Cheating On Your Pastor When He Goes Out of Town

When your pastor goes out of town on vacation, is it okay to cheat on him and visit another church? I’ve had a unique experience the past two weeks at Mt Vernon. I guess it’s a summer thing. I met a very nice lady two weeks ago who said this was her first time at our church. She went on to say that her pastor was out of town that Sunday so she wanted to come check us out. Her church was more traditional and she likes contemporary, but she feels obligated to her home church. But once the pastor left, she split and came over to ours for a Sunday. Then this past Sunday I met another couple who said this was their first time at Mt Vernon. They told me they’ve been in Columbus for years, and they just seemed to ooze “churchiness,” so I went out on a limb and asked them, “Is there a particular pastor in town I don’t need to tell that you’re here today?” They sheepishly looked down and said, “Well actually, we go to So and So Church here in town, but wanted to try Mt Vernon.” They sat on the back row so that if they saw anyone they knew that would rat them out they could bail.

I guess it’s part of our church shopping culture today. Visiting another church when you’re in a committed relationship with another is like cheating on a loved one. The funniest part about the whole thing was that I saw the lady from two weeks ago the following week in town. We immediately recognized each other, and there was this awkward moment where we had to decide whether we would acknowledge each other in public. She checked to see if anyone from her home church was around. It was as if we were two people from a spiritual one-night stand unsure how to speak to each other the next morning.

Now in all honesty, it felt pretty good to be the pastor of that church that other people wanted to come and check out. That is, until, I got on Facebook later on that day and checked my newsfeed. One of the families who has been coming to our church the past several months (but who had missed the past few weeks) had just posted, “Loved the service and can’t wait to go back!” — at [Another] Church. Thank you, humility.

QUESTION – Have you ever cheated on your pastor when he went out of town?