The only thing wrong with church is they let people in it! 
People will always let you down but... if I remember to get my eyes off people and keep them on the Lord, well, things are a whole lot better! 
Sgt. Pate, I totally agree with you on that. The problem is that those people can often drive you to the edge of sanity! I have had experiences over the span of many years that would push the edge for almost anyone. For starters, I lived through clergy sexual and spiritual abuse. Fast forward, and I am in seminary right now, and have heard of people in our church who have told the pastor to go f himself because they decided to have an affair and get a divorce, when they had no Biblical grounds to do so. Our pastor tried to talk to the offending party, and the guy stormed out of the pastor's office, after having told him to go bleep himself.
In my own case, a member of our homegroup told my wife that I should not be friends with this one guy that I've been friends with for years. Said female told my wife that I shouldn't be friends with him and that she couldn't understand why anyone would be friends with him. She didn't say this stuff to me! She said it to my wife. That's because she knows that if she had come to me about it, I'd of told her that it's none of her business and to deal with her own issues. From there, it got even uglier! The whole thing still hasn't been resolved. (Our homegroup is meeting tomorrow night, and I'm afraid to go, because I'm afraid that I'll be treated like a bad little kid).
I sure see your plight Dave but here's what I do... someone hands me some unsolicited advise like "you shouldn't be friends with _____!" and I'll hand them my bible and say "Really? Show me where it says that".
I might be inclined to ask the person in question... "Is that how you want Jesus to treat you when you blow it?"
Stand on the Word bro and refrain from offering your own opinion, give them God's opinion, His Word, and let them argue with Him!
Unfortunately there's a lot of people in churches that are either not saved, newly saved and not being discipled so they follow their old behavior or have their "fire insurance" and aren't even trying to change. Those are the same kind of people our Lord had to deal with too.
Thank God you are friends with this guy. If he had to rely on people like that woman, he'd never have any godly influence in his life and no one to model the excellence of a life surrendered to Christ to him!
"Carnal Christians" is an oxymoron!
There's only one person who's opinion of you matters bro... keep running the race and don't let the enemy or his minions keep you off the track!
