out of their comfort zone, in this case, purification of the church doctrine has been replaced by purging of undesirables.





~malaka~

[admtaylor]

I went to a mennonite church for a long time. And we had homeless people, former prostitutes, former gays, unwed mothers, former bigamists and other former sinners in our congregation.

We operated with I Corithians 6:11 in mind, "And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen! That's what it's all about!:clap:

There's a song out now by a group called Casting Crowns that has a line in it that says "Jesus paid much too high a price...for us to pick and choose who should come." Unfortunately that happens in the church a lot, probably has for centuries. When this kind of attitude arises in a church there are some serious problems. I would be willing to be there are many cliques in that church as well. We're there to fellowship and worship our Lord and Creator, not to belong to an "elitist" club. Doesn't that go against the whole idea? We're suppossed to be humble not proud and snotty. AAARGGGG

[ABDIarise]

I am somewhat confused over this. We, as the Church are not to associate with non-believers, or darkness. Now, of course, when evangelizing we go among the sinners to bring them in, once in though, it is much different thing.

Maybe I do not understand, but Paul said we are not to fellowship with darkness, even we are to hate the garment stained with sin, etc. He even gave rules as to throw one out that fornicates, etc., of course after handling the situation properly.

Could it be that we are confusing evangelism with fellowship? I think that seems to be the problem here. Without knowing the story completely, there is really no way to comment on it with any authority. This is just some thoughts on the issue is all.

[admtaylor]

I am somewhat confused over this. We, as the Church are not to associate with non-believers, or darkness. Now, of course, when evangelizing we go among the sinners to bring them in, once in though, it is much different thing.

Maybe I do not understand, but Paul said we are not to fellowship with darkness, even we are to hate the garment stained with sin, etc. He even gave rules as to throw one out that fornicates, etc., of course after handling the situation properly.

Could it be that we are confusing evangelism with fellowship? I think that seems to be the problem here. Without knowing the story completely, there is really no way to comment on it with any authority. This is just some thoughts on the issue is all.
As far as I understood the original post these women had repented and given up the lifestyle, they just kind of had a lingering appearance that would point them out as former strippers, you know...hairstyle and such ( all that can't judge a book by it's cover fits here).

If that's not the situation I agree full heartedly.

[rookie]

My impression was as yours Admtaylor, that they had changed and but had the former appearance, although, not as, um, I don't know what word I'm looking for.

Anyway, yes, we can't judge a book by it's cover and I'm appalled these so-called "Christians" behaved that way. I pray those women will find a church that accepts them and that they will not sour totally to church.

rookie

[Knight]

This is an example of the NIMBY philosophy. (Not In My Back Yard)

THey say we should preach and teach the lost but they just don't want to be around them..... Sad.