Married Person mentoring an unmarried person?

[Obi Mom Kenobi]

I am attempting to mentor an unmarried young man via internet. He is a very socially awkward young man that went to school for ministry. He is lonely and hurting. God laid it on my heart to pray for and counsel this young man. I struck up a conversation with him on Facebook.
Suddenly he got extremely defensive, and then told me that he can't talk to me or be my friend because I am a married woman and he is single, and that he should only talk to single friends or married men.
I was shocked. I am old enough to be his mother. I will not see this young man in person in my life time, in all likelihood. And I am in full control of my genitalia, for goodness sake! My intentions are completely honorable.

Biblically can a married woman talk to an unmarried man? Did Jesus not speak to or hang out with married women?

I really need a biblical answer to this.

Thank you!
Amanda

[Thersites]

If you feel you ought to pray for this young man, do it. However, if he doesn't want to speak to you, don't force him. Chances are he's just not ready to open up to someone on the Internet that he doesn't know very well.

That having been said, here's a somewhat relevant passage:

1 Timothy 5:1-2
Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

I rather doubt that people in those days totally refused to speak to their own mothers.

[Cow Poke]

I am attempting to mentor an unmarried young man via internet. He is a very socially awkward young man that went to school for ministry. He is lonely and hurting. God laid it on my heart to pray for and counsel this young man. I struck up a conversation with him on Facebook.
Suddenly he got extremely defensive, and then told me that he can't talk to me or be my friend because I am a married woman and he is single, and that he should only talk to single friends or married men.
I was shocked. I am old enough to be his mother. I will not see this young man in person in my life time, in all likelihood. And I am in full control of my genitalia, for goodness sake! My intentions are completely honorable.

Biblically can a married woman talk to an unmarried man? Did Jesus not speak to or hang out with married women?

I really need a biblical answer to this.

Thank you!
Amanda

I'll approach this from a "Pastor" perspective, Amanda.

Early in my Ministry (of nearly 40 years) I learned that the two most common ways for a minister to get in trouble was sex and money. In one of my seminary classes on ethics, these two topics were discussed, so, having had the advice earlier, I paid particular attention.

Over the next bunch of years, I saw, time after time, a minister "fall" because of sex or money or both. I have always been very careful in both regards.

I never counsel a woman - regardless of age - without another person present. If I'm counseling a woman in my office, my secretary (or other trusted person) is just outside the OPEN door in sight of me. It's not paranoia, it's wisdom.

I completely understand the "I'm old enough to be his mother" thing, because I'm old enough to be the GRANDFATHER of a lot of these young ladies. But the fact is, it's a cold cruel world, and "grandfathers" and "mothers" still get in trouble with people they are counseling.

This isn't so much an "answer" to your post, but an attempt to engage in discussion.

AND, I realize the "internetz" adds a whole new dimension to this, and things can get weird.

[Pilgrim]

I am attempting to mentor an unmarried young man via internet. He is a very socially awkward young man that went to school for ministry. He is lonely and hurting. God laid it on my heart to pray for and counsel this young man. I struck up a conversation with him on Facebook.
Suddenly he got extremely defensive, and then told me that he can't talk to me or be my friend because I am a married woman and he is single, and that he should only talk to single friends or married men.
I was shocked. I am old enough to be his mother. I will not see this young man in person in my life time, in all likelihood. And I am in full control of my genitalia, for goodness sake! My intentions are completely honorable.

Biblically can a married woman talk to an unmarried man? Did Jesus not speak to or hang out with married women?

I really need a biblical answer to this.

Thank you!
Amanda

Re reading what I posted below I realize it sounds harsh. I don't intend it to be. Please read it for the spirit I intend which is just in the nature of good advice.

Two things: 1. mentoring someone via internet is a poor option to begin with. And 2. no, it's never a really good idea for opposites sexes to attempt mentoring at the level you seem to be indicating. Pray for him, encourage him, but mentor him? Let someone closer to him in geography and gender do the mentoring. Someone from his own community is ideal.

This language of "God laid it on my heart" is troublesome. So often what it really means is that you felt like wanted to do something. Combine that with the realities of this situation and it reminds me of a professor I had in seminary talking about calling. He was a pastor at a local church as well and the church was advertising a position for youth minister. A prospective candidate came forward and said, "I fell God has called me to this position." The person had all sorts of baggage and issues and was totally unsuited for the position but was insistent to the point of harassment that God had called him. So my professor handed him a business card and said, "Well, have God call me too because as far as I can tell as a steward for this position you're not the person."