Our family still laughs about a woman from my childhood church who uttered a statement in a business session that should be carved in stone since it so perfectly expresses the attitude of certain change-resistant members.
Speaking about a longtime practice of the church that the new pastor wanted to end because it was not worthy of the Lord and was now dividing the congregation, this little woman who had belonged to that church for a hundred and eighty-three years, said, “Well, if it’s sin, we’ve been sinning all these many years and I don’t see no reason to stop now.”
We laugh, but we grieve too. This woman has sisters and brothers in hundreds of churches throughout our land.
In most cases, these people—the change-resistant and the agenda-controller—do not believe for one moment this church belongs to Jesus. This is their church.
“My momma and daddy built this church.”
“My family goes back four generations in this church.”
“We’ve been here longer than the rest of you, so what we say should carry more weight.”
“Pastors come and go, but we stay on forever.”
There is no way to say this too strongly: The best thing to happen to many a church would be for certain ones to leave. And the sooner the better.
In fact, we should pray the Lord would lead some people away.
Early in my long pastoral ministry, I began to pray a little three-pronged prayer that I recommend to every pastor and leader:
“O Lord, send only the people to this church You want here; Keep away any You do not want here; And if there’s anyone here You want out, please get them out. Amen.”
I can hear the protests.
- “But what would we ever do without Deacon Strongarm?” Answer: “I don’t know; let’s find out.”
- “How will this church survive without our tithes and offerings?” Answer: “You might be surprised to discover the Lord does not need your money.” (See Psalm 50:12.)
Over these years, I have seen many a disgruntled member walk away in a huff, certain the church would fall into ruin without their presence and counsel and money.
In no case—not one, nada!—did the church ever skip a beat without them.
It seems to be a point of pride with the Lord, that He will not let a church suffer when these self-appointed rulers depart with their tiny talents and miniscule offerings.
