Many Congregations during the Pandemic cited Hebrews 10:25 as a reason for not obeying Caesar's order to cease worshipping God. A common argument was that Christians are supposed to be at the building with the Church in order to worship God and to grow.
Now suppose in one of these Churches that refused to close come into a situation where a Christian, who is otherwise healthy and able to attend service, chooses that they just don't want to attend service that day. Perhaps they want to watch a football game, or sleep in, or relax, etc.
1. Is that sin?
2. If it is sin, should the Pastor have a private conversation with the Church member to address it?
Church Discipline - Skipping Church - Hebrews 10:25
Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by Bible Thumpin n Gun Totin, Jan 31, 2023.
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Bible Thumpin n Gun Totin Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
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Marooncat79 Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
Yes
yes -
Each year our pastor (& his brother-in-law) would take a trip to Buffalo to attend a Bills NFL fame.
Were they sinning - No -
Is it wrong to take a vacation?
Now if he did it 4 or 5 times a season - that would be one thing.
But once a year - not a problem. -
I attended a church with over 800 members on the membership list and ran about 125 each Sunday AM and about 35 Sunday PM and about 25 Wednesday PM.
We wanted to contact every person on the list, by mail and in person to determine their status (were they still a member, going somewhere else, moved, died etc) and folks in the church were angry at us.
I guess they liked claiming they went to a church with 800 members.
To the OP, I say form a ministry with several people that take turns contacting members that miss more than a couple weeks in a row to see if something is wrong. Urge them to attend, pray for them. If they continue missing, then have the pastor visit and encourage attendance. Eventually, church discipline might be needed, making sure there is no gossiping about the situation.
Very difficult subject these days, I think.
peace to you -
If persons are missing often then the church needs to find out why. Is it sin in the person or is it sin in the church? Or is there family issues (caring for a loved one, etc) that are making it hard to be present in the gathering? -
Marooncat79 Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
Your true member ship is the number of people who attend and support the church