"Membership in the family of God is neither inconsequential or something to be casually ignored. The church is God's agenda for the world. Jesus said, "I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." The church is indestructable and will exist for eternity. It will outlive this universe, and so will your role in it."
- Rick Warren
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”I want to tell a story about someone - I'll call her Denise. Denise was a leader in our student ministry. She led Bible studies, went on every mission trip, worked on every service project, and appeared to really love the Lord. But sometime in her Junior year, something slipped. She became confused in her faith and despondent. She stopped coming to church as much as she had, and she dropped out of leadership. She had questions, and doubts. She decided not to go to student camp that year.
So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. - Luke 15:1-7
Then she just disappeared.
Denise became a lost sheep. The thing is, I don't know how many people reached out to Denise after she left. I like to think I did, and I know that others did too (they must have). But in a bitter rant on her MySpace a year or two later she leveled her complaint at "church people". She complained that only two people had ever reached out to her after she quit going to church. In her words, all her friends "ditched her". She fell into some bad choices and I don't really know how she's doing these days.
I've seen this pattern repeated, numerous times. I've watched it in frustration and powerlessness.
The Luke passage above points to some answers, though. These are pointed directly at me as much as at any of you.
Move quickly. I believe that most lost sheep want to be found when they first become lost. Don't worry about your dignity and forgo any nonsense about "giving them space". They want to be found. But only for awhile. There are numerous lost sheep I know that I didn't act quickly on who, frankly, don't want to have anything to do with church or with me anymore. And they were once my brothers and sisters and some like sons and daughters. I've failed them
Never, ever, ever assume that it's OK, because your numbers are still good. This is a heartless response to the death of faith. Jesus speaks as though it's natural for us to leave the ninety-nine for the one.
Is it?
Excuse my french, but please, screw church growth strategies that teach that it's more important to bring in new bodies than it is to keep the ones you've got. Jesus didn't teach that, and the Biblical model is to both feed and nourish your own sheep AND add to them daily.
Add to the joy of heaven. The heavenly hosts rejoice over a lost sheep restored. Launch a rescue mission, if you can. Invite someone who has dropped off the face of the earth out to dinner, or over to watch movies. Let them know you care and you miss them, and that you love them even if they never come back to church. You might win them back.
Screw church growth strategies that teach that it's more important to bring in new bodies than it is to keep the ones you've got. Oh, wait, I think I already said that. :-)
If you've been in church anytime at all, you know someone. Reach out to them today. I'll do the same.
And pray for my friend Denise today.
[Cross posted at Out of the Bloo]
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Comments on "Lost Sheep":
2. Brian R
- 06/19/2011 9:12 pm CDT
I hear you brother, well written! There is someone I was close to many years ago who, I believe, followed this pattern. It still hurts today to think about it. I had an opportunity once, but I didn't push hard enough. You actually knew this person, so I wonder if it's one of those you think about as well...
3. Tony
- 06/20/2011 6:46 am CDT
It surprises me a bit that persons so "entrenched" in ministry, turn away from the faith in a dramatic fashion. Charles Templeton, evangelist who turned agnostic in the late 50's is the "poster child" for this.
My heart and prayers go out to Denise. May she end her journey through the doubting castle.
Church growth strategies
I always thought that the modern Church (as presented in the states) lacks proper mentor and discipleship programs. I'm learning things about the Christian life at 40 that I should have learned at 20. I don't think I'm exaggerating in that statement either. For instance, our sanctification (growth) in Christ doesn't necessarily remove sin and/or temptation in one's life. I can't tell you how many times I've been frustrated in my faith because God didn't "whisk" me away from my sin. As if God was going to elevate me to the 1st plane of heaven prior to getting there.
Do you know how many Christians(besides the pastor) older than I who have come along side me and explained the Christian faith. Zero. I've solely relied on pastor sermons and a mid-life crisis to "figure out" my faith in Christ.
btw - another "myth" or misconception I had for awhile is that full time ministers are the only one's who could fully "realize" the Christian faith. Yeah, a few lay persons could "get there", but for the most part...that is why it surprises me a bit with the lost sheep who were once "knee deep" in full time ministry to simply walk away.
