That’s it. You’ve decided to leave your assembly. The elders will not listen. The Christians are too worldly. The problems are not solved. This time you are really going to do it.
You are not the first Christian to think this way. There are times of discouragement and frustration that lead us to the possibility of leaving our assembly in search of a better situation. But before you make the final break, here is a checklist to consider.
1. Have you considered that you will wound the body? When a believer leaves for unhappy reasons, an amputation takes place. The Christians are saddened and hurt when one breaks fellowship. We are “members one of another.” There may be a carnal pleasure of finally “showing them” by leaving, but we step into dangerous territory. The stumbling of another is taken as a direct attack on the Lord (1 Cor. 8:12).
2. Will your family survive? We cannot act independently. Our children are watching us. They know more than we give them credit for. Will my spouse and children adjust to a new fellowship? Do they need to be exposed to difficulties this way? Young people develop friendships in an assembly that stand them in good stead during formative years. When the world is more than happy to embrace them and offer them a false fellowship, we cannot afford to put their assembly fellowship in jeopardy.
3. Your influence and gift will no longer benefit the assembly. Read again these words, “But now has God set the members every one of them in the body, as it has pleased Him” (1 Cor. 12:18). Your influence and gift may be the very thing the Lord wants to use in your assembly. It may be you have accurately identified areas requiring change. But things do not change overnight. Perhaps your ministry to date has been equipping the saints in ways you can’t see yet. Now is not the time to quit.
4. Is the Lord really leading you this way? There are times when the Lord has led believers from one assembly to another. But you want to be sure this is the case. Leaving your assembly out of frustration, discouragement or anger is not characteristic of the Lord’s way. It is one thing to leave in happy fellowship with a view to helping another assembly. It is quite another to leave full of fault-finding. Where will I go? To move without His guidance could cause a problem in the assembly I go to, as well as the one I leave. Be sure the Lord is in this.
5. Are your intentions to leave a symptom of your own spiritual condition? Asaph, in Psalm 73 describes an experience that is not unknown to us. He was discouraged. The wicked appeared to prosper while the godly suffered. But in his despair, he knew that to speak about his complaint would only discourage others. So he waited on God and eventually saw the whole picture. He concludes: “It is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all Thy works” (v. 28). Sometimes in life it is best to keep silent. Acting impetuously may trigger events we never intended. Consider waiting before leaving your assembly.
6. Have you considered there is more to be encouraged about than to be discouraged about? We are living in a day with great opportunities. Young people around us are hungry for the Word of God and living for Him. The gospel is still “the power of God” and people need to hear it. Assemblies need men and women who will be there to build through good times and times of crises. The only time to give up is never.
There was never an assembly with as many problems as Corinth. Yet Paul never encouraged anyone to leave. With love and determination, he faithfully corrected them with a view to moving forward. Let us be men and women of that character.
There may be times when the Lord moves His people around. There may even be situations that are hopeless. But these are not common. It is time for us to drop the critical spirit. Stop complaining. Turn that energy into positive actions. Encourage the elders. Befriend the young people. Visit the elderly. Be a spiritual believer. Contribute to the health of the assembly and see how soon change comes to the assembly (and you)!