THIS IS MY WEEKLY BULLETIN ARTICLE FROM THE OAK LEAF - 12/2/08The ebb and flow of life affects each of us. That’s true on a congregational level, too. Within any congregation there is a constant influx and outgo of people. I’ve been witness to this for the past thirty years. Just as we are happy and excited when people come our way we are also saddened when people leave our midst to worship elsewhere.
Though our spirits are sad when individuals leave we should not be surprised, nor should we be angry or upset. People come and go for a variety of reasons, often reflecting their own particular spiritual needs at the time. In fact, on several occasions I have actually encouraged people to worship somewhere else when it seemed that their spiritual life would be better served by doing so.
Recently several of our precious families have returned to their former church home in Olive Branch. I am thankful that they have been able to do so. For most of them that church is their “home” congregation and it was only due to some difficult circumstances some years ago that they felt compelled to leave there. We wish these families “God speed” and pray for every good success in carrying out His will. It’s my hope and prayer that they along with all of us will work together to have the type of relationships that the Lord would desire for sister-congregations to share with each other.
Of course there are also occasions when individuals leave under circumstances that are less than ideal. Most churches struggle with a “back door” problem. As new members are ushered in through the front door others are dropping out and leaving, often unnoticed, through the back door never to be seen or heard of again. This is a sad and tragic situation indeed.
Quite frankly, we at Goodman Oaks are not immune to this situation. In the past three years we have had a number of new families and individuals come to work and worship with us. You would expect, given such a constant increase of new members that our number in attendance and offering would be consistently rising. This is not the case. In fact, over the past three years we have remained at an average of 725-750 most Sundays with an offering that has remained around $20,000 per week.
As members of this church all of us bear a portion of responsibility for this situation and all of us have the opportunity to be part of the solution. This was addressed by our elders recently when they asked all of us to be more alert to those who sit around us and take notice when someone is not present. Give them a call or let one of our Elders or church staff know.
The longer I live I become convinced of an overriding principle that is true in every area of life. IT’S ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS. Our relationship with family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ and above all, God. Church is not about buildings and budgets. It’s about people. A church where people truly care about each other and look out for one other is a church that will go a long way towards locking the back door and retaining its members.
Let’s be that type of church!
“Around The Oaks!”