4. Bill
- 06/20/2011 8:23 am CDT
Brian
You've got me intrigued, but I'm not sure who you're talking about. If you get a chance and are inclined, please email me.
Address: bobsyouruncle AT notmydomain DOT com
except replace "bobsyouruncle" with "bill" and replace "notmydomain" with "outofthebloo"
5. Bobbi
- 06/20/2011 3:00 pm CDT
I've been praying for salvation for all of my classmates. I've tried to find the kids who were in my confirmation class and also in my dad's young adults SS class. From the classmates I've found, 6 from college and 2 or 3 from high school are living for Jesus, 1 is Mormon, 1 is clinging to moveon.org,and 1 has completely rejected Jesus. I also pray for my church, family and friends, and neighbors. It is exciting to see what God will do. I am thought of as a religious fanatic but that is okay. So was Jesus!
6. Quaid
- 06/22/2011 9:10 am CDT
Let me throw this theological brainstorm out there:
Is it possible that this parable is not to illustrate a course of action in the case of a lost sheep in the flock of the Church, but to illustrate a course of action that took place two thousand years ago? I am not certain that this parable is meant to tell us to run after the lost sheep of our ministries, but to show the lengths that Christ has gone to save many.
If this suggested interpretation is true, this parable is merely relaying the Gospel:
*There is a sheep who is a sinner. They are lost and very valuable.
*There is a Shepherd who cares deeply for this sheep. He cares so deeply that He leaves everything behind in order to save.
*The Shepherd saves.
*The Shepherd rejoices with those who are his friends over the sheep who was once lost, but now is found.
I think that this passage teaches us a few things:
*We are sinful
*We are loved by God
*Because we are loved, we are valuable
*Christ humbled Himself - leaving everything - to serve the lost
*Those who are found in Christ are saved
*There is rejoicing over each individual who is saved
Now - having written the above - I am not suggesting that we are excused from going after those who have strayed from the faith (I am just not sure that this parable is the best passage to illustrate the point).
We are to imitate Christ with all of our being - this includes going after the lost. As for going after those who are fellow believers and have wondered: we can point to a myriad of verses (any of the "one anothers"?) to demonstrate the need of loving them in their hurt and restoring them to the fold. So: we are to love the lost and the found - that covers just about everyone.
So - not to be argumentative - I'm not certain that your points (Move Quickly, Don't buy into numbers, Add to the joy of heaven, Screw Church Growth Strategies) are supported by the passage. If the passage is teaching the Gospel, then I cannot add to the joy of heaven - although I can certainly participate in it - because it is only through the work of Christ that one who is lost is found, not by my work, lest I should boast.
Let me reiterate - I am not arguing that we are blameless if we willingly watch someone wonder from the faith. But I do believe that there is a temptation to attempt to take control of the salvation of others when the fact of that matter is that it is Christ alone who saves. Yes- we are His body. Yes- we are commanded to reach the world for Christ and pursue the lost. But - ultimately - the decision to leave the Church (as much as it may be blamed on others) is a decision that lies between the wandering individual and the Almighty.
7. Quaid
- 06/22/2011 9:41 am CDT
Regarding the sticky wicket that is student ministry:
By the nature of the beast, you are dealing with mostly immature believers who have not had the time to build up their faith and are only just beginning the road of sanctification. The commands in scripture to love one another and to participate in the body doesn't just cover the leadership in a given ministry but the entire population of the ministry.
If a student strays from the Church, it is not just up to their Bible Study leader, Sunday School teacher, student minister, etc. to go after them, but it is incumbent upon any believer who sees it happening to reach out to help. Simply put: rescuing the backslider is a team event.
Because, though, most students are untested in their young faith in exercising discernment, the nature of the ministry leaves a bulk of the heavy lifting to the few who are mature (to the extent that there are any in the ministry to begin with).
What you may pick up here is a hidden argument against student ministry as a separate ministry of a church, but I am not aiming at that, per se. What I am saying is that the student ministry needs to be about plugging the young people into the overall body of older people. It needs to be about taking the immature in the faith and inculcating in them a value for the full body of believers at the local level. If the student ministry is placed aside of the church, left to the oversight of one or a few leaders and pushed from shore, then it is toast from the get-go and "Denises" (or situations like hers) start to become more the norm, instead of the outlier, if there are not more mature people around the boat.
