Married and Replanting Ep. 24: Setting Healthy Boundaries

Boundaries.

We hear about them from time to time but in today’s day and age it seems that as soon as you try to put them into place you someone is going to get their feelings hurt or become offended. It seems like with the rise in the use of social media and the fact that people have a tendency to live their whole lives online that as soon as boundaries begin to be put into place we are committing some form of atrocity.

The problem is no matter how much we like to claim that we are open books no one should have unrestricted total access to our lives upon a whim. It’s not healthy in a number of different ways. Giving people access to you, your life, and your family 100% of the time opens up for resentment, anger, frustration, and possibly even abuse.

This week on Married and Replanting Dusty and I have a conversation about what it looks like to set healthy boundaries. We talk about setting these boundaries in our marriages, although these boundaries should probably be less rigid than others. We also talk about setting healthy boundaries within the church and ministry. As a pastor, Dusty shares how sometimes it can be hard to set those boundaries due to the intense feeling of responsibility to care for all the members of the church in whatever ways they need. However, he also shares that if healthy boundaries aren’t set early on the family, his first ministry, will be the one that suffers.

As a pastor’s wife I also share that from my perspective the biggest thing necessary in setting those boundaries is an open, honest line of communication. Making sure that everyone is on the same page will help to eliminate hurt feelings and confusion. It is also important to remember that sometimes we want to use the excuse of setting boundaries as an excuse to get out of fulfilling commands found in Scripture. Just because we are setting healthy boundaries does not mean we can shirk the responsibility of hospitality. We also can not use boundaries as an excuse to not develop relationships with those God has placed in our path.

No matter how you choose to set your boundaries the most important part is to remember to test everything against Scripture.

So grab a cup of coffee, a glass of tea, or your favorite soda and join us in our conversation about setting healthy boundaries in life, marriage, and ministry.

Ep. 030: Small Groups and Community Outreach – The Married and Replanting Podcast

Church is so much more than just being in the building on Sunday morning to hear the pastor preach. One of the great parts of being a member of the local body of believers is the opportunity to gather together throughout the week for continued growth and fellowship. It is also a great way to get out into the community. This week Dusty and Elizabeth discuss launching small group studies throughout the week as a way for the members of the church to fellowship and grow together. They also discuss ways to be reaching out to the community to fill needs on little to no budget.  Grab a cup of coffee or tea, and join us as we discuss ways to launch small group ministries and how to reach out to the community with the resources you have.    Resources mentioned in today's episode are: A Guide to Flake's Formula Have a question about church replanting, marriage, or just life in general? Want to share a comment about how we are doing or things you would like to hear on the podcast? Send us a message, leave a note on our social media feeds, or leave a rating and review and we would love to discuss the things that will most benefit you in your marriage and ministry.    Follow us on all our social media platforms to be sure you never miss a new episode. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarriedandReplanting Twitter: https://twitter.com/RpodcastM

1. Ep. 030: Small Groups and Community Outreach 42:08
2. Ep. 029: Creating an Evangelistic Culture 47:17
3. Ep. 028: The Parent Trap 50:45
4. Ep. 027: Resources to Make Life a Little Bit Easier 45:51
5. Ep. 026: Dealing with Distractions 41:55