fusionatl

Truth be told I have no right to call myself your brother, and especially not a friend if I am not willing to correct you when I see you slipping. Proverbs 27:5. Better is an open rebuke(correction) than a hidden love.

And in the case of how we are to deliver the truth Ephesians 4:15-16. We are to deliver the truth in LOVE. It doesn't tell us to speak to one another in such a manner. Our big Brother was different.

15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

If you just sling words without the aim of growing up another part of HIS body. YOU ARE TEARING IT DOWN.
And since we are all connected and part of the body of Christ, you"re connected to those "lap dogs". You are also tearing down yourself.

Be wise and purposeful, if the enemy can use your words against your brother or sister he will. End of story

Ladies, (and sam), all i can say is-WOW!

you all very obviously have strong opinions about this topic. it's awesome to see young adults passionate about something! i think too often the stereotype is that we have no passion about anything outside of ourselves.

yes, our main focus should be on Jesus (whether male or female). i can understand the frustration that can stem from feeling like people are getting off track, especially if those people are friends. it then becomes a very personal issue as opposed to a generalization or an observation. even though that can be frustrating or even painful to watch if you are close with the person, we have to remember to not forsake mercy for the sake of judgement.

alex, i think i'm understanding where you're coming from. kelly, i see your point as well. however, what i try to remember when making observations or judgements is that i have filters in my head and heart and sometimes those observations get sifted through those filters. unfortunately, those filters come from past experiences or wounds, and are not the heart of Christ at all. just because we observe something doesn't mean that it's truth.

i think sam said it very well: we need to make sure we're edifying the body of Christ and not tearing it down. if we can't bring correction or conviction in love, we need not speak at all until we've asked the Lord how to handle the situation. when we do things out of love, we pull people away from the heart of God. we have to be careful not to misrepesent the heart of God; not just to the world, but also to the body of Christ.

the truth does hurt, but it also heals and restores. it doesn't leave any open wounds and it doesn't cause strife.

we need to remember that nobody's perfect, the enemy prowls around like a lion always seeking to divide the body of Christ, and continue to seek God's heart on issues that we see arising before forming our opinions.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

4 Love is kind and patient,

never jealous, boastful,

proud, or 5 rude.

Love isn't selfish

or quick tempered.

It doesn't keep a record

of wrongs that others do.

6 Love rejoices in the truth,

but not in evil.

7 Love is always supportive,

loyal, hopeful,

and trusting.

8 Love never fails!

Tai, very well said. I geniunely think that the whole point is love.

Samrezzai you are to invested in this girl talk, maybe you should use your energy to start a male discussion, thats part of the problem.

Sam is not at all part of the problem. He has only said Godly things, and put in brotherly input. I don't know what the problem is, but there is one, and Sam is NOT the problem. We need to think before we just say something. This is not just a "girls"only club. We women can learn a lot from men, and I totally accept their input. Any other men willing to enter in? Listen, we are all believers, and have a common bond, so why are we acting as though we don't?

Wow Miss Alexandria you sure know how to start a debate, but I can not help but notice Kelly VK you appear very angry. You are responding word for word maybe the problem is not Samrezzai or Alexandria but you. Maybe something Alexandria said relate to you because I feel you are hostile. Alexandria I agree with you but maybe when speaking on the blog you may wanna be politically correct. Kelly VK restraint is the word can someone else get a word in. God Bless

Okay everybody, count with me...1....2...3....everybody breathe. Breathe in...breathe out....breathe in....breathe out.

There's absolutely no reason under heaven to make any of this personal. If anybody has anything to say directly to a person that is in a correction, do me a favor, click on the email button & send them something directly. Not all of us need to be involved in a public correction.

I agree with Tai. We are definitely passionate about this topic...but I do think it started with the tone of the original email. Not all girls are lap dogs (probably not the best way to phrase it), but I don't think Alexandria was saying that as for all girls. I think we all do have filters b/c of past experiences...so we all read things through those experienes. Different ways things are phrased can touch a raw nerve in some of us. And that's something that both sides need to take some responsibility for.

