Leaving a church

Walls asked:

I have a question! If there is truly not a right and wrong way to leave a church, then when you go to seek membership elsewhere, why do they want a letter from the church you have left? and why would they want to talk to your previous pastor?

It's a "background check." They are making sure that your character is sound and that you left the previous congregation on good terms. What if you were expelled from the membership of your previous church for living in sin?

 

Each person must give account for themself.

A letter of transfer meant two things to me: One, they were properly baptized, and Two, they were members of a fellow Baptist church, and were willing to obtain such a letter. They will prove their worth in short order.

A legitimate reason for leaving a church can involve personality. I don't expect everyone to adore my sermon delivery. I am not the sermonic genius I think I am. The Lord bless them to learn of Him under the tutelage of another. We see many people come and go when the leadership changes.

When getting references, I have never asked an enemy to write a letter for me. One gets the best support available. How are we to make good judgement based on only favourable references?

Whether we like it or not, we do make personality judgements and this affects our choices. Why buy a house you don't like, only to live in regret for the bad choice?

Cheers,

Jim

 

Maybe I was not informed or in the know, but I have never known of a person being "kicked out" of a church that I have belonged to.

Does this really happen in a Baptist Church?

 

More correctly, the person being 'kicked' out is excluded from the ministry of the church. This is done in Baptist churches, yet some are not confronted discipline as they are beginning to view it as a source of division.

Those being excluded would first have the opportunity to defend themselves to the body. If their position is not defendable from scripture, they then have the opportunity to repent and be restored to the body, or if they do not, then they remain excluded from this body.

God Bless
Bro. Dallas

 

Thank you very much for your responses! That does help me. We have just left a church and are attending another however we haven't joined and the Pastor had asked us about where we had been baptized and possibly wanting a letter. Then when I came across this thread it made me wonder.

 

Yes, Thankful...this DOES happen in some Baptist Churches today. The Farmer and I were excluded from a Missionary Baptist Church (A.B.A.) back in January of this year because we believe in the autonomy of the local church.

Walls, If I'm not mistaken, Romans 16:1-2 (concerning Phebe) is an example of a church 'letter'.

[ November 08, 2002, 03:57 PM: Message edited by: Farmer's Wife ]

 

In our case, where 8 members of our family were excluded from the little mission(ABA) we had been involved with for many years, there was nothing scriptural about it.

We stood for Biblical principles and they didn't. The new pastor was quite progressive, to say the least...and he also wanted santa claus in the sanctuary.

No scriptures were given, no discussion was allowed; we were simply told to get out! So we did & God has blessed us beyond compare...This was the best thing that could have happened to us.

We meet in our daughter's(Farmer's Wife) home with the Farmer feeding us plenty of knowledge and understanding. He also preaches on the radio. We are very active for the Lord under the watchcare of Old Paths Baptist Church in Indiana.

What about the Missionary Baptist work that kicked us out in January? They no longer exist! God shut the doors after 16yrs. and the building is for sale with charismatics looking at it.

 

Yeah, it is not always followed biblically. This is why Grider Memorial withdrew from associations of such nature.

Associations seem (though not always) to have a way of developing into heirarchiacal proportions.

Praise God for the stand you brothers and sisters have taken.

God Bless.
Bro. Dallas

 

Originally posted by Farmer's Wife:

Wow. That isn't something to exclude somebody about ! We excluded somebody who turned out to be a no-heller, but only because he boldly declared his belief before the church and asked that we try to sit down with him and talk about it.

Then we excluded somebody who allowed her boyfriend to move in to her house as boarder, renting her basement. They didn't sleep together and we believed her, her family is well-loved by the church.

But since the Bible says abstain from all appearances of evil, we spoke with her three times, no deal, and had to vote to exclude her.

We loved both, but had to exclude because the church must remain true to doctrine, practice, and purity.

But, not holdint to the autonomy of the local church is not an essential issue.

Wow !

 

My synagogue has excommunicated three
persons I know about. I don't feel free to dis-
cuss this openly, but two were unrepenitant re
sexual sins, and the other could not learn not
to steal from people at the synagogue.

All were counselled and given a long length of
time to continue their attendance. They were
admonished a second time, with another witness,
with no change. Then, the matter was brought
before the congregation, but they remained unre-
penitant. They were given no more chances at
that point but were told that they could return at
anytime they repented and promised not to fall
into this sin again. None of the three have yet.

There is one person I know of who repented and
returned and several who, caught in gross sin,
came before the congregation and asked for
forgiveness, which, of course, was freely given.
They never left.

I have freely mentioned being excommunicated
from a holiness church, which did not believe
in its members wearing jewelry, for refusing to
continue to remove my wedding band upon
entering that church. It was NOT a Baptist
church.

My pastors at the synagogue quickly received
me without a letter, because they knew about the
church and its problems. Interestingly, the
church had tried to sell its building to my syna-
gogue, when it was looking for a new building,
and I happened to hear the pastor tell another
that the building would not last through another
earthquake. !!! Needless to say, although I was
not a member of the synagogue yet, I told one
of the pastors; they did not buy it.

[ November 08, 2002, 07:05 PM: Message edited by: Abiyah ]

 

Sorry, wrong button.

[ November 08, 2002, 07:58 PM: Message edited by: Walls ]

 

As discussed, the motivation for leaving the church is the critical factor.

I think Martin Luther is the prime example. He did not attempt to leave the Catholic church. He attempted to reform it. But when the Catholic church sought his life, he was left with no other choice.

I do not believe anyone should leave a church because of personality issues. We should stick it out and exercise our Christian calling to forbear and forgive and pray for one another.