One of the most egregious misapplications of scripture in the ANTM is found in their policy on divorce.

They believe "...that there are two conditions, given in the Word of God, under which it is permissible to dissolve a marriage. The first condition is when one of the partners is guilty of fornication (including adultery, incest, homosexuality, and all sins of impurity). The second scriptural condition is when an unbeliever departs from the marriage. If a believing partner acts like an unbeliever and breaks the marriage covenant, we will consider those actions to be that of an unbeliever, thereby considering that person to be under this second condition."

 

They take this policy to mean that if a member of the church decides that he or she doesn't believe what the church believes anymore and wants to leave the church, then the other spouse has a right to divorce the spouse who leaves the church. 

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They teach this. They counsel this.  

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They derive this from a misapplication and even total ignoring of Paul's actual statements in 1 Corinthians 7:10-16.

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In this section Paul says that the Lord commands wives to not separate from their husbands and a husband is not to divorce his wife. It's pretty clear.  Paul then goes on to give his opinion on what a believer is to do if they have an unbelieving spouse. If the unbeliever is willing to stay, then Paul says the believer must not divorce. The ANTM disregards this instruction. Notice that the option to stay lies with the unbeliever, not the believer. If the unbeliever wants to stay married, then the believer should honor that.

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In the following verse, the ANTM again misrepresents Paul's words. It is wrong for them to equate having a difference in doctrine to actual unbelief. In all situations where divorce has been counselled in the ANTM that we are aware of, both people have been believers in the gospel of Christ. To call a spouse an unbeliever just because they have a difference in opinion on a doctrinal point, or a question as to pastoral authority and its reach, or a concern about a practice, is, to put it bluntly ...a lie.

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Paul then closes the passage by saying if the unbeliever decides to leave, then the believing spouse should let him. 

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This verse is twisted to say that the phrase "unbeliever leaves" is the same thing as a "former member departs from the church/doctrine". The verse actually says that if a spouse who has never believed decides to leave a believing spouse, then the believing spouse should let the unbelieving spouse leave.

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It does not allow the believing spouse to seek a divorce just because the other spouse doesn't want to attend church or believe the doctrines that they did before. 

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To tell an ANTM member who is married that he/she can/should divorce their spouse because they don't believe the same anymore or attend church together anymore is unconscionable and revealing that the pastors have no basic ability to interpret scriptures correctly, especially since Paul is so clear about spouses staying together in verse 10. This is pastoral malpractice. This is poor counsel. This is against God's clear commands.

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The sad reality is, this policy on divorce is used as a silent threat. It is always in the back of every married person's mind that if they leave the church, the church will allow, support, and even at time encourage spouses to divorce.

 

Norman James, II has numerous times made the statement from the pulpit, "Many of the men in the church wouldn't be here if it wasn't for their wives." It's not that the wives threaten their husbands, this policy threatens their husbands. The wives, who are over and over again trained to be submissive, remind their husbands that they also need to "submit" to their pastor. Husbands, who feel their rights as head of household are routinely usurped by the pastor want to leave, because they know they are being manipulated and controlled beyond the bounds of what a pastor's role should be. But because of fear of being divorced by their spouse if they did leave, the men reluctantly stay.