Should Those Who Have Addiction Struggles Be Allowed In the Church Ministry?

[jenniferand2]

I have this friend / co-worker who goes to the same church as I. She smokes and has a girlfriend (lesbian). But she goes to church where she is accepted and not condemned while she goes through her struggles. Recently, she's been expressing interest to join the ministry. The ministry requirements are a grey area so she asked me if she should join. I honestly didn't know what to say.

So, I wanted to know, as Christians, should we let people who are going through struggles, especially addiction struggles, serve in the ministry?

What does the bible say about this?

Addiction struggles are not an Issue!!! This woman is a Lesbian Which is clearly An Abomination. It is a major no no in the eyes of God. So she can join ministry where she is comfortable and with people who will except her but she would be teaching false information if she preaches that God will except people that are Gay. I am sorry I know that is not the answer your looking for but it is the truth...

 

[AbigailZeke]

Addiction struggles are not an Issue!!! This woman is a Lesbian Which is clearly An Abomination. It is a major no no in the eyes of God. So she can join ministry where she is comfortable and with people who will except her but she would be teaching false information if she preaches that God will except people that are Gay. I am sorry I know that is not the answer your looking for but it is the truth...

I understand. I find it a difficult place to be in right now. I don't how to say it to her without offending her or something.

 

[jenniferand2]

Ahh that makes sense. Another thing though. She's been in this church long before me. How should I tell her this without sounding, offending. We talked this week, and having nothing else to say, I told her to send her application and pray about it.

I would kindly suggest that maybe she get to know the word better herself first and see if it something she truly would like to do and have her read chapters of the bible on ministry and what it is about and what would be required etc.. I also would kindly suggest to her that if God wanted her to minister it would be clear to her that is her calling and she would be informant enough about scripture she should already feel the answers in her heart. It sounds like maybe she is putting the cart before the horse here. I would suggest to her to get to know the Lord better on a personal level that if she does she will know answers to her questions.

 

[jenniferand2]

I understand. I find it a difficult place to be in right now. I don't how to say it to her without offending her or something.

Sometimes all you have to say is I don't know... She does not need a long drawn out answer from you. Sometimes just a quick I don't know is all we as people have for answers no harm in that. if she seems to want more explanation just say I don't know that you feel like it is not your place to advise on such a subject and have her talk to the pastor tell her you don't want to give her false information etc... Sometimes short quick answers can be your friend lol.

 

[MarcR]

I think that the adiction, if she recognizes it as wrong and she is struggling to correct it is not a disqualifier.

The homosexuality is a greater concern. Unless she submits to God's revelation that it is wrong she should not serve in a Bible believing church.

If a church is not Bible believing there is no issue except that believers don't belong in such places.

 

[dalok6800]

Broadcast media, they take care of video recording and stuff.

I think this would be a reasonable place for her to start. Smoking is not a big deal to me. I saw someone asked you about the homosexual relationship and want to read through those replies before offering my own.

 

[dalok6800]

To be honest, I'm not sure if she had the desire to abstain from it. My church is grace-based and I think she somehow thought God is fine with it.

She just very recently started digging deeper into the Word, like maybe a month ago and she said there were some things she didn't understand before and now she's getting more confused. She's going through a sermon series about grace and foundational teachings about Christ's righteousness.

Then, a few days ago, she started asking me about the ministry. This was when I wasn't sure what to say.

Could her wanting to be a part of a formal ministry team, also be to mask or deflection to hide her desire to also stay in a homosexual relationship?

 

[dalok6800]

Ahh that makes sense. Another thing though. She's been in this church long before me. How should I tell her this without sounding, offending. We talked this week, and having nothing else to say, I told her to send her application and pray about it.

What does the executive pastor and Ministry Team pastor say?

 

[joefizz]

Addiction struggles are not an Issue!!! This woman is a Lesbian Which is clearly An Abomination. It is a major no no in the eyes of God. So she can join ministry where she is comfortable and with people who will except her but she would be teaching false information if she preaches that God will except people that are Gay. I am sorry I know that is not the answer your looking for but it is the truth...

well I disagree addiction can still be an issue when joining a form of ministry,just like having an abominable lifestyle,because a ministry needs to trust a member,giving the person a start is ok but being sure to not give too much ground to such an individual,because with the addiction deal,a person could bring down a group with hateful side effects like with drugs or drinking alcohol,where as the Abominable lifestyle part could simply conflict with the ministry's overall goal because the member may encourage their abominable lifestyle to others,a ministry needs to establish "understanding" and "trust" with any such individual.

 

[AbigailZeke]

Could her wanting to be a part of a formal ministry team, also be to mask or deflection to hide her desire to also stay in a homosexual relationship?

I'm not sure, I can't really tell. I should mention that we have a big church and I think the reason she asks me instead of going to the pastors is that she's afraid.