Granted, in the case of Denise: there probably were enough mature people around to have helped the situation more than it was helped. What happened to her was inexcusable and a poor reflection of Christ's love.
There is much wisdom in this post. Aside from my comment above, I take to heart the exhortation to move quickly and to ignore most modern church growth strategies (that, in my mind, measure a church's growth about as much as a ruler measures one's weight).
What I hear most that you didn't bring out explicitly in your post: Act. Act quickly if possible, but even if "quickly" is long gone, the window to act is still wide open if the person is still alive. So, act. Go. It is what you would want someone to do for you. Love your neighbor as yourself - it is the essence of loving God.
8. Bill
- 06/22/2011 11:50 am CDT
Quaid,
Thanks for the comments. I disagree with your first comment, but I often find myself on the wrong side of my theological betters :-). I was not trying to misuse scripture, certainly. But I'm open to correction if I did.
But I do believe that there is a temptation to attempt to take control of the salvation of others when the fact of that matter is that it is Christ alone who saves.
I agree, but my "cop-out" meter is pegging 100. This is one reason that, while I am a huge fan of God's sovereignty, I can't call myself a Calvinist.
Of course Christ alone saves. But he used the church and I have blood on my hands.
I agree with comment #2. I've fallen way, way, way out of love with the student ministry philosophy I followed for ten years.
9. Michael Snow
- 06/26/2011 11:48 pm CDT
We all need to think about lost sheep like the world does:
…they donned their daypacks and strode up the trail…Mark, a boy of twelve, pressed ahead. He delighted in exploring the wonders of the woods and mountains.
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Love, Prayer and Forgiveness
… the remaining party strode onward…
“Mark!,” his mother called out. Hearing no reply,
they all pushed onward to catch up with the youngster. Five minutes passed and then fifteen. They still had not caught site of Mark around the twists or switchbacks of the trail. Their concern heightened.
“Mark”…
Fears grew that Mark had wandered from the trail and become lost. Dave headed back down the
trail for help as the rest of the party plunged forward, still hoping to catch up to Mark.
Dave soon met a park ranger who was leading a nature hike. At the news of the lost boy, the naturalist pulled the radio from his belt: “Johnson to Romo . . . we may have a lost boy on Flat Top trail.”
At park headquarters, no confusion about what to do entered the scene. Personnel received training for situations such as this. They had studied and, therefore, knew the standard operating procedures—all written down in a park manual
by experienced forerunners. This was not the first time that rangers had faced the situation of someone lost in the mountains.
Headquarters immediately sent out the call to the backcountry rangers. One who was in the area hurried on horseback to make contact with the family in order to get the details. Others gathered at the trailhead and organized the search party. As the day progressed with no results, park headquarters proceeded with further measures. The call for help went out
to the volunteer search and rescue teams…with still no results, Ft. Carson
received a call to send a helicopter to ferry
the search teams to the mountain top. The call for volunteers spread throughout the park…
teams made up of maintenance workers, carpenters and truck drivers; trail crews and road crews; naturalists and gatekeepers. Normal tasks were postponed …
Despite the best efforts of the searchers, the boy remained missing. Still, the search continued over the vast mountainous terrain until a pair of searchers found the boy’s body where he had fallen after slipping while climbing.…. The volunteers who answered the call gave up a holiday, missed meals and ball games, postponed engagements, interrupted weekend plans;…
What do we expect of these park service workers and volunteers the next time a child or an adult is lost in the mountains? Do we expect them to say, “No,” to the call? Or to moan, “It didn’t save a life last time?” Will they hem and
haw and mutter, “Let’s wait and see”?
No, that will not happen. People of this breed do not put their hands to the plow and look backwards. The call to rescue courses through their blood. When the cry for help
comes again, they will forge forward with the same exuberance and determination which they displayed throughout the search for that twelve-year old boy.
They know that time and exposure work against life…
Leave a Comment:
amen brother, well said!