When we started our work nearly 20 years ago, the Lord clearly instructed me not to invite anyone to join us. EVERYONE who is a part of our church is there because they believe God sent them there. If they believe God said to leave, then they are free to do so. What is sad is that very few leave to expand the Kingdom. They simply go join another church they believe is more exciting. In nearly 20 years, of all the people who have left our work, less than 5 did so correctly. Most leave mad or looking for a platform to perform their ministry, or for the classic reason “I’m not being fed”.
Yes, people have come to our church disgruntled and complaining about the last place they left. I have learned that whatever complaints they have about the last place is what they expect me to satisfy. If they claim they weren’t being fed in their last church – then they expect me to give them what they want to hear. That usually ends when I confront their sin. If they claim their ministry wasn’t recognized in their last church – that means they expect me to give them a platform in our church. If they claim their last pastor was too controlling, that means they don’t want any guidelines from me.
The reason few pastors deal with this is because most are looking for ways to survive. They guise filling the pews with ‘saving souls’. That is why they eagerly accept transplants rather than converts. They know the more people they can attract, the more financially solvent their church will be. More money means they can produce bigger programs and give them the ability to erect larger buildings. These pastors know that people in the pews add to the perks of the pastoral system –a system that is not even found in scripture. In other words – to many pastors, people equate to money.
I love the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not the buildings, but the ‘called out assembly’ that Jesus purchased with His blood (Acts 20:28). Whenever Jesus is not enough to satisfy, then the search for the fleshly exciting will take its place. The church is commanded to be fruitful, to multiply, to replenish the earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:28). I am committed to the values and structure of the church seen in the New Testament scriptures. A church where souls are added daily (Acts 2:47). A church where the Word of God is demonstrated (Acts 12:24; 19:20). And above all, a church that the gates of hell has no capacity against it (Matthew 16:18).