restoration
Last night, I went to our monthly deacons’ meeting at church. Usually, the meetings last 3 hours and are so filled with issues and details that they’re exhausting. That’s not a complaint, though. It’s an honor and a privilege to serve my church by being a part of the board.
Last night’s meeting was… refreshing. Instead of the normal scheduling and building details and general concerns, we spent a lot of time dealing with a particular issue. Here’s the situation:
We’re an inner city church. Inner city churches struggle, most often openly, against drug addiction and substance abuse. A group of members of our church are engaging in drug and substance abuse. Despite repeated attempts to have them even acknowledge the sin involved, this group continues in their behavior, even defending it as something good.
One of this group is of particular concern – this person is gifted by God with an amazing natural ability to lead people, and regardless of this person’s intent (or even desire), people are following. This person’s defiance and justification are being adopted and echoed by every one in that group, and families already broken are being severely affected.
I imagine that some churches would turn the other way – especially when a confrontation gone wrong could end in a large group of members leaving the church and families of children being abandoned to the neglect of using parents… Maybe others would follow the Matthew 18 guidelines to the letter (one-on-one, group-on-one, church-on-one, then removal from church) and say they did their duty.
At the deacons’ meeting, we of course talked about the biblical models and about what will be our church’s approach to these people. There will be no condoning of sin (a little yeast)… But that said, it was amazing to see the love that the deacons have for this member and this group that follows… and how evident our desire for their complete restoration.
It amazes me how fervent prayer about something so potentially deathly to the momentum of the growth of our church, something that could spark cynicism in all of us, unites us and gives us hope.
We know that the draw and the hold of sin is so strong… but the power of God is so much greater. =)
This is indeed a difficult situation to deal with in the life of the church. Thanks for sharing it.
You wrote, “Maybe others would follow the Matthew 18 guidelines to the letter (one-on-one, group-on-one, church-on-one, then removal from church) and say they did their duty.”
I’m concerned about the phrase, “then removal from church.” That’s not what Matt 18 actually says. It says, “treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”
And I have to ask how did JESUS treat pagans and tax collectors? He didn’t kick them out – he loved them, went to eat in their homes, continued to try to restore them. Think about that. :-)
And then, most of us who refer to Matt 18 stop at v. 17. But if we read on to vv. 19-20, we find Jesus’ famous promise that he will be there whenever 2 or 3 meet in his name. So the promise is that he will help resolve conflicted situations such as the one your church is in.
I’m thankful that the deacons are praying fervently and seeking to love this user. My prayer is that the situation will be resolved to the glory of God.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what you’ve written here, and though I’ll probably talk to you about it in person some time, I wanted to say a couple of things here.
1) I don’t always write exactly what I mean – in fact, sometimes I write to figure out what I mean. Or what I’m not sure about… So what I wrote here wasn’t well thought out, or even really coherant. =)
2) I grew up in a lot of different churches, and never got a clear idea about how things like this were supposed to work. I remember hearing it preached, once, though, that treating people like tax collectors and pagans meant turning your back and looking for someone more… malleable. That never sat right with me. I don’t like the idea of turning on someone and leaving them behind. I much rather like what you’ve said, the light that you’ve shown here. That Jesus wouldn’t have done anything like that… that gives me peace about this passage. And hope – that if I ever mess up, there’ll be forgiveness and love. =)
So, thanks for what you wrote. I’m sorry I didn’t respond sooner.