As our church family has been walking through our new covenant, I was sharing with another
pastor that I have been shocked at responses we have had. Overall,
the responses have been positive but the ones that were not have been varied as to why. Some are upset over what was not included in the covenant and think that our covenant should be more restrictive, and others are upset over specific items that were included. For me, both the positive and negative responses (and the dramatic differences between them) reinforced how seldom we
as people of God really contemplate how we live and why we do what we do. Statements made ranged from “When I signed the covenant, it made me aware
of how I need to really try to be in the Word of God more.” to “When I had to
sign this I realized I haven’t been….” When I look at our
new covenant that our strategy team put together, I see a document filled with the Word of
God and expectations that are thoroughly biblical. As we discussed it and preached through it, very few questions or comments came up about it and yet, when we had to stop
to sign it, it became something we actually had to think
twice about.
Some have asked why we "made so much" over our new covenant. Simply - because it is the center piece in
which we will strive to serve God together. This doesn’t mean we have all
obtained each of these things, but it means our hearts' desire is to strive to do them.
Here is the link to our covenant, for those who are not members of our fellowship. http://trinitysouthaven.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/7/5/10753478/covenant__statement_of_doctrine_and_belief.pdf
During this time of preaching through church membership, I spent a great deal of time
explaining why membership is biblical and what our responsibility is in
membership. As a matter of fact, several of the blogs I have posted have even dealt with church
membership. However, I don’t believe I have ever taken time to discuss why or
when one should leave a church. We live in America and we love convenience,
comfort and choices. Generally, it is for one of these three (convenience, comfort or choice) reasons that people will look for another fellowship. Most genuinely
believe they go to church primarily for themselves, rather than seeing the
church as a body and the need for one another (although they might not admit that overtly). I have heard of people leaving and even have had people leave over
everything from music, to décor, to following family members who left. Pastors have aided in
this in that we spend a great deal of time asking people to join our church by
telling them about all our fellowship can offer, rather than giving them
biblical instruction of the responsibilities of being a member of our
fellowship. The importance of loving the difficult to love, being with people
that are different than you, working biblically through differences and
conflict, getting our hands dirty because we are sinners dealing with sinners...all of that is kept quiet as it isn't a great sales technique to get people to join your church in our American Mega Church, "meet my needs" culture. Most want to know
what kind of trips you will do for my student, who can keep me entertained with my style of music, who will keep the sermons to the right length and topic so that I can go and just “feel better about me.” So, when I came across this blog some time ago, I thought it would be fitting for me to post during this transition time for our church family. As I read
it, I concluded that I know very few who leave their fellowships with these as their motivating
factors.
http://www.gty.org/resources/questions/QA120/when-should-people-leave-their-church (also seen below)
Leaving a church is not something that should be done lightly.
Too many people abandon churches for petty reasons. Disagreements over simple
matters of preference are never a good reason to withdraw from a sound,
Bible-believing church. Christians are commanded to respect, honor, and obey
those whom God has placed in positions of leadership in the church (Heb. 13:7, 17).
However, there are times when it becomes necessary to leave a church for the
sake of one's own conscience, or out of a duty to obey God rather than men.
Such circumstances would include:
If heresy on some fundamental truth is being taught from the
pulpit (Gal. 1:7-9).
If the leaders of the church tolerate seriously errant doctrine
from any who are given teaching authority in the fellowship (Rom. 16:17).
If the church is characterized by a wanton disregard for
Scripture, such as a refusal to discipline members who are sinning blatantly (1 Cor. 5:1-7).
If unholy living is tolerated in the church (1 Cor. 5:9-11).
If the church is seriously out of step with the biblical pattern
for the church (2 Thess. 3:6, 14).
If the church is marked by gross hypocrisy, giving lip service
to biblical Christianity but refusing to acknowledge its true power (2 Tim. 3:5).
This is not to suggest that these are the only circumstances
under which people are permitted to leave a church. There is certainly nothing
wrong with moving one's membership just because another church offers better
teaching or more opportunities for growth and service. But those who transfer
their membership for such reasons ought to take extreme care not to sow discord
or division in the church they are leaving. And such moves ought to be made
sparingly. Membership in a church is a commitment that ought to be taken
seriously.
