HappyChristian

Yes, the Bible does set standards. As I said, that is why hubs and I stand firmly on divorced men pastoring/deaconing. Your question about counseling, however, is not something the Bible speaks to. So in that case, it would depend on the spiritual growth of the person.  Just as a point of correction, Reagan did not coin that term. Not sure who actually did, but it became policy during Clinton's regime. It was not in play at all during Reagan's years. Nor even Bush's.
@Napsterdad - I truly get the conundrum. There are a number of folks I personally know who were divorced before salvation. There is, in fact (or was a few decades ago - I have no idea now if they still do this) a college where a professor claimed that God said, "you got a what?" when someone said he couldn't preach because he was divorced before salvation. Sadly, it came out that this man and his wife were child abusers...I know, different sin, but my point in it is that when someone is involved in what he was, it casts serious doubt on ALL of his teachings. There is nowhere in scripture that teaches God would say, "you got a what?"
Ezra 10 does indeed talk about the men putting away their wives and the children from those marriages. The reason was because they married outside of Israel, thus bringing pagan beliefs into the tribes. However, we have to realize that this bit of history is not instruction for us to follow in regards to marriage. This was OT economy not Church under grace actions. 
I do wrestle with this sometimes - even though I firmly believe it - because my mother heart hurts for my son, who had a bad first marriage. He can preach with the best of them, studies and learns his Bible, leads his family in the ways of the Lord, witnesses, etc. But...he is in agreement with us that he cannot pastor or deacon. God has most definitely forgiven him and restored what the locust ate. But actions have consequences even when we've been forgiven.
As to the husband of one wife instruction...it is commonly accepted that this was stated in allusion to the fact that polygamy was common and Paul was instructing Timothy that a pastor was not to have multiple wives. It has become very popular to say that a divorced man who has remarried only has one wife. I believe that is in response to the fact that so many pastors have been divorced and remarried as a way to put a stamp of approval on their remaining in the pulpit (or being "restored" after a certain time of repentance).
I know it's not a biblical "argument," but in reference to the idea that this passage is simply speaking of polygamy/polyandry (multiple husbands) it is interesting to note that divorce and remarriage is considered "serial polygamy." Which means having more than one wife, just not all at the same time.
Just some thoughts. Oh, and I want to add...neither my hubs nor myself look down on folks who have been divorced who remain in the pulpit. We have enough on our plates without trying to eat their food. 

Small churches are not a problem, really. Local churches can be of many different sizes, depending on the area and the people of the community, and their reaction to the Lord - rejection or acceptance.
As to separation and racism in the church...I hesitate to describe it as racism. When folks who are black desire to attend church with like-melanined folks who share a similar culture, that is their choice, When Koreans start churches for fellow Koreans, that is their choice. When Hispanics form churches to reach other Hispanics, that is their choice. I don't see it as racism. I see it as reaching the lost.
There is a biblical separation. One that is taught in scripture. When churches do not practice biblical principle, it is important to not associate with them. Regardless of language.
The Bible tells us that the love of money is the root of all evil. Sadly, there are times when preachers who begin in the right way get bit with the money/fame bug and begin to compromise until they are miles away from where they began. It is true, also, that some "preachers" begin with a view to become rich and famous. As we get closer to the coming of the Lord, I think greed will increase. Folks give to these types of folks because they want to believe  that these "preachers" are godly.
I think we should be aware of preachers who are "in it" for the money...as BrotherTony said, their money could be used in more soulwinning efforts (although it is their money, however obtained). Men Like Jakes are not biblically sound and, IMO, regardless of their net worth, should be called out.

