Practical Pastoring: Receiving and releasing people

Receiving and releasing people is an area of church life that is crucial yet often overlooked. One of the keys to receiving and releasing people is to allow the Holy Spirit to bring into the church those He wants in, take out of the church those He wants out, and allow to remain those in the church whom He wants to remain.

If our expectation is that our success is determined by having a large congregation, we are missing the mark. Jesus asked the Twelve if they wanted to leave when other disciples had turned back and no longer followed Him. Remember, many are called; few are chosen; some are faithful.

It is easy to take it personally when people leave the church. Sometimes people leave because they should never have been a part of the church in the first place. There are times when people pursue employment or retirement in another community.

I have seen people leave our church because they did not like another member of the congregation. At times people depart because they do not like how the eldership functions. Casual church attendees may only attend services at Christmas time or during Easter. Others cannot stand the perfume that another member may wear and thus quit coming to church. People become upset when another person is sitting in “their” chair. The church is still striving to reach maturation.

When some people leave a church, they go through the proper channels. They notify the eldership and ask for prayer. The elders publicly honor the people leaving the church, blessing them with prayer as they embark on the next step of their journey with God.

Other people who leave a church embarrass themselves with fleshly actions. They may make a scene and attempt to blame the church for their problem. Take the high ground is these situations and speak the truth in love.

A portion of the problems encountered when people leave your church could be prevented by heeding the directions Pastor Dan gave when he commented on people acting as if they can enter and leave the church on their own terms. You can only pastor people who want to be pastored. Some elderships invest too much time attempting to help people who are unwilling to change. These same people often cause problems throughout the body of believers.

At the Ark church, we do not have a membership. The Holy Spirit shows the elders those to feed, lead, and protect. When others show up for a service, we feed them a sound Biblical message. In our hearts we know the ones God has given us to lead and protect. We follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in order to fulfill our calling. We feed, lead, and protect those God gives us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

When a new person or family begins to attend church, we welcome them and attempt to find out their story. Why have they chosen to attend the Ark Church? Many times an out-of-state visitor reported they were passing through town and the Holy Spirit directed them to our church.

My pastor taught me that more people equates to more problems. If a person has a Holy Spirit desire to be in the flock, I want that person to attend the Ark Church. I do not want someone in the congregation whom God does not want there. God desires every person to be saved. There are some people, however, who attend church for the wrong reasons.

I have witnessed a former pastor attend our service seemingly looking for a flock. I have watched men in the congregation attempt to persuade a widow to leave the Ark church and follow them. Having accurate discernment, she was able to immediately see what was happening. We lost a portion of our worship team due to a religious even in our community years ago.

Watching people leave the church is difficult, but it is part of the pastoral life. Be encouraged when people leave in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Be extremely encouraged when God brings in those who are in attendance to serve and be a blessing.

Pastor Dan closed his letter mentioning obedience and service. Receive these words as if they are spoken from Jesus Himself. Jesus wrapped Himself with a towel and washed the feet of His disciples. Jesus obeyed His Father even when He did not desire to suffer. He submitted Himself to His Father’s will. Receiving and releasing people will help you and the eldership learn teamwork, obedience to the Holy Spirit, and submission to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Kevin Barsotti

Ark Church

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This article is part of Practical Pastoring: Mentoring Growth Letters from a Senior Pastor to a New Pastor, Book Four. The author responds to his pastor’s letters to him from twenty years ago when he began his pastoral journey.