You know that I moved from one church (non-pentecostal) to another earlier (A/G) this year. While at the old church (OC) I preached on Sunday nights, did the bulletin, worked in VBS, sang, taught when necessary and my job was "fill in wherever necessary." I loved being in ministry there.
Well, an A/G is now in our town and I moved the the new church (NC). Talked with the pastor of the OC and reminded him that I grew up in A/G and that now that the church was here, I was in it!
The OC was wonderful -- loving people and I was very happy there, but genuinely felt the call to the NC.
OC used to have a fabulous women's Bible study, but the leader is moving out of state and no one stepped to the plate. NC decided to do a women's Bible study, but on a different day in case OC started up again.
Three of the women from OC asked me if they could come to the new Bible study. (They saw the flyer at the post office, I didn't personally invite them.) Last Friday, I called the woman who used to lead women's Bible study to see if OC was going to have a women's Bible study. She said not that she'd heard about, so I told the three women who had called me I'd be happy to have them.
NC Bible study begins Thursday morning (tomorrow morning) and tonight I got a sobbing call from one of the women who asked if she could come to the NC Bible study. She's Children's church Director at OC, one of the other women is the Treasurer at OC.
Here's what happened: From the pulpit the pastor at the OC told the women that I should have talked to him before I started a Bible study and tried to steal the women of his church. And, that the CC and Treasurer were wrong to agree to go to the Bible study without talking to him first. He said the church is having Bible study and it will start tomorrow and his wife is teaching it. (No one had heard about it until tonight--Wed. night.) The woman said he spent the whole hour on that topic.
The CC Director was devestated. She wants to quit and to go to another church--any church. The Treasurer said she would go wherever she wanted to go. The third woman said she loves my teaching, but would go to her own church's Bible study since they were having one.
I'm shocked, dismayed and went immediately to prayer. I prayed with the woman who had called. She just couldn't stop crying. I prayed for her that she'd be calm. I came against the enemy who's trying to cause strive between two of the Bible believing churchs in our town. That this pastor whom I love would be so angry, breaks my heart.
After I hung up the phone I pondered the problem. I didn't invite anyone from other churches. I'm not trying to get people from that church to come over to ours. That three women asked me if they could come showed me that they wanted a Bible study -- not that they wanted to come hear me. As recently as Friday, I had asked if OC was palnning to have a study.
If I were you, I'd call the pastor of OC and just tell him what you told us. Let him know, you are not wanting to "steal" people and that you would have told those ladies not even to come to yours if OC was having one.
I just got home from a trip out of town and while away had come to the very conclusion you suggested. I'm meeting with the pastor at OC. One of his deacons, who is a long-time friend, is going to sit with us while we talk.
