All Members, Winter Residents, Family and Friends,
Greetings on this Monday August 4th, 2025! When a couple gets married they are only thinking about the good times ahead of them. Their family, perhaps finishing their education, finding a job, planning to buy a home and begin planning to have one’s own children or family. We plan to live happily ever after. But do we really think about how long “ever after is”? It is a long time. We have seen many milestones wedding anniversaries here at Trinity through the years 40, 50 60+ years for some. That is remarkable. I have noticed that many of Susan and my college classmates are celebrating their milestone anniversary this year. We are one of them as we celebrate our 45th Anniversary this month. When we got married I didn’t think about how long we were going to be married, just that I wanted to be married to Susan to spend our lives together. I know that we have been blessed through the years and we continued to be blessed by our four children three grandaughters, good friends and a loving congregation and staff. I fell in love with Susan in college and I love her more today than I did then. I look forward to many, many more years together. Happy Anniversary Susan!
This month would be a great month to drop and extra check in the mail for Trinity to help us through the summer months! Your Treasurers
Pam Bradshaw and Kristin Verdin
Recently I had a long time member say to me, “after (number of years) I thought I knew my friends, but there is one whose gossip about my family has destroyed me and my family.” This individual wanted me to stand up before the congregaiton and name names and call people out using this family as an example of the result of gossip. I was going to address the following after church on Sunday, but I think this way of communicating, everyone can benefit. . .
“It” is gossip – and it’s destructive to a church. Here’s why:
It’s evil. How else would you describe an act that’s so often included among lists of sinful acts in scripture (Rom 1:29, 2 Cor 12:20, 1 Tim 5:13)? In fact, “gossip” is sometimes included as a marker of lostness – not Christianity.
It’s idolatrous. Gossips love having information, even if it’s wrong and harmful. They even get angry if others have information they don’t have. Having “the dirt” becomes their god – and that’s idolatry.
It’s self-centered. Those who gossip put themselves in the middle of everything. And, if they’re not in the middle, they talk about those who are so they draw attention back to themselves.
It’s divisive. Talking about other people behind their backs never promotes unity, especially when the conversations take place in the back room or the parking lot.
It’s often deceptive. Sometimes the “reported” information is cloaked in a prayer request (“now I don’t want to spread rumors, but we need to pray for _________ because ________”). That’s gossip, and it’s a lie to call it anything else.
- It harms reputations. It takes only one rumor to harm a brother or sister, and it’s tough recover once the rumor’s out. We only weaken the family of God through gossip.
- It destroys trust. Here’s where gossips are often so focused on spreading their news that they miss their own foolishness. Gossips may be trying to hurt others, but what they prove is only that they themselves are completely untrustworthy.
- It’s a stumbling block for others. By “others,” I mean those who listen to the gossip—particularly, those who find themselves listening with zeal and anticipation. In those cases, the gossiper leads the “gossip hearer” down the road toward sin.
- It’s addictive. Gossips don’t start out as gossips. They gossip one time, find a strange pleasure in it, and then do it again . . . and again . . . and again. Gossip becomes a demonic stronghold in their lives.
- It’s hardly good news. We believers have the privilege and responsibility of telling the gospel, but gossips are usually focused on destruction rather than redemption. They usually gossip about only those things that would hurt someone.
- It indicates hypocrisy in the church. James puts it this way: the tongue is a “world of unrighteousness” (3:6), a “restless evil, full of deadly poison” (3:8). When the same tongue blesses God and curses others including through gossip hypocrisy is in the room (3:10-12).
- It risks God’s judgment. Jesus told us that we’ll answer for every word we say (Matthew 12:36-37). Gossips who continue in their pattern (and most gossips do) are inviting judgment – and judgment on one member affects the entire church.
So, what do we do? If you’re a gossip, stop talking. If you like to hear gossip, you’re also guilty. Stop listening. And, if gossips continue to talk and create turmoil, it’s only loving to confront them and call them to repentance. To do anything less is to give the enemy a foothold in our church.
Gossip – “a whisperer separates close friends” (Proverbs 16:28)
Accountable for Words – Jesus speaks about idle words in Matthew 12:36-37 “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Notice that Jesus wasn’t speaking only to believers. He insinuates that all “people will give an account,” and it is not just those who aren’t Christian…he means Christians too! That includes me and you.
Idle Words – Have you ever spoke a word carelessly? How many of them will be judged by God? How many can you remember speaking? No one’s off the hook on this one.
THINK – I like this acronym that addresses the problem of gossip and call it, THINK before you speak:
- is this TRUE?
- is this HELPFUL,
- is it INSPIRING?
- is it NECESSARY?
- is it KIND?
If no to any of these questions, then we must remain silent and only bring these things before God in prayer.
Damaged Lives – It really doesn’t matter if it was true or not. Gossip is basically slandering someone’s reputation. Is your church hurt by gossip? Has it hurt fellowship?
Damaged Churches – James spoke about the tongue when he wrote that “the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell”(James 3:5-6). It takes only a tiny spark to burn an entire forest.
Criminal Slander – If you don’t think gossip is serious, just see how Paul includes it in a group of detestable sins in 2 Corinthians 12:20. He associates horrendous sins with “quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.” Even in the Old Testament there were warnings from God to “not go around as a slanderer among your people” (Lev 19:16). Did you catch that? Gossip is slander and people are sued every day for that!
Destructive Words – Did you know that slander is serious enough of a crime that you could be convicted of it in a court of law? How much more serious than is it in the church? Does it really matter if it’s true or not, because if it hurts or destroys someone’s reputation (or worse, their life), was it worth uttering a few idle words? IIs it likely that the person that gossips about someone else may also be gossiping about you? How would you confront gossip?
Stop Feeding It! – Proverbs 20:19 says “Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets,” and will not be held guiltless by God. The only reason gossip is gossip is because there’s an ear to keep it alive. Gossip needs at least one person for it to survive, so stop it in its tracks when you hear it. Put your hand up and say, “Hey, this sounds like it’s none of my business. I don’t think I want to hear this.” That truly pleases God. The proverb says, “For lack of wood the fire goes out and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases” (Prov 26:20). What does that mean? If there’s no one to throw any more wood on the fire, it goes out.