As a pastor one of the hardest things to do is to watch a person/family leave the church. Usually. Getting close to people is something I was told to never do. Unfortunately, that is not my personality. It’s just not me. So when people leave because they are moving away, it is hard, but understandable. Just about two years ago I had some very close friends move to another town that made it impossible for them to make the weekly trek here. I still miss them.
If someone leaves because they can no longer agree because of doctrine, it is time to leave. We had someone leave in the past several years-a family I had come to love and the church had loved well-because they wanted to follow Bethel and their wacky teachings. People need to leave if the teachings of the church no longer “fit” them.
Then there are those I will call “blessed subtractions.” They are the kind that bless the church by leaving. They tend to be gossips, busybodies, cantankerous, opinionated, loud, obnoxious, “me first,” I-am-right people. Their beef is a personal thing, almost a vendetta against another. Now, if it is a doctrinal issue-like the Virgin Birth, or the nature of God, or who Jesus is-then that is a legitimate reason. But because someone or someone(s) won’t agree with you…bye.
To all who are in a church that teaches false doctrine I say this: Get out! That is not without Scriptural precedent. In Matthew 15: 13-14 Jesus is talking about false teachers. His advice? “Ignore them.” Get out of there! There are churches which dot the landscape that teach false doctrine…get out! Heresy is nothing to play around with. If a person is unhappy in a church over its teaching…get out! Heresy and cult often go hand in hand. Aberrant doctrine. Domineering leadership. Get out!! Avoid like the plague. That’s a scriptural reason to leave. Leaving because people won’t see things your way is not.
“Father, please give me discernment to know truth from error.”
Wise and prudent advice here, Bill. May we all have the discernment necessary to know when the Word of God is or isn’t being adhered to properly.
Blessings!
Discernment is missing in so many people these days. So we find people falling for what Paul called “every wind of doctrine.” I pray for ongoing discernment. Thanks for the comment Martha.
Sounds like what happened to me recently. Except it was a “2-for-1.”
It was a very small biblical disagreement, something that I thought wasn’t really a divisive issue. It was a long time coming though.