Remember I said God allows...that is because God is sovereign. He knows the beginning from the ending. In His sovereignty, He allowed our founders to create the absolute best political system of any country in the history of the world...with the exception of the theocracy that Israel was under during OT times.  Now, let's take a little rabbit trail. lol
The Puritans wanted a theocracy here in America. That was their entire goal when they came over from England. They considered it their manifest destiny (which term came to represent American expansion, not just a theocracy). They believed that they were supposed to create a new Israel. To do this, they would need to (and intended to) re-implement the law as God gave it to Israel. It's a long story, and one worth learning, so I'll just cut to the chase. The problem with creating a theocracy is manifold. First, we cannot re-implement the OT law because Christ died and rose again. The law was fulfilled and is done. Resurrecting it is anti-biblical. Second, even if we could re-implement the OT law, who would decide which law to obey, how far to go, etc., etc. IOW, it would not be a theocracy, it would be a man-controlled religious oppression. Which is what existed with the Puritans here in what would become the US...MEN decided what would happen to whom. Men who claimed to understand the sovereignty of God. 
Baptists came along and presented the idea of soul-liberty, religious liberty, and true freedom. These Baptists understood the sovereignty of God and also  understood that governmental law was necessary because man is evil. However, they and our founders understood that because man is evil, government needed to have boundaries. Which is what the Constitution is all about.
This knowledge that man is evil was a nod to the sovereignty of God, who allowed what became the USA. A perfect country? Oh, no, no! Because man is not perfect. Our founders intended a Constitutional Republic, with each state being its own Republic, guided by individual Constitutions (check them out...just about all, if not all, of them have Bills of Rights that mirror the federal Bill of Rights...for which we can thank Baptists). Now, this was, again, because man is evil and the founders knew that law and boundaries were needed to keep chaos and oppression at bay.
This was done under God's sovereignty, His allowing of the founding of this country. As time went on, folks began to try and undermine (it actually started very early on) the Constitution and destroy the beautiful governmental system God gave us. God fully knowing this, allowing it because He gave man free will.
Now, because the imaginations of man are evil from his youth up, even a great system began to crumble. Slowly, slowly. Until now in our day we see it snowballing. None of this took God by surprise, because He is sovereign. Yet, He continues to ALLOW us to choose.
Please note, when I speak of choosing our leaders, I am referencing only the US. I do not claim to know how other countries are run. Yes, there are elections in many other countries, but each country was set up differently. Again, choice of man (even if the rank and file citizenry did not choose, like in N Korea).
So, fulfillment of prophecy...how can it be if we are allowed to choose? Again, look at the history of the country, the choices made, the evil growing. Because God is sovereign and yet allowed man to choose, man largely chose to do evil. Hence the beginnings of our downfall...prophecy will be fulfilled because God is always true. It is in God's timetable, again because He is sovereign, and will happen. Because man is evil, and his choices  - by and large - are evil.  There are people who choose to do right, but evil has a way of growing larger and larger. Ignorance sets in. And along with ignorance comes oppression and troubles. One day there will be no choice here in America. One day VERY soon. And so we vote NOW to try and stem the tide.  We KNOW the end is coming, but Jesus told us to occupy til He comes.  When we vote, we are occupying - a military metaphor that is both defensive and offensive. Will that stave off the inevitable? Of course not, but we are to occupy nonetheless. Until He comes and prophecy is fulfilled.
Hope that makes sense. =D

The peace that we have does not rest in the absence of evil, but rather in the Person of Jesus Christ. As has been mentioned, troubled times (evil times) have existed since sin entered the world. Mankind became sinners, and the world was cursed. We still live in a cursed world, with sinners (ourselves as well as others). Sin is evil.  We too often rationalize sin, but sin is evil. Both Noah's actions and Ham's actions after the flood show that sin/evil is ever with us, whether we are able to commit acts of sin or not. 
I would imagine that there were arguments/disagreements while on the ark. Because all 8 of the folks on board were human and sinners. As was said, we do not know what happened while they were on the ark.
While we do live in a cursed world, I believe there have been times when evil has been more rampant than at other times. Jesus Himself mentioned "as the days of Noah" as a comparison of the absolute evil that would run amok before Jesus returns. I believe evil will grow and spread and become worse and worse the closer to Christ's return we get...and that because Christians will get more and more apathetic.
The thing is, TGL, even with God in our lives, there is trouble. Because of sin. Trouble can be various things: ill health, persecution (think of the persecuted churches...they have God with them, and yet they are always in danger of persecution and even death). God can and does often protect, but peace, again, rests in Christ, not the absence of trouble/sin/evil.

