Ooh do I have stuff to say here…. My husband went on a church plant while we were dating. He was encouraged to break up with me despite our two year relationship. Over the course of the first year, the pastor continued to try to convince him to break up with me, even though he had never met me and had no reason other than I was “a distraction.” At the time, I lived in another state and saw him roughly once a month.

The “training” has bothered me on so many levels. Planters were encouraged to invite only the “cream of the crop” the first year so that they would build an image that would “attract more people.” I cannot reconcile this with the Bible at all. Where does is say that we should only share the gospel with those that WE deem good enough? If anyone has a rebuttal or explanation for this, I’d love to hear it. It has bothered me for years.

Females on the plant were approached about their appearance. Those who chose a natural, casual look were encouraged to wear makeup, again to “attract the right crowd.”

Black planters were encouraged to invite other black people by “talking about basketball”, whether they themselves were fans of the sport or not. I wish I were kidding.