OuT Of SiGhT, OuT Of MInD?

Question. If a person leaves your local church, are they still a part of the Church?

"All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals, and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity, all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved." (Acts 2:42-47)

This is about a unity and a togetherness that transcends the building we happen to be in. This is family and community outside of and beyond the "temple". It's bigger than buildings and more important than a campus and an annex. It's supposed to be about Christ. 

One body. One faith. One God. We have heard it preached and we have it in written but still we're VERY comfortable cutting people out of our lives because they no longer attend the "New Community Faith Hope Love Denominational Non Denominational Fellowship Church". 

"If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?" (I Corinthians 12:15)

Honestly, we are supposed to be "ambassadors" but should be ashamed of ourselves. Do you feel personally betrayed or slighted when someone changes churches? We hinder people from coming to Christ. We take something that we have been blessed with, not at all deserving of and use the privilege against others to sustain our clubs, groups, and cliques and we hurt people. We break hearts. We damage relationships. And most of all, and this is not based on which pew you occupy or how much tithe and offering you provide every week, we displease the God we say we love and honor. It's logic-defying and borderline cultish in nature. It's "Mean Girls" the Religious Version and it's really an ugly look! 

People are going to leave ministries for any number of reasons whether it be their military commitments, their job assignments, or maybe the ministry just doesn't care about things that matter to many people today. Maybe they don't emphasize ministries that speak to their current family dynamic like youth and children' ministries, or maybe that church doesn't care to resemble what the community at large looks like culturally, or maybe the ministry has gotten so large that the primary purpose has gotten lost over the years and parishioners are in need of something less watered down. Either way, this happens. Our responsibility is to show those that don't know Christ what Christ looks like. This is assuming that we even know what Christ looks like. 

It's mirror time, Christian believers. We have to really do better. It's not about us. Where is God located in our divisiveness and cliquish behavior? Can we please embrace relationship with the Father and emphasize that as priority? I believe that if we do, there's no way we'd feel good about treating our brothers and sisters with contempt. We would tap into God's heart and realize how much He loves and has done for ALL of us. I know you have a mirror. Now remember that you have a friend. You might not like the way you look but you have the opportunity to change the view. 

Thanks for listening.