A TRUE LIFE STORY
Mr. Okafor (not real name) and Mrs. Elizabeth (not real name) were happily married couples, and they were fervent Christians serving the LORD in a ministry known as Zion Peoples Assembly Church (not real name), located in a remote village in the far East (not real location). The name of the pastor was Alfred (not real name).
Mr & Mrs Elizabeth Okafor had a wonderful marriage with 3 children (assumption) and they were very committed to serving the LORD with all their hearts. However, there was a time that some weakness was noticed in the man.
As times goes on, the man exhausted all his strength in fighting this weakness but never told his wife about it. Therefore Satan took advantage of this weakness and tempted the man into adultery, and he felled.
Although he knew that this was not right as a Christian but he still succumbed altogether. But knowing that he had sinned against God and against his wife, as a true believer in Christ he decided to open up to his wife after praying to God for forgiveness.
So, he came to his wife and knelt down and confessed the adultery, asking the wife to please forgive him. The wife accepted by forgiving her husband, (though events later proved that she never forgave him at all). They then continued their marriage and service to God in their local church, and the matter buried between them only.
In the process of time, a minor issue arose between them which was centered on money. Mrs Elizabeth had asked her husband some money for some few things, but because he wasn't buoyant at the time, he couldn't meet his wife's demand in that material time, and the wife became angry for whatever reason known to her. And she took another step.
For failure to provide her the money and the man who was attending to a critical situation at the time that took him from home, the wife concluded that her husband has gone again into sleeping with other women outside, though this was a pure lie. She then went and reported her husband to their pastor accusing him of adultery. Don't forget that this matter has been settled and closed between both of them a long time ago, but she kept it in her heart hence my earlier submission that she didn't actually forgave her husband in the first place.
Armed with the statement of Mrs Elizabeth who accused her husband of adultery, Pastor Alfred summarily invited Mr. Okafor during workers meeting one Sunday morning, and suspended him from any duty or responsibility in the church till further notice.
Part of the punishment was that Mr. Okafor who was a worker in the church should be standing throughout the workers meetings every Sunday, as well as setting a special seat for him in the extreme back of the church. He must as a matter of faithfulness never missed any church service no matter the case.
So, Mr. Okafor started serving his punishment as spelled out by Pastor Alfred.
However after about 3 months that Mr. Okafor was placed under discipline by his pastor and seeing his faithfulness in the execution of his punishment, a member of the church decided to approach the pastor so as to free Mr. Okafor from his punishment. Meanwhile, the Area pastor of that Paris was never briefed by Pastor Alfred all this while. So he refused to listen to the member's plea and instead jumped his Area pastor and went straight to the Zonal pastor and reported the case, just because someone tried to intervene from the Parish. Don't forget that Mr. Okafor has already been placed on discipline for close to 3 at this time. Pastor Alfred thereafter decided that the special seat in which Mr. Okafor was given to be sitting in the church should be brought to the middle of the church whereby every parishioner will be seeing him there in every single church service. Pastor Alfred took this later decision saying that he want Mr. Okafor to be hardened, so that if he eventually became a pastor, he will not take any rubbish.
That is the end of the STORY.
Now, how would you have handled this matter if you were Pastor Alfred?
Use Bible references where necessary to make your decision if you were Pastor Alfred. You can as make your inputs without a bible reference too if you don't have any.
Shalom!
Mr. Okafor (not real name) and Mrs. Elizabeth (not real name) were happily married couples, and they were fervent Christians serving the LORD in a ministry known as Zion Peoples Assembly Church (not real name), located in a remote village in the far East (not real location). The name of the pastor was Alfred (not real name).
Mr & Mrs Elizabeth Okafor had a wonderful marriage with 3 children (assumption) and they were very committed to serving the LORD with all their hearts. However, there was a time that some weakness was noticed in the man.
As times goes on, the man exhausted all his strength in fighting this weakness but never told his wife about it. Therefore Satan took advantage of this weakness and tempted the man into adultery, and he felled.
Although he knew that this was not right as a Christian but he still succumbed altogether. But knowing that he had sinned against God and against his wife, as a true believer in Christ he decided to open up to his wife after praying to God for forgiveness.
So, he came to his wife and knelt down and confessed the adultery, asking the wife to please forgive him. The wife accepted by forgiving her husband, (though events later proved that she never forgave him at all). They then continued their marriage and service to God in their local church, and the matter buried between them only.
In the process of time, a minor issue arose between them which was centered on money. Mrs Elizabeth had asked her husband some money for some few things, but because he wasn't buoyant at the time, he couldn't meet his wife's demand in that material time, and the wife became angry for whatever reason known to her. And she took another step.
For failure to provide her the money and the man who was attending to a critical situation at the time that took him from home, the wife concluded that her husband has gone again into sleeping with other women outside, though this was a pure lie. She then went and reported her husband to their pastor accusing him of adultery. Don't forget that this matter has been settled and closed between both of them a long time ago, but she kept it in her heart hence my earlier submission that she didn't actually forgave her husband in the first place.
Armed with the statement of Mrs Elizabeth who accused her husband of adultery, Pastor Alfred summarily invited Mr. Okafor during workers meeting one Sunday morning, and suspended him from any duty or responsibility in the church till further notice.
Part of the punishment was that Mr. Okafor who was a worker in the church should be standing throughout the workers meetings every Sunday, as well as setting a special seat for him in the extreme back of the church. He must as a matter of faithfulness never missed any church service no matter the case.
So, Mr. Okafor started serving his punishment as spelled out by Pastor Alfred.
However after about 3 months that Mr. Okafor was placed under discipline by his pastor and seeing his faithfulness in the execution of his punishment, a member of the church decided to approach the pastor so as to free Mr. Okafor from his punishment. Meanwhile, the Area pastor of that Paris was never briefed by Pastor Alfred all this while. So he refused to listen to the member's plea and instead jumped his Area pastor and went straight to the Zonal pastor and reported the case, just because someone tried to intervene from the Parish. Don't forget that Mr. Okafor has already been placed on discipline for close to 3 at this time. Pastor Alfred thereafter decided that the special seat in which Mr. Okafor was given to be sitting in the church should be brought to the middle of the church whereby every parishioner will be seeing him there in every single church service. Pastor Alfred took this later decision saying that he want Mr. Okafor to be hardened, so that if he eventually became a pastor, he will not take any rubbish.
That is the end of the STORY.
Now, how would you have handled this matter if you were Pastor Alfred?
Use Bible references where necessary to make your decision if you were Pastor Alfred. You can as make your inputs without a bible reference too if you don't have any.
Shalom!
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