I hope your discussion with the brother is not as awkward as you think it might be and that he is open to your counsel and that God blesses the outcome. He’s fortunate that you are a “random guy.” Maybe it’s not so random after all that you read something you needed to help spur you on to take on something uncomfortable. I hope God uses you. Sounds like your friend needs you. When we express God’s love towards others, He is faithful. Now I’m going to go check out your blog.

Thom
.-= Thom Hunter´s last blog ..There’s a Fork in the Road =-.

Thanks for asking that question. First and foremost, it’s obvious that we’re not all equipped to handle every person’s spiritual or personal problems . . . but we’re all able to listen, walk with and pray with someone who is truly seeking to find God’s will. I know in my situation I knew I was on the wrong path, but I was very afraid of being judged by fellow Christians and rejected. It was difficult for me to see that it might not always be judgement, but perhaps a little fear and lot of misunderstanding. I was not looking for approval of my problem, but acceptance of me as a person created in God’s image, saved by grace . . . yet lacking the faith necessary to overcome my sin problem. Rejection is often a trigger for continuing in sin. The old “love the sinner, hate the sin,” response doesn’t really help a person who bears a sin by which he or she is identified. Hating the sin feels like hating the sinner. So, I think what we have to do first is love the sinner (that would be all of us) and then work on the sin, never accepting it. Prayer, counseling, strict adherence to scripture, forgiveness and steadfastness. Demonstrate the strength in Christ that the other person is lacking.

Lastly, I am amazed at how many pastors and church leaders are unaware that groups like Exodus work directly with churches to help people who struggle with the issue I struggled with. Also, SBC has “The Way Out,” directed by Bob Stith. Bob can be contacted at bstith@sbcthewayout.com. He has resources that can help you.

Thanks for your willing heart.

Thom
.-= Thom Hunter´s last blog ..There’s a Fork in the Road =-.

That’s a great point, the danger of spreading ourselves too thin. No doubt if we do take the time to seek God’s direction we can better avoid that. Thanks for the reminder to not just jump out there and get after it without His direction.

Thom
.-= Thom Hunter´s last blog ..There’s a Fork in the Road =-.

How very convicting. It’s so easy for me to go to church and do the things I do there, but not really *live* in a community of believers, connected to the body of Christ. You really demonstrate the consequences of such a (an un)spiritual life. Getting involved in other peoples’ lives is messy, but how else will I bear someone else’s burden? May the Lord give me the courage to love others enough to get involved.

How do you think someone should have intervened/counseled/bore-your-burden? If you saw someone today that was going through what you went through, how would you respond?

There’s also the tendency to spread ourselves thin with relationships. In the same way that Jesus poured into the 3 different than the 7 and different than the 12, maybe each of us has our own 3 that God is calling us specifically to bear with, and be with. Will we take the time to seek God as to who He wants us to seek after?
.-= Chris Blackstone´s last blog ..Twitter Updates for 2009-09-12 =-.