letmeillustrate

[letmeillustrate]

In the Bible, church discipline is a rescue operation.

—Juan Sanchez (cited in Alex Duke, What Should We Do About Members Who Won’t Attend?)

[letmeillustrate]

Think of your church as a lightbulb hooked up to a dimmer switch in a dark room. Everything we do makes our witness brighter or darker.

Practicing meaningful membership is one of the surest ways to turn that dimmer switch up; ignoring it is one of the surest ways to turn it down.

—Alex Duke, What Should We Do About Members Who Won’t Attend?

[letmeillustrate]

If a sheep has strayed let us seek it; to disown it in a hurry is not the Master's method. Ours is to be the labor and the care, for we are overseers of the flock of Christ to the end that all may be presented faultless before God. One month's absence from the house of God is, in some cases, a deadly sign of a profession renounced, while in others a long absence is an affliction to be sympathised with, and not a crime to be capitally punished.

—Charles Spurgeon (cited in Alex Duke, What Should We Do About Members Who Won’t Attend?)

[letmeillustrate]

https://chvnradio.com/articles/filipino-missionary-works-66-years-to-get-bible-translated-into-heart-language

[letmeillustrate]

Your pastor is like your personal trainer. She can’t literally force you to take her exercise and nutritional advice, but when you hire her to be your trainer and help you work toward a mutually agreed fitness goal, you must do what she says if you want to remain her client. You recognize her authority not because she forces you but because, in a sense, it is consonant with the truth. You do what she says not because it is never daunting or painful but because you recognize that she is helping you move toward the virtues you seek.

—Bonnie Kristian, “How Christianity Helps Us Recognize Good Authority,” Dispatch Faith February 2, 2025

[letmeillustrate]

You don’t always need to set out to build a community. Community is what happens when you do what you love together. —Pete Davis, Join or Die

[letmeillustrate]

[letmeillustrate]

"On the other hand, some immoralities and misconducts disgust both believers and unbelievers due to their absolute atrocity and public nature. Actions such as murder, pedophilia, bestiality, and sexual assault are universally recognized as abhorrent. If a minister falls into such publicly scandalous sin and later seeks restoration to his office, after a long period of genuine repentance, believers might accept his repentance. However, the abhorrible offense committed by the minister will give a legitimate cause for unbelievers to mock and blaspheme the Church and God. Therefore, one must carefully consider whether a fallen pastor who has committed such egregious sins can be restored to ministry when he no longer qualifies as "having a good reputation with outsiders" and risks bringing further dishonor to the name of God."