I am curious about a young,36yr.old, pastor in my area who has never been married, leads a ministry of mostly children and youth, is funded mostly by his mother, and told a friend of mine if she kept up her relationship with me would not go to heaven and would never see her mother and father again. This has totally rocked my world. Anyone want to go on wit this?

See [www.culteducation.com]

And also [www.culteducation.com]

Definitely abnormal. Sounds like the New Burlington OH Chrisitian Fellowship whose leader, whose name now escapes me. Very similar dymamic.

Lines such as "it is God's will that you marry or not date" smacks of the behavoir of the 1980s Shepherding Discipleship Movement.

Based on your post, your suspicions appear to be quite accurate.

Okay, he sounds a little extreme. But just because you are single and love children, doesn't mean your crazy. Even though I'm divorced, I'm single, almost 30 and love working with kids. I want to be married someday, but who knows maybe at 36 I'll still be single. The only reason (personally) I would tell someone that they aren't "going to heaven" because of a relationship would be if you were causing her to stumble, then by her actions not go to heaven. Of course I wouldn't state it that way, but let's say you caused her (by her own will) to have sex with you, that is a bad relationship and should be stopped. If you are uplifting her relationship with God, then I don't believe (in my opinion) the church should but in.