The Bible refers to them as Magi, which in it's literal form is talking about men who read the stars. The magi, as a widespread group, were often advisers of kings, linked to royalty in other ways, and oftimes were politically active. They were also considered wise men (Daniel and his three friends were wise men, added to the magi of the king...actually a commonplace occurrence in that part of the world - the east - at that time).  Point of fact that is interesting: in Esther 1:13,14, the king's wise men were called princes. (did you know that Baalam was referred to as a "magus" or wise man...this was in the first century,  not the Bible but is indicative of the common usage of the term in that area)
One thing that those of us with western minds don't realize is that "kings" in various places of the earth didn't necessarily mean the same thing as what we think of as kings. Example: the ancient kings of Ireland, Scotland were chieftains  - leaders of tribes. Some of them grew their influence, some didn't. So as to calling them kings - I can't find any evidence that the Catholic church renamed them kings (but, of course, the RCC uses it a lot). I don't know when or who gave them names, but I know Ben Hur names them.
Oftimes the wise men, magi, were men of money and influence, and this could have been where the title "king" came from.
But there were most likely many more people than just 3 men...in that day, it was dangerous to travel distances due to highwaymen. So most travel was done in large groups. (and did you also know that it was likely Arabian horses they rode rather than camels? 😁 ). It's quite likely that there were a number of magi, their servants, and their pack animals carrying the necessary rations, the gifts, etc. When they entered Jerusalem, the Bible tells us that the city was troubled along with Herod. Were they simply three men who came to see the king, it's not likely the whole city would have heard about their search for the one born king of the Jews. 
Also, most folks say that the wise men followed the star from the east to Bethlehem. But they didn't...the Bible clearly tells us they saw the star in the East...they knew a king was born (remember they studied the stars - and it is believed by many that these men knew of the prophecy of the Scetpre that would rise out of Judah - a very special king of the Jews) and they came to the place they believed the king of the Jews would be born, the common sense place: Jerusalem. The Bible then tells us that when they left Jerusalem to head to Bethlehem they saw the star again. And THEN is when it led them to Jesus.
Lots of interesting tidbits that have been re-invented about the entire birth of Christ. A study of OT prophecy of the coming Messiah and the NT verses about His birth can really clear up confusion, though. And I think it's a fascinating study.
And since the wise men were not at the birth, we don't include them in any nativity scene.

Yes, I did. lol...when I met Sarah I knew she was the perfect one for Josh. I "introduced" them via Facebook, by encouraging my son to friend her and get to know her. it took a while, but here we are a couple of years later with a wonderful DIL and a beautiful grandson. No regrets on my part, for sure.

I wouldn't work at a church that felt it had the right to tax my paycheck. Show me where it's biblical. I don't think it's that common, but I do know of a church that takes people out of ministry for not tithing (happened to our son, when he didn't even have a job - but nobody wanted to hear that). There may be more than one, but I don't know. Also know of a church that had a young man who interned for a whole year for no pay...young man was presented with a bill for his tithe for the year, based on what they would have paid him. He had to work another 2-3 weeks for free before he could go on to the ministry God was calling him to. Where is that in the Bible?
I don't know how common it actually is, but if the employee of the church accepts the job and that's the way they do it, well, the employee has no recourse but to put up with it.  IMO, it's making tithe a tax...income tax is unconstitutional, and IMO, forced tithe is unbiblical.
 

My mom took care of her mom until her death at almost 102. She was also taking care of my dad, who passed 4 months later. She reared four children mostly alone for many years and did a pretty good job of it...my mom deserves being taken care of by family. I was basically elected to do that, even though I would do it whether the others agree or not. She is pretty healthy for her age, thankfully (probably genes from  my grandma). My husband is a wonderful man who treats her like his own mom. She doesn't have anything to worry about.
I agree with Tony that it isn't a sin to put parents in a place where they can get care - IF the children cannot do it (not just don't want to), and IF said home is good. Too many of them are not.

This would depend upon the church's constitution - whether or not the pastor's wife can be secretary, and even if the congregation would vote on it or not.
Our constitution specifies that there are two elected offices - pastor and deacon. Those are the two that the congregation votes on. Our constitution states that other positions, for lack of a better word, are appointed by the pastor. 
When hubs became pastor, there was a different secretary. For the first almost year, it was left that way. They had voted on that position before we came, and that's  fine. So hubs explained to people that he was going to appoint me. Not because the person doing it was doing it badly, she wasn't. But it was extremely difficult to do basic stuff like correspondence, etc., because our building is not big enough for an office. So everything was kept at our house.  I did do secretarial work for him (as in welcome letters, etc.), but he wanted it all in a central location/person. Also, she had no printer, so she wasn't able to print off things like the financial record for the business meeting, etc. His decision was a wise one, even though it increased my work load (at least I can do it from home, which is nice).
Our hope is to one day have a church office with a couple of ladies (because my hubs cannot be there with just one lady) whom we can pay for their services. I do not get paid (nor did the lady before me). 
Does this give room for my hubs to do what he wishes? No, absolutely not. The church was only having one annual business meeting. At that same meeting where he announced I would be the church secretary he told everyone that he wanted us to go to a quarterly meeting so that members could see more often where their monies are going. So he actually brought about more transparency.

Social security needs to be done away with for younger americans. Let them learn to save and take care of themselves rather than trusting a "government" to do it for them. Then, because pols have robbed SS, let THEM get their salaries cut and the "monies saved" go into SS to take care of the current SS receivers who paid into it believing (naively) that it would still be there for them in their retirement. And I say that as one who is receiving their "retirement."
But as one who never believed that the government is honorable and my money would be there whne it's time.
 

