There is often an intense pain when a church member comes to you with complaints about your spouse. Whether you are a pastor or any other person on ministry staff. Mark and Thom offer five responses you should make immediately.

1. Pray for calm and wisdom.

2. Let the church member know your spouse is someone you love dearly. You will defend them without hesitation.

3. Let the church member know it is inappropriate to come to you with a problem with your spouse. That is an unbiblical way of dealing with these matters.

4. Ultimately, you tell the church member that you will not be a sounding board for this complaint.

5. In most cases, it is best to tell your spouse about the complaint. Married couples should not hide things from each other.

Bonus - Maybe there’s some truth in what a church member is saying about your spouse.

 

Resources:

"One of the Stupidest Things I Did in 44 Years of Marriage" by Thom S. Rainer 

View on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/FjCHIXTNONI

 

Episode Sponsor:

Revitalize & Replant is sponsored by the North American Mission Board and ChurchReplanters.com. More than 10% of churches in North America are at risk of closing and the North American Mission Board is committed to reversing this trend by decreasing the death rate of existing churches while simultaneously increasing the birth rate of new churches. To learn more about what it means to become a replanting pastor or to explore resources for replanting and revitalization in your own church, visit ChurchReplanters.com.