So once again, please just breathe, read 1 Corinthians 13 & choose to love...then breathe again.

And I do have to say, please take it easy on the guys. I know they're not perfect, but saying "Stop giving these males so much consideration, most are not worthy anyway"...yikes, pretty harsh! Focus on Christ, but don't count the men out. This isn't a man haters club! We are called to encourage each other as long as it is called 'today.' And besides, y'all are going to end up marrying some of those men! (Don't worry, they'll do some growing up between now & then).

LOL, Yeah it did come off the way (man hating club) Just pray for one another I hate to sound cliche but ask GOD to give you insight, at the end of the day we are the body of Christ and JESUS is the head, so we MUST maintain to be at peace with one another. Longer Suffering plays a huge role in our walk, these things will happen because we are human, we just have to remember the words of GOD, be kind to those who hurt you, bless, your one another at all times, it requires alot of godly training LOL, we are all trying to get there. Long suffer for each other URGGGHH

This comment was absolutely not produce to mortify males but I have a low tolerance for foolishness. Although these words sound merciless I stand by my statement words and all.

Alexandria I did not feel you were male bashing, and I'm happy you are standing firm in what you believe. What disappoint me is that we are still in diapers if we can't handle someone saying our behavior is comparable to a clown or a lap dog what is going to happen when the real battle begin because it will be a lot worst I rather hear it from my sister. So much attention was place on those two words the message was lost. As for the men are not worth it statement, I agree, before I was married I did not court often even though I had opportunities to do so because some guys was not worth taking my attention from the Lord and his work. When my husband was put before me I knew his worth and he knew mine.

OK just to be honest at this moment in time always remember this please " that when we correct each other that we do it in love" lets us speak to each other with love and not be disrespectful to each other in any way- whether you like or do not like what someone has said.
Proverbs 12 vs 1 "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid"

LADIES STOP FEEDING INTO THE FIRE SOMETIMES IT'S BETTER NOT TO SAY ANYTHING IF YOU HAVE NOTHING FRUITFUL TO SAY DONT SAY IT!

LADIES STOP FEEDING INTO THE FIRE SOMETIMES IT'S BETTER NOT TO SAY ANYTHING IF YOU HAVE NOTHING FRUITFUL TO SAY DONT SAY IT!

Pastor Johnson has already given us his wisdom on this topic and some of yall still donot want to speak fruitfully. This sunday Pastor Bavere spoke on honor let us not forget so soon about what we were taught. HONOR YOUR PASTOR/ LEADERSHIP, PEERS AND LITTLE ONES. WHERE IS THE HONOR
What if someone that was unsaved came and saw such talk towards to each other what have you accomplished. When you post especially when it is in disagreement, can you pls ask holy spirit if what your about to say will bear fruit. Sometimes we get too emotional. Theres nothing wrong with strong emotions but can we pls " BE RESPECTFUL"

Wow. What a sandstorm.

The forum is a place for asking questions and growing. The body of Christ is an ever growing ever morphing organism. People are in different walks and different seasons of their growth - these types of topics and many of the posts following are destructive and can bring a TON of condemnation onto someone who may be very early in their walk and trying to find his or her identity in Christ. I would HATE to be a baby Christian and stumble across this. Be all things to all people - not the finger of judgement and the voice of condemnation.

I said it in another 'females unite' post on the forum - we need to stop judging one another. Please - it's getting completely and 100% out of hand. The body is to be unified - and this my darlings does not look like edification or unification.

You certainly are suppose to respect and honor your leader but you do not always have to agree. Everyone is offended by this post but no one else up until now attempt to have a conversation not only about this issue but many others, outside of the Wed sermons. There is some edification and unity taking place because a large number of people are submitting their feelings and reading. So we are taking one another into account. Just because something is not presented the way we would like for it to be, does not mean it is not fruitful maybe it is time us twenty somethings step into the adult shoes. If you are a baby Christian utilize leadership and seek a mentor. We can not worry every time we post, are have something to say that we will offend, if thats the case we need to have a conversation about some of the attitudes in the Church itself not just the forum. People will find something to be offended about you can never make everyone happy all the time.