We strive to be equally friendly to all. And we do fellowship as much as we can. Just today, we celebrated the return of our Sunday School kids. For reasons that are their own, they moved and we couldn't find them. They have been gone since May. God moved and brought them back to us today! So I thought a little celebration was in order. We were just going to do it in Sunday School, but their mom came with them today, so I asked my hubs if we could just share the cake with everyone.  So after church, we had chocolate cake and strawberry cake (the favorites of the kids). And we chatted and just had a good time. 

We like Spurgeon and Matthew Henry. Knowing their beliefs helps us not to accept any calvanistic teachings.

So sorry for your family's loss, and am thankful for their salvation. 

I'm glad I did go. To several. lol
When one is considering college of any kind (secular/Christian, university/community/..) if one is a Christian prayer and counsel is necessary. This is where knowledge of the doctrines and practices of colleges comes in handy. It is actually very easy to find out if a Christian college teaches something that would draw one away from the Lord. Graduates many times are a clue, although there are times graduates of mediocre colleges go on to shine brightly.
I would agree that care needs to be taken. But the same would be said - and more so in this day and age - of attending secular college. 

Ok TGL. I know you're trying for a bit of humor here, but it falls flat. We know that sodomy is an abomination to God. Regardless of what the world calls it, there is no marriage between two of the same gender. I am locking this because it is distasteful at best.

It's foolishness because it popcorns the lung. But if the person is an adult, there's not much to do about it.

I've seen that tract before. Have not used it, but it's good.
I am currently teaching the "wordless book" in Sunday School. It is simply colors - gold is the end of the book (although it is the first lesson), and it speaks of Heaven because of the street of gold. The lesson goes into detail of what is NOT in heaven (sun, moon, lights, sin and its results), and what IS in Heaven (the saved, the street of gold, crystal river, Jesus, etc).
The next lesson is the black page. I emphasize that it is only black because that is dark...sin is actually red, according to scripture, but the third lesson is the red page. So...the black page represents sin. The lesson goes back to the first sin and the fact that we cannot get to Heaven because of sin.
The red page is the crucifixion, the white page the resurrection. The two together team to teach that Christ washes our sins white as snow.
Then we review the gold page. The green is growth. That is the lesson this Sunday.
It's a very good tool to use to present the gospel. Not just to kids - we led a 100 year old woman to the Lord using the gospel colors.  
The kids will each receive a small book so they can use it to tell others. Here are some links about it.
https://cefpress.com/Wordless-Book-2-x-3.html
https://cefpress.com/the-wordless-book-visualized-english-text.html?category_id=287
While CEF has pictures and lessons that accompany the colors, A Beka also has a series that works well with them. That is what I'm using for ours at this time.
https://www.christianbook.com/abeka-salvation-series-flash-a-card/pd/295073?en=bing-pla&event=SHOP&kw=sunday-school-20-40|295073&p=1179517&dv=c&cb_src=bing&cb_typ=shopping&cb_cmp=376661747&cb_adg=1232552762924919&cb_kyw=default&msclkid=44ad2abebdd71f93cee94e89bf3f7d47
As far as WWJD - I have to agree with Tony...most of the people who wore the bracelets, etc., verge on liberal Christians or worldly Christians. It is actually a good thought to keep in mind because we are to pattern our lives after Christ. 

Trump's supposedly gonna announce his VEEP pick on the 15th. He's been blasting DeSantis because he knows that DeSantis is actually a real threat to the house of cards Trump has built. While there will never be a perfect man running for POTUS, I do think - at this moment in time - that DeSantis seems like a good choice. As long as Trump doesn't suck all the oxygen out of the room as he did with Cruz.

If they are saved, it is because, like Reheboam, who did evil "...because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD."
If they are unsaved, well, they have no power over sin.

We don't agree with the vaccine, and do believe there are ways to protect oneself from a variety of viruses, not just covid - Vit. C, Vit. D3 (studies are showing that the majority of people who contracted covid were D deficient), tonic water, zinc. That is us, though.
But here's the thing, robycop: You and your wife are the only ones who can decide what you should do. If, after prayer, you believe you should stay home, then that is what you need to do. If your pastor, after prayer, decides God would have him go to online services, then that is what he should do. I know of churches that do this, and the pastor even goes online at various times during the week just to post an encouraging thought. Sometimes their wives will do a short devotion for the women of their congregation as well. When we closed the first two weeks, I did videos for Sunday School (we did have online services as well).
Liberty is a beautiful thing. While a couple of people have tried to shame those who do not wear masks, there is still choice. God will lead each individual, and not necessarily all the same way. That doesn't mean one is smarter or more spiritual than another.
I've known you long enough online here to believe you and your wife will follow God's leading. Be safe and stay healthy!