You’ve heard that it takes an average of seven exposures to advertising of a certain product or service before the eventual purchaser of the product or service makes a decision to buy.
Yet, existing customers typically only need to hear once or twice about a new product, service or price before they consider a purchase.
Why this info on business marketing?
It’s because we Christians need to make sure we continue investing in our relationships with fellow church members so that our congregation’s viability isn’t contingent on finding new bodies to replace those who leave the church.
Many of you attend congregations where “family” is lovingly practiced among members and the proverbial “back door” is rarely opened by people who don’t want to be there anymore.
That’s wonderful.
I’m praying that all of my Morning Devotion readers will find the same to be true for their congregations, even if some of those congregations have room for improvement in this respect.
The Apostle Paul sought to help the church at Corinth to remove the factors that were shoving people toward the back door.
Some members there had seemingly lost sight of the fact that it is more challenging in a resource sense to win people to the Lord than it is to retain them in the church.
That’s why Paul wrote what he did in 2 Corinthians 12. It’s not a happy passage to read, but it is important because of what was at stake in the church then. The message still applies to us today.
Here’s how serious Paul was about this call:
“For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.” (2 Corinthians 12:20).
Whatever it takes, we are to protect and nurture our relationships within the church just as we are to do for those within our immediate families.
God called us to build our families at home and at church, not tear them down.
Listen, I understand that we can’t control how others behave in the church. Sometimes people in large groups, whether spiritual or secular, engage in the above behaviors and people get offended and leave the group.
Our responsibility, though, is to make sure that we aren’t contributing to the chaos by acting in the ways listed above. As we demonstrate the opposite of each behavior above, the Lord will use us to draw people back into the fold rather than helping to push them out the back door.
Such ugliness above has no proper place in the Bride of Christ. Please do all you can to avoid these behaviors and encourage others to do the same.
As always, I love you
Martin
