OK, I just read about this guy, and it is sad that he has recanted.
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I read it, but it is an anecdote.
The one guy in our church that seemed to go along with what I had to say, is moving off to college. I am working on building up the grassroots, but it is not like I am out there wearing an "Ask me about polygamy" T-shirt. I look for opportunities, but I could use a little help in my not-so-small church. I honestly believe my church is the right size for introducing this. It is large enough to make an impact on the Convention, but small enough that if someone just showed up with multiple wives, it would at least get the conversation going.
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Agreed!! Kinda like the “beating a dead horse” thing. I’ve yet to find this tactic endorsed in the Scripture. It is more of a “separators” stand.
Agreed Andrew. I tried 4 times, but I’m a real determined individual. Yes, and arguably, stupid, odd, and bull-headed. Ask Lynn. She knows.
It's not just an anecdote, it is exemplary of the experience of most. [old timers, please correct me if I'm wrong about that]
You should meditate on the implications of the churches rejection of polygamy in light of 1 Tim 4:1-4 and what that means.
Nor is this the only issue that characterizes the problems in churchianity.
I think our situation is more like that of Paul's. In a place he would go first to the synagogue. But he knew he would always get kicked out; often violently.
Was talking with my wife about this, she's more pessimistic than I; didn't think that even a goat sacrifice would elicit the same response. Thought maybe if I took away their Christmas that might do it.
Oh, well, gee, then I guess you can't learn anything from other people's experiences....
Question: How many anecdotes does it take to make a statistic? I know of no example of anyone's turning a state church. I know of no example of anyone's turning a home fellowship. I know of maybe a dozen examples of well-intentioned individuals thinking 'their church is different' and having their you-know-what handed to them by people who appear to have lost their minds.
So tell you what: You figure out how to turn your church, be the first one to do it, and then come back and tell us how you did it. You'll be a hero, and you'll save future families a lot of unnecessary pain.
Matthew 9:16-17
The Patches and the Wineskins
(Mark 2:21-22; Luke 5:36-39)
No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.
Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
The Patches and the Wineskins
(Mark 2:21-22; Luke 5:36-39)
No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.
Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
I know one hebrew roots home church that has accepted plural marriage as a legitimate option, but they went through the fire getting there and lost a lot of members. And that's a group of people who are already ready to question the standard church teaching on all sorts of things that are unpopular, and as a result are already shunned by the standard church for completely different reasons, so that's not at all representative. I just mention it as it's simply the exception that proves the rule. The only time it has any chance of possibly working is when you're already outside the mainstream - and even then it usually doesn't, as plenty of hebrew roots people who have come to the understanding of plural marriage can testify.
I interact with the mainstream churches, but have no expectation of changing them. Speaking openly about this stuff in church just gets you kicked out (I know, I've preached on it...) 
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Don't worry about the "church" as an organisation, think about the "congregation" inside it. Ignore the organisation. Think instead of it as a big bunch of your brothers and sisters who happen to be meeting every Sunday morning (or other times), giving really convenient times and locations to meet and fellowship with them. And if they don't accept you, don't worry, maybe that just means God actually wants you meeting with someone else right now. Just go with the flow and see where He leads you.
. Don't worry about the "church" as an organisation, think about the "congregation" inside it. Ignore the organisation. Think instead of it as a big bunch of your brothers and sisters who happen to be meeting every Sunday morning (or other times), giving really convenient times and locations to meet and fellowship with them. And if they don't accept you, don't worry, maybe that just means God actually wants you meeting with someone else right now. Just go with the flow and see where He leads you.
I encourage you to begin that debate using Biblical Polygyny as the focus. If you truly believe that this is an acceptable Biblical principle, and that debate needs to be addressed in your assembly, please feel free to begin it. I’m not a gambling man so I’d be comfortable placing money against you having to abandon them at the end of the debate. The choice will not be yours to make. I wonder why that is?
I beg to differ. He was not an asset to the community.
The tactic that IS endorsed in Scripture is the shaking the dust off of the feet......
Forgive me, but I'm really having trouble connecting the dots here. What is the connection to the diatribe of the church towards those embracing polygny have to do with the church fearing women more than they fear God? I've seen this alluded to in other comments on other threads but haven't seen it so unmasked as your comment so figured with such a clear cut analogy as yours, nows a good time to finally ask.
To what analogy are you refering?
anecdote:
- a short account of a particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or amusing nature.
- a short, obscure historical or biographical account.
If you're single, have a martyr's complex, are seeking some limelight in this big SBC, and don't mind becoming cannon fodder, then go for it--knock yourself out--and have a good time eating dust (polite word for a more commonly used one). If none of the above describes you, then you'd better think twice before you lead your family down this yellow-brick road. VV76 very carefully and prayerfully sought counsel from Andrew and others months before this whole issue came to a head. He never dreamed that what happened would happen because our small group of believers had a persona of being truth seekers. Each of us had united with that body because truth was being sought and taught and God met with us. What we encountered when it all came tumbling down blindsided us. Nothing could have prepared us except that we'd been told others in BF had also received the left boot from their churches. I seriously doubt any of the others had the intense, multiple personal and familial ties of 20+ years that we had with the pastor. For your family's sake, I hope you will listen to Andrew and VV76. You don't have to re-invent the wheel.
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"I think they fear women more than they fear God."
If I'm understanding you correctly, you're comparing the church's "fear of women more than they fear God" to the state church's fierce explusion (paraphrase from Rockfox) of those embracing polygny.
I'm realizing this is off topic so might be best to start another thread. I didn't meal to derail this thread.
No, I’m not making a comparison, I’m saying the reason they expel those who support biblical polygyny is because they fear women. They fear the outrage of women, they fear the accusations of inequality from women, and they fear women telling their husbands “we’re not going back to THAT church”. The church fears the crap storm that women would create if the church told the truth, more than they fear the God who commands us to speak the truth in love.
Ahhh--so you're saying the reason the pastors, men, deacons, etc. won't embrace polygny is because they fear how their women will respond if they do?!? Hmmm, well I guess there might be some truth to that. I can tell you that for sure "tradition" certainly plays into their view of "righteousness" and they feel it is their God-given duty to uphold "tradition" the way they've been taught it in cemetery (as VV76 calls it). I can also tell you that for almost every pastor that has given the left boot of fellowship, it's not been because of their wife, but because they desired the applause of men--those in their flock, other pastors in their fellowship. They feared losing their position in a denominational hierarchy. They feared losing their handsome bankroll and the realestate they'd acquired in the building of their "kingdom". Their identity was tied up in all of this and made them who they had become in the eyes of this present world. They chose fame and fortune over truth and walking in the light. There's no doubt they may have shied away from having to lead their wife into this truth, but for most pastors, she and their family are already at the bottom of the totem pole! Their success and building of the brick and mortar kingdom had long ago taken center stage and everything else pivots around that hub of kingdom building!