Joining a church or a denomination

Dear pastors:

It is always challenging for the body of Christ when the church leaders have to face the sensitive challenge, a member is leaving one church to join another, or a pastor left one denomination to join another one.

Why should a member of another Christian group, or a pastor look forward to joining another denomination?

I have asked myself:
What if someone comes and asks to join us, what do we have to offer them that they did not or could not find elsewhere?

For a church member, it may be he/she is having some conflicts with the pastor or with other church members. It may be his/her pastor is no longer feeding him/her with the Word. Or it is no longer a warm and loving place. There could be so many reasons. A strong relationship and good communication with the other pastor are keys to having a proper transition.

For a pastor, there are many other reasons too. It may be a better building. It may be a more comprehensive package with insurance, good housing, pension benefits and a good salary guaranteed for life. It may be more money to run the programs or agendas. It may be the brand name. It may be a longing to be with a highly educated group of leaders. It may be a more organized, centralized and pragmatized church that he/she is looking for. It may be a past hurt. Or maybe it is the authentic teaching and preaching of the Word of God, anointing of God's Holy Spirit, the presence of God and the power of God so evidently shown and manifested among us that people are seeking.

If taking, receiving, or getting someone, some leaders, church members from another group who are dissatisfied with their own denomination or having their own church split or having their own agenda to grow a denomination then what would happen to the body of Jesus Christ as one?

It is why the church is not growing healthily. The church of Jesus Christ cannot grow healthily by splitting. It should be multiplying with new believers. There is only one Church, one body of Christ.

We need to develop our own leaders from within. We must impact our youth and young adults who will rise up to lead the church now with our mentorship and later when we are gone.

We must follow the strategy from the Bible, the way Jesus started His ministry, like waiting upon and receiving the Holy Spirit, before beginning His ministry.

I believe if a pastor left one for another denomination for any reason, he or she cannot take any member with him/her. Whatever belongs to the church stays there. If the church members decided to leave and follow the pastor, that is another issue. Integrity is the key.

When a church community has gone through many splits, the hurt is felt deeply; it will need time and repentance and understanding and grace for it to be healed properly.

I sincerely pray for the church as a whole and especially our leaders that we will wholehearted seek the will of God and to grow the Church God's way. There was time when I may have put a cart before the horse and then ask God to please bless it. Discernment, wisdom and the prompting of the Holy Spirit are needed I pray.

Also, we are glad to see two new ministries established recently by our Methodist missionary couple here. Blessings come with challenges. We need to pray hard for our missionary couple and also for the pastors who will be invited or appointed to become pastors or associate pastors to care for the new congregations. We've got to have quality Godly leaders in place of leadership pastoring our churches.

I have come to a point in my life where I realize that in order to serve God effectively we must be filled with the Holy Spirit, be anointed and endowed with His power; and I am learning to serve God with all my brothers and sisters, who genuinely love God, do His will and follow Jesus and serve Him with a right heart in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit has shown me that I don't have to have a doctor degree to serve God; proper advance training and higher degree are needed and good to have; knowledge is good, but puffed up knowledge without the power and presence and love of God, it's all nothing;

I don't even need to have a package guaranteed before I can serve God; money is needed, but I believe when we do God's work, God's way, He shall provide.

I don't need to seek to become a chair or serving in a board or committee in order to serve God; How true it is; the first shall be last and the last shall be first; I can be just who I am, a regular person, a pastor, a chaplain meeting someone in prison showing him the way; praying with someone at the bedside dying; talking to a stranger on the street or couseling a troubled person or youth in a marketplace or sharing with them about Jesus.

However, I do need God's Word, God's power, God's anointing, God's gifts, God's love and compassion and wisdom to serve God effectively, to advance God's kingdom not mine. I need a genuine Christian fellowship where I can grow, an authentic association of leaders who I can proudly associate with and learn from and be in ministry with.

Whatever God wants me to be or to do and wherever He wants me to go or to be, they are what and where I want to be and to do. I believe it's all about our right relationship with Jesus, our love for God and for one another that matter.

I understand that when God calls us to pastor a church or to serve in a mission field, we will say to God "here I am", send me instead of asking Him to show us the money first then we will go.

I thank God for the opportunity to share some thoughts, feelings and perspectives with you.

Pastor Linh