Growing up, I have always heard that it is better to be accused of a sin of omission than of commission, in this way you could always plunder your sin in oblivion, ignorance or lack of consideration. The sin of commission was the worst because it seemed deliberate and calculated.
Absence: just a sin of omission?
- I’m afraid many Christians think that not going to church regularly is a sin of omission.
- If it’s a sin.
- It would be a small sin.
- It’s not much.
- ” Don’t bring this legalism here!” Apparently.
- This is the opinion of many pastors.
- Elders.
- Deaconos and many congregations.
- As they have done little to match the staggering number of absentees.
For example, in my name, the Southern Baptist Convention, only a third of the formal members of nearly 40,000 churches in the United States attend every Sunday, meaning that about ten million of so-called Christians are absent.
Not all absentees are the same
Since not all absentees are the same, churches should treat different types of absentees differently. Here are four different types:
Because absentees are toxic
These last two types of absenteeism have a toxic effect on a local church, as they have an insignificance in the body of Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul speaks of the body and its parts as a metaphor for the Church:
For just as the body is one and has several members, and all the members, being several, constitute a body, the same with regard to Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12).
“Now you are the body of Christ; and, individually, the members of this body (1 Corinthians 12:27). “
When I remove the pendulum from my grandfather’s watch, he can still do certain things, such as opening the can lids, but this is a misuse of the pendulum. The pendulum (part) was designed to fit inside the clock, uniting the other parts and providing the weight to move the gears, which rotate the hands that tell us the time, this is how Christians should work in the body of Christ. A Christian who separates from a local Christian body is like a pendulum that opens a paint box, not a pendulum that makes a clock work.
However, absentees don’t just get hurt. In fact, they have a toxic effect on the local church to which they nominally belong. I understand that absentees have 4 ways of being toxic.
The toxic effects of absenteeism
1. Make evangelization more difficult
First, absenteeism makes evangelism difficult. His church is called to be an outpost of the kingdom of God in his community, a small but significant demonstration of God’s glory as they love and mature in Christ. Therefore, anyone who bears the name of Christ. , as indicated by his church, but who voluntarily chooses to live his life away from the community of the covenant of believers, practices identity theft, take the name of Christ, but do not identify honestly with his body, the local church.
To use Jonathan Leeman’s metaphor, they wear their team’s jersey, but do not train or compete for it. This confuses your testimony with the surrounding non-believer community. Non-Christians see their T-shirts in one person who seems to be playing for each other. He’s like a man who wears the Palmeiras shirt, but applauds Fortaleza, goes to Fortaleza’s games, talks about red-whites and dreams of one day going to The Cear. It’s incoherent, confusing and misleading. Returning to a more biblical language, Christians were adopted into the body of Christ. The absent act as orphans. This makes it even more difficult for the life of the collective church to bear witness to the gospel.
2. Confuse new converts
Second, the absent confuse the new converts. New converts are often a disaster: everything they thought was upside down. There is a lot of confusion in the first few weeks, months and even years of a recent convert’s life. They must be taught well.
However, not only that, but they need good models, when the doctrine in which they are taught does not synchronize with the models they see, they are confused, the absent are not only reversed controls, they are inverted models, they do not respect and disobey several scriptures, and they do not characterize the image of God in almost every fundamental aspect , even though they claim to be adopted children.
In their arrogance, the absent actually say to recent converts: “All these things you read in the Bible are not really necessary. You can live without the breath of others. You can live without sacrificing yourself to serve and love other Christians. Can you live without teaching or preaching Can you live without shepherds?
3. Discourage those who are present regularly
Third, absentees discourage those who are present regularly; those who are present regularly sacrifice to maintain their alliance with the local church; give their money and time to meet the needs of other body members, which is not easy, so to speak. Absent people don’t do these things, at least not regularly. Then, when a church allows the absent to remain members, the sense of belonging is cut off, which hurts and discourages the faithful.
In addition, absentees steal their need for church service, which also tends to discourage more believers from attending. Certainly, a church of 100 members, where all those who work for the glory of God with the gifts God has given them, is exponentially stronger. than a church with 35 gifts and 65 absent. The absent, unknowingly, transfer all the cargo to a few, a burden that these few should not carry alone.
4. Concern your leaders
Fourth, absentees care about their leaders. Hebrews 13:17 says: “Obey your guides and be submissive to them; because they watch over your soul, because who will be responsible?In the light of this verse, a faithful shepherd or elder should feel responsible for the spiritual state of each member of his flock. As a father concerned that his son does not return late at night, a good shepherd does not rest until all his sheep have been counted. Absences make this task almost impossible.
While it takes time and courage to solve the problem of absences, every pastor or elder must feel the burden of eliminating these absences and healing the toxic effects they have on evangelization, new converts, present faithful, and community pastors. The payment? As Church members become increasingly composed of only those who are faithfully present and contribute to the life of the body, the Church begins to remember the purpose God wanted for the body—a demonstration of her wisdom that bears the head of the Church. Christ.
By: Matt Schmucker. © 2010 9Marks. Original: these non-toxic participants
Translation: Matheus Fernandes. Crítica: Yago Martins. © 2016 Faithful Ministério. All rights reserved. Website: MinistryFiel. com. br. Original: Absent members have a toxic effect on the church.
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