This is a generalization and doesn’t apply to everybody… but it does apply to somebody.
When you tell us “I am a church-hopper,” and you go from place to place, what that sometimes tells us is that you can’t be counted on to stick around and be a part of our lives… and that is what Church is supposed to be… sharing life together in the body of Christ. A family.
If you were a relationship, I would call you a fling. You can’t be counted on to hold my heart for the long hall. You get a piece of my heart, but then you leave and I am hurt because I trusted you with a part of me, and now you are gone.
If you were an employee, I’d call you a temp. You contribute for a while, but I can’t invest too much in you because you are going to leave and all I’ve built in you will be lost. I can’t count on you for the big stuff… because I never know when you will leave for the next big thing.
I understand visiting another Church… after all, we are one body in Christ. Sometimes God will call a family to go to another Church to help be a part of its community, to strengthen it. I understand leaving a Church because it doesn’t preach the Gospel anymore, or sin is allowed to run rampant, but if your consider yourself to be part of the family here, why would you pull up your roots and go elsewhere? Or maybe your roots have never gone down deep enough for other people to become a part of your life in a way that matters. Do people know you well enough to tell when you are struggling, or grieving? Do you have a Church family that can wrap its arms around you, help you through struggles and sins? Can they be there for you in joy and triumphs… or did you pull up your roots and leave, never letting anyone get close to your heart?
Some people leave because “We just aren’t getting fed anymore.” Did it ever occur to you that maybe if you were allowing God to use you to pour into others, that maybe he would feed you for the task? The Church is not Walmart. It is not a store to walk into and expect to get everything you think you want. Instead, consider how God would have you serve. Instead of complaining about what you think is missing, praise God for what is here, and pray for him to supply what is lacking. Don’t just jump ship. Don’t leave your family.
God works through community, through family. Why do you run from it?
> Pastor Aaron Knapp
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How can you know what Jesus would do if you don’t know what Jesus did?