I don’t like telling people what to do unless I’m
quoting/paraphrasing the Bible. I don’t like the responsibility. In my mind, if
you take my advice I’m then somehow implicated in the resulting actions. I also believe that if someone wants to leave, you let them leave. Present truth plainly but don't try to persuade. In the end, I firmly believe that people will do what they want to do most... hopefully it's to glorify God.
My
church has been going through a transition these paste months and I’ve pretty
much kept my opinions to myself. Today, I wanted to be a little more
transparent. Pardon my emo trip.
Lately my church has been going through a tough time. Quite
a few people have left. Some are on the fence, trying to decide if which way
they’ll go. I’ve heard pretty much every side of the argument and am convinced
that God alone knows the truth. I’ve been unable to sleep for the past few
weeks as I’ve struggled to deal with disappointment after disappointment.
Sometimes it felt as if people were trying to find reasons to leave, drop their
responsibilities, and search for greener pastures. I took it personal and shouldn't have. It was probably selfish on my part.
For what it’s worth, here are some of the reasons why I’m
staying:
- The Bible
Doesn’t Say to Leave- I searched the scriptures. I feel that God has given
us the Bible to instruct us how to navigate the waters of this life. In the New
Testament you find a ton of churches that Paul is instructing. None of them are
perfect. In fact, in many the leaders are teaching heresy. But Paul/Peter/John
never tell the members to leave the church. They always tell them to rebuke,
correct, train, and fix the body even if that means calling out the leadership.
Paul submitted to Christian Pharisees in order to show them that God’s plan
involved all people (Acts 15). Christ went to teach at the synagogue.
- Counting
the Cost- This might sound a little pretentious, se la vie. I thought of
the souls that hung in the balance. I thought of friends who attended the
church. I thought of new believers and struggling believers that attended the
church. Was I willing to abandon them? Was it every man for himself? Or was
their soul worth my discomfort? I feel that question is a rhetorical one.
- I can’t
leave something broken- this is a pretty big deal for me. For whatever
reason, I just can’t leave a place broken. I don’t think it pleases God. I
heard a pastor preach on working at his church. He said that each day his wife
would drop him off and they would sit in the car crying and praying. He didn’t want to be at the church. It was
arduous work and the church was jacked up. They would pray until their tears
turned to praise but he refused to leave the church because he knew that’s
where God wanted him.
Division is ugly. What’s more is that it’s not of God. Unity
is so precious and it’s something that God values (Jesus prayed for it). If somethings precious you fight for it. You fight for it with bloody knuckles, calloused hands, and a sweat soaked brow. If the church is precious to God... I
could go on and on about this… one day I might but I don’t think now is the
appropriate time. I don’t knock people for leaving. More times than not I’m sad
to see them go. It’s just the logic that always kills me…
 |
| A city in need of healing |
I guess ultimately it comes down to how God has interacted
with man over the course of redemptive history. We have always failed him. We
have always fallen short of his expectation and standard. But yet and still, he
has endured our sin and pursued us. He never left us and went to find a new
body. He never abandoned Israel and searched for a “better” people. No, he
endured with them. He pursued them. He loved them violently as demonstrated in
the cross. He sent prophet after prophet to persuade them towards
righteousness. He sent pillars of fire, clouds of smoke, invading armies,
sickness, famine, bread from heaven, deliverance, and exile in order to break
their hearts and draw them back to him. Eventually, he even sent his Son, borne
of a woman, whom we crucified on a tree. But he never left them… I
guess I feel convicted to demonstrate this heart to God’s body.
I guess, in the depths of my soul I know that Christ died
for the church. He died for Bethel… that means she’s redeemable. He loved her
violently and died on the cross, becoming the very thing his Father abhorred,
for the sake of her election. That’s not really something I can walk away from.