Well, she did tell me she's afraid that she "might be called for counselling" for her appearance, for looking gay (she doesn't dress like a guy but I'm just reading between the lines when she told me this). Maybe she does know she's living a sinful life, but she thinks it's okay because she thinks that's alright if she's already forgiven. But her being afraid to join the ministry means she has an idea that it's wrong. She just doesn't seem to know what to think about it.

I invited her to my cell group once but she refused to join because she says she's not that social.

The only good thing so far is that she's hearing the Word. This is where my question comes in again, in her state right now, can she join the ministry?

 

[AbigailZeke]

What does the executive pastor and Ministry Team pastor say?

She hasn't sent her application yet cause she's still not sure about it.

 

[dalok6800]

I'm not sure, I can't really tell. I should mention that we have a big church and I think the reason she asks me instead of going to the pastors is that she's afraid.

Well, she did tell me she's afraid that she "might be called for counselling" for her appearance, for looking gay (she doesn't dress like a guy but I'm just reading between the lines when she told me this). Maybe she does know she's living a sinful life, but she thinks it's okay because she thinks that's alright if she's already forgiven. But her being afraid to join the ministry means she has an idea that it's wrong. She just doesn't seem to know what to think about it.

I invited her to my cell group once but she refused to join because she says she's not that social.

The only good thing so far is that she's hearing the Word. This is where my question comes in again, in her state right now, can she join the ministry?

I think she is afraid because she wants to serve but also stay in a very sinful lifestyle. I would refer the matter to the pastoral care team.

 

[Billyd]

Leading a church ministry, absolutely not. As a participant in a ministry, I see no problem. Everyone in a church should be involved in church ministry.

 

[jenniferand2]

well I disagree addiction can still be an issue when joining a form of ministry,just like having an abominable lifestyle,because a ministry needs to trust a member,giving the person a start is ok but being sure to not give too much ground to such an individual,because with the addiction deal,a person could bring down a group with hateful side effects like with drugs or drinking alcohol,where as the Abominable lifestyle part could simply conflict with the ministry's overall goal because the member may encourage their abominable lifestyle to others,a ministry needs to establish "understanding" and "trust" with any such individual.

i stand corrected lol I ment to say the real issue or her biggest issue my brain goes way faster then I type so i miss things sorry..

 

[joefizz]

i stand corrected lol I ment to say the real issue or her biggest issue my brain goes way faster then I type so i miss things sorry..

happens to everyone lol.

 

[sheba001]

how do you know she living in sin..has she told you...just because i person looks gay. or she could be gay but not practice in a sexually lifesyle.. she has come to you and asked you if you thinks it would be a good idea if she join.
when i meet people i will say about my close friends this my girlfriend, but not in that way...so how do you really know if she is..unless she openly tells you or you ask her out right.otherwise it just gossip.

 

[kaylagrl]

how do you know she living in sin..has she told you...just because i person looks gay. or she could be gay but not practice in a sexually lifesyle.. she has come to you and asked you if you thinks it would be a good idea if she join.
when i meet people i will say about my close friends this my girlfriend, but not in that way...so how do you really know if she is..unless she openly tells you or you ask her out right.otherwise it just gossip.

She has a girlfriend,and I think the OP is astute enough to know the difference between a pal and a lover. And if that is the case then she need not be in ministry at this time.

 

[MultilingualMessenger]

how do you know she living in sin..has she told you...just because i person looks gay. or she could be gay but not practice in a sexually lifesyle.. she has come to you and asked you if you thinks it would be a good idea if she join.
when i meet people i will say about my close friends this my girlfriend, but not in that way...so how do you really know if she is..unless she openly tells you or you ask her out right.otherwise it just gossip.

Good point, but you're probably not worried about looking gay or being referred to counseling for your appearance. A woman who is worried about looking gay would be careful not to call her just-friend her girlfriend. If anything, they'd do the opposite and call their actual-girlfriend their friend. So I think in this case, it's not really ambiguous.

 

[Willie-T]

To be honest, I'm not sure if she had the desire to abstain from it. My church is grace-based and I think she somehow thought God is fine with it.

She just very recently started digging deeper into the Word, like maybe a month ago and she said there were some things she didn't understand before and now she's getting more confused. She's going through a sermon series about grace and foundational teachings about Christ's righteousness.

Then, a few days ago, she started asking me about the ministry. This was when I wasn't sure what to say.

We have the same trouble at our church. Too many people bent over backwards to try and act like God is fine with the lifestyles our two gay couples and our two Transvestites lived. The gays finally left, so did one transvestite, and the other one hardly ever comes anymore. I guess they needed more than just twenty or thirty people gushing over them.

 

[Dino246]

For the most part, I think others have said well what I might have said badly. I'll add one thought regarding your friend's sexual orientation: even if the leadership is willing to allow her to work in the tech crew, there may be a time when a leader or guest does address sexual issues, and your friend might be tempted to 'suddenly have technical problems'. Tapes get erased, cameras don't work, etc. I'd suggest that ministry in any form requires at least the acknowledgement of the whole gospel, even if one's life does not yet fully represent it yet.