WHY SHEPHERDS SHOULDN'T "SLEEP WITH THE SHEEP"

There is probably not one Pastor, minister, or church member that hasn't heard of some scandal in which the Pastor and one of the members of the church have had an affair.  This is not to sound judgmental because we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  My prayer in this post is to highlight why this is a bad idea and why Pastors and laity should avoid this at all costs.

1) Father's/Mother's shouldn't "sleep" with their children - The role of Pastor is the role of parent. To be a parent means to nurture and to provide. When a Pastor sleeps with their spiritual son or daughter you can only imagine the kind of confusion this causes in a relationship.  The "son" or "daughter" will have a skewed view of their spiritual "parent" and it will become increasingly difficult to hear from them spiritual truths for their life.  If Pastors truly care about their sheep they will not risk their spiritual growth on their "fleshly" desires.

2) It almost always ends bad - Take a moment to think of one "church affair" between and pastor and parishioner that ended up good..Now every now and then they may get married and live happily ever after.  However,  in most cases this is a trainwreck waiting to happen.  Sooner or later feelings will get involved, lines of communication will become blurred,  someone will get hurt, pregnancies become "hidden or avoided" , and the church usually always finds out. When Pastors "sleep with the sheep" they risk their ministry and the spiritual growth of their laity due to their now marred reputation of being a "sheep snatcher."

3) You can't "out preach" your life - While you may hide it from others. You can't hide it from God.  Of course we serve a God of grace, but with power comes responsibility.  Like anything, if you keep doing the wrong thing long enough it will show up in your witness, your lack of conviction when you stand before God's people, or even worse in some cases on Social Media.  Don't become a victim of 160 characters on social media or some blog because you chose not to exercise wisdom in this area.

4) This is an abuse of power - What many "sheep" that fall into this trap don't realize is that they run the risk of being manipulated.  They have no power. Think about it this way. You enter into a relationship where you have to remain a secret and then you have to deal with the guilt of others finding out when things go south. You can't say anything.  You cant tell anyone. You cant be seen in public together. You cant have the rights and priveledges you would in a different type of relationship.  Meanwhile the Pastor gets the benefit of being with you and every other "sheep" he chooses. Don't put yourself in this kind of powerless position.

5) Your Reputation Matters - At the end of the day reputation matters in ministry.  Bad news always travels faster than good news. Do each other a favor and help your reputation not be tainted by a lack of poor judgement.

At the end of the day we serve a God of grace. We know that God covers every mistake and pain we endure. Let's continue to turn to God in our weaknesses for continued grace, wisdom, and renewal.