Follow & Post!

Thanks for visiting my blog! I'd love to interact with you. Feel free to follow and post your comments.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

When to Leave Your Church, Part 2

God does lead some people away from their churches. Members become missionaries. Jobs move their employees. And when truth is left out of the pulpit, it's usually time to go.

Here's a unique perspective, though: I've got a best friend who has a fantastic stance on his church membership. He's there to serve. He's told me more than once when things got tough in the church that he desires to do whatever he can to make things better. Leaving has never been an option for his family. He's not there to gain--he's there to give. He's not a consumer. He's a contributor. That's his perspective.

And his great contribution has done so much for the church. His perspective has inspired me. It's made me think. Churches go through difficult times because of one reason: people exist. But when a member is burned in a church, then his perspective of leaving his church to go to another is just like jumping out of one hot, frying pan only to land in another sizzling skillet.

However, when a member has the perspective of being a giver--a contributor--then when he doesn't receive what he feels he needs, it's OK. His purpose is to give--to use his God-given gifts to edify the body, especially when it is sick.

Wow. If only more members would possess this perspective, just how healthy do you think the body would be?

You are gifted, if you've trusted Christ as your Savior. Your gift is supernatural. It's phenomenal! There is no limit to what you can do with your gift. So what are you contributing to your church? (Remember, the church is people, not the building.) What are you giving? Are you doing what it takes to make the body healthy?

Or are you a consumer who ends up making the body sick?

One could not pry my friend away from his church, because contributors live above the common.

2 comments:

  1. Chad,
    Another great article. You are exactly right.
    Thanks,
    Tim

    ReplyDelete
  2. Excellent point in the consumer-driven American church "market". Almost no one I know considers that they are there to serve, they are there to receive, and if they can get it better down the road - not doctrine, not preaching, not appeals and certainly not loyalty will keep them.
    As I come Stateside every 3 years or so, it saddens me to see many of the same churches with the same number of members but different folks. It is like a big game of musical chairs.

    ReplyDelete