church attendance

Here, when a person does not attend at least 13 of 39 services (i.e., one service a week for a quarter), they are "inactive." They lose their voting and speaking privileges. To regain active status, they simply have to show up for 13/39 services.

As for excuses, if you know they are going somewhere else, I would ask them straight out about, in a loving tactful way. Find out why ... there may be a good reason.

 

Seeing this post brought a web site I had seen a while back about some of the excuses people use so as to not attend church. It took me a while to find it, but here is the link... http://www.fbbc.com/messages/misschurch.htm

It's kind of a humorous but yet serious look at the subject.

God Bless!!!

Adam

Remembering President Reagan 1911 to 2004

 

I just find this thread humorous. Why would anyone need to make up an excuse for missing service a few Sundays? If my pastor came to me and asked me why I didn't show and after I told him (IF I FELT HE NEEDED TO KNOW)and he didn't believe me, I personally wouldn't care. If he wants to exclude me from rights in membership that of course is up to him and the church but reasons for missing is between myself and God.

 

What about the body of Christ to whom you made a commitment? God gifted you to serve that body by being in that body (1 Cor 12). When you are absent, you are not doing your biblical duty of obedience to God? Doesn't that matter?

 

By the way, the pastor has no authority to exclude anyone from the body. That is the responsibility of the body itself.

 

The restrictions in our constitution are there for a good reason. At one point, people who had not been in church in years showed up in a business meeting to have a voice in a particular matter. Because of hte poorly written constitution, a measure that was desired by the active membership was voted down by the people who did not care enough to be a part of the body.

 

What are ya voting on?

 

Pastor,

I am not talking about being absent for months on end, I'm talking about having to make an excuse to the Pastor or even being questioned about it. It's nice to be missed and make sure all is well, but to be disciplined for being absent I don't agree with.

 

We aren't voting on anything now. At that time, they were voting on moving.

As far as disciplined for being absent, that takes place after being absent for "months on end." Discipline does not take place until you have been absent for a year. But in our body, if someone is missing, we want to know why and what we can do to fix it and get it back to normal. When something on my body doesn't work, I get it fixed. The same thing is true in the body of Christ.

 

Just wondering if it wouldn't be best to allow the leaders/elders make decisions without any sort of congregational voting. Seems to me that this is the way to handle it.

 

I guess most SBC churches need to discipline their members because only one out of three of the membership roll is in attendance.

I have never seen people who were being discipled ever miss church much.

 

If you are a presbyterian or something i guess that would be fine. ... In Baptist polity, the congregation is in charge. They decide who is a member and who is not.

 

Discipling begins with evangelism. It requires that we go to them first. Evangelsim does not begin in the church building. Jesus sent his disciples out two by two. When Jesus gave the command in Mt. 28:19,20 it meant that His disciples needed to leave their comfortable domain. Why be around the majority of people who never lead someone to Christ in their entire lifetime? Call that church? It is not the church I see in the NT. In real life it is the mother and father who nurture the children. They give to their children. It is not the children coming to the parents for food.

I have never been successful at discipling anyone within the walls of the church. It requires that I take them with me to do ministry and reach others in the community. The Pharisees don’t like it but the new believers do. Ever notice who leads the majority of people to Christ? New believers.

Sometime read (MODERATOR'S NOTE: link cut, as it is too long and displaces the page)

[ June 06, 2004, 04:58 PM: Message edited by: Dr. Bob Griffin ]

 

If a church I was attending attempted to discipline me for missing service, I'd walk and find a new church to fellowship in.

 

actually one can be discipled by a group of christians or one christian outside of church, i have been....nothing wrong with it.