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Author
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Topic: What to do????
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wonderful_sky
Advanced Member
Member # 1808
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posted
Thank you so much for your thoughts. I agree with everything that you have said and will continue to pray and seek God's will in all of this.
In His Service,
Sky ![[dance]](graemlins/dance1.gif)
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He who kneels down to God, can stand up to anything ![[Prayer]](graemlins/prayer.gif)
Posts: 220 | From: Missouri | Registered: Jul 2003
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SciptureAndPrayers
Advanced Member
Member # 3633
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posted
Wonderful_sky,
It's hard and sometimes dangerous to judge a congregation from a distance, especially since I have never met any of the leaders or laity. However, some of the things you describe are common indications of an immature body of believers.
Sadly, every church has troublemakers. Sometimes they are just seeking attention, sometimes they have control issues. Such people require a great deal of prayer and love, and occasionally counseling or rebuke from the church leadership. Unfortunately, there are others whose only purpose is to stir up dissension and cause divisions. These devils will often plead that they are only trying to put the brethren on the right path as God has shown it to them, and that anyone who interferes must themselves be a deceiver. Such people can be seen by the fruits of their works. They are typically intolerant to any ideas that diverge even slightly from their own, and are generally unteachable.
There also seems to be a problem with weakness in the leadership. Church leaders must be strong in spirit and ever zealous to protect their flock. They must show a great love of the truth of God and be ever vigilant against any influx of lies or popular deceptions. And, like a loving parent, they must be ready to rebuke and chastise the disobedient or unruly. They must also be faithful and dependable. They must be examples to their flock, just as Christ is our example. They should be consistent, and show the stability of a rock.
With all that said, it sounds like you took some time and care in selecting this church, and unless you're saying that it just turned out to be the lesser of all evils, I believe you should stick around for a while. Just because a church is, or seems to be, in trouble, doesn't mean it should be abandoned. There's so much at stake for the Kingdom of God. Stay there for a while. Gather together with like-minded members and pray for the church, its leadership, and for the troublemakers. God can do things that we can't or don't know how to do. In humility, speak with the leaders, individually or as a group, and express your concerns (not your criticisms). If, after putting in a reasonable amount of time, it seems that things are not getting better, or are perhaps only getting worse, then you should consider, after fervent prayer, that it may be time to look for a new church home.
Any church body that contains humans, which I believe covers most of them, is going to have some problems. When you have people, you have problems. We'd like to believe that because we're all Christians, that there should always be peace and harmony. The problem is that we're all works in progress, and while we might understand that for ourselves, we don't always allow for that in others. We are often tempted to put the burden on our pastors and other leadership, but it's important to remember that they carry an enormous burden for their flock, and they are only human as well.
God bless, and keep us posted on your progress.
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In Christ's love. Amen.
Posts: 345 | From: Rochester NY | Registered: Jul 2004
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wonderful_sky
Advanced Member
Member # 1808
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posted
We are members of a church in our community, we firmly believe that this is where God wants us.
At the end of May, because of one incident after another, I washed my hands of many of the things that I was involved in. We even stopped attending church throughout the summer, checking out other churches, or just staying home. At the beginning of this month we started attending our home church again, because we believe this is where God wants us.
So, last night, during a chat with the minister, I decided to attend a worship department meeting. I feel now like it was a BIG mistake. Discussion of a new hymnal turned into a heated debate, and I seemed to be caught in it. (I need to learn to keep my big mouth shut!) The funny thing is that it was just this one woman that wanted to argue the thing out, and she was able to get many into a debate. Once vote was taken and a new hymnal was chosen, we then went on to other business. The same woman then starts talking about the choir and how someone has agreed to take over the choir (I felt a little finger pointing at this time). The suggested new choir leader would never agree to lead, she is moving out of the state at the end of the year and attends college, would not have time.
Why did she say that when many of us knew that there was no way this woman could do it? Why argue over change? Especially change that will help the spiritual growth?
As a family we continue to believe that this is where we need to be. My husband and I both feel fed up! We enjoy our sunday school class, the sunday morning worship and the Wednesday night Bible study. We worry about the leadership, many only show up when it is their turn to serve. The growth of our church is almost nonexistant, and I believe that is for many reasons. I am lost, not sure what to do. I have prayed about this, spent time talking to another friend that feels the same. I was even a part of a group that wanted to meet with the board and elders of the church to impliment change. That group has since somewhat given up. The elders and board did not want to meet with this group until after the yearly congressional meeting.
I hope this all makes sense. I just don't know what to do??!!
Sky
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He who kneels down to God, can stand up to anything
Posts: 220 | From: Missouri | Registered: Jul 2003
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