February 19th, 2012

...now browsing by day

 

Fences

Sunday, February 19th, 2012

I.   AM.   GOING.   DARK

I am going dark for a couple of days.  Jo and I are taking a couple of days away.   We plan to attend this church Sunday night then head to Indy on Monday and do absolutely nothing but have a good time; spend the night, then goof off for awhile on Tuesday before heading home.

I AM NOT PLANNING ON BEING ONLINE TO BLOG OR TO READ BLOGS. 

I know that spells extreme disappointment for all 2 of my readers, but I will return.  🙂  I will check my mail which means if you comment on this post I will approve it.  But I will not post again until late Wednesday.   I thought I would share something with you that was sent to me by another pastor.  It was written by Pastor James MacDonald in 1999.  He calls it “5 MORAL FENCES.”  The dark/italicized comments are his.  The read are mine.

Sexual temptation is where we are held least accountable and where we can fall fastest.  So, Pastor James formed a list of moral fences he initiated into his life:

1.  I will not, under any circumstances, ride alone in a car with a female other than my wife or an immediate family member.  No lifts for the church secretary, no baby sitters driven home alone late at night, no rides for teen girls in my student ministry, no exceptions.  I have violated this one in several churches where my secretary was 30-40 years older than me.  Other than that, I try really hard to live up to this one.

2.  I do not counsel a woman in a closed room or more than once.  This is a tough one, but I now make sure that my door is cracked and there is someone else present in the building (wife or secretary) when I am counseling.

3.  I do not stay in a hotel overnight.  I used to do this more than I should have, but seldom turned the TV on.  I work hard at taking someone with me when I have to stay overnight. I also give certain people the right to call me at any time and ask questions.

4.  I speak often and publicly of my affection for my wife, when she’s present and when she’s not.  I still try to do this even after almost 39 years of marriage, but can do a better job.

5.  Compliment the character or the conduct, not the coiffure or the clothing.  This is harder than it sounds, especially when one attempts to be an encourager.  But any innocent gesture or comment can be misconstrued. 

Pastor James put into a few words what has taken me years to learn.  If any young pastor were to ask me for any advice, this would be my #1 suggestion: Build Moral Fences.  Any thoughts you care to share?  If you are a pastor, do you have moral fences?  Any to add? 

See you late Wednesday or early Thursday.