A recent incident reminded me of a young Welshman who attended our church before being promoted to a position in Cardiff. We had enjoyed his company in our home on many occasions, so a few years later while he was visiting London, he thought he would call and see us (in Felixstowe) “on his way home”. He and I went for a walk, and after asking how he was getting on in his church, he shared his frustration at the elders and how out of touch they were. About a year later, he again visited us, and we went for another walk, and I asked him again how he was getting on in his church. His response was, “Marvellous”. “Have the elders changed their attitude?” I asked. He replied, “No, but I have”.
I admired his willingness to share this, and it challenged me as I looked back over a long life, having spent periods of 24, 5 and 56 years attending three churches, interspersed with visiting others for occasional services. The church I attended for the first 24 years of my life was under the direction of men who sought to guide the church, and once a year, we had a Fellowship Meeting when annual reports were shared. To my knowledge, this was the only time decisions made by the leadership were questioned, and generally, everything ran smoothly.
Today, it is easy when decisions are made that some disagree with, for attendees to move to another church or, sadly, stop attending any church. Have the principles of “governing” churches as prescribed in the Bible changed, and is this based on different translations or a desire to be more compliant with modern trends?
There was a famous picture of an army marching, all in step except one man. The comment posted below stated, “The only man in step!”
Wes Sutton, several years ago, wrote the hymn – Your Mercy Flows, and it contains the verse
Your church once great, though standing clothed in sorrow,
is even still the bride that you adore;
revive your church, that we again may honour
our God and king, our master and our Lord.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we ask that you not only reveal to us Your will but enable the church and especially us to change, enabling us individually and collectively to comply with Your principles and practice. AMEN