The Next Day--You're Out

"To be rejected by the world is not pleasant, but to be deserted by fellow workers in the service of Christ is particularly painful. To have those you have spent your life spiritually nurturing turn away from you, and sometimes even against you, is heartbreaking in the extreme." ~John MacArthur

I've been feeling rather down lately--and slightly flabbergasted. Only one of my "friends" from my former church has bothered to call in the last 5 weeks since we've been gone.  Other than that person, no one else seems to care or notice that we've been gone.  One friend even cancelled a coffee date and has conveniently not yet rescheduled... 

It appears that we have been successfully excommunicated from our former church--even though our reason for leaving was completely legitimate and reasonable in light of the fact that the church is planning to relocate itself to a location that is too far for us to drive to every Sunday.  So despite honesty and doing what is best for our family, our former friends have completely deserted us.  And it hurts.  It's not surprising though.  This appears to be how churches work.  You're in one day, and the next day you're out.  (Ok, I did steal that line from Project Runway, but it applies here!)

Anyway, I'm sad that Christians do this to each other.  We shouldn't.  We're supposed to be united by our love for Jesus Christ and our desire to share Him with the world.  We're supposed to rise above the pettiness of disputes and we're supposed to exemplify forgiveness and compassion.  

I've really been struggling with my response to the whole situation.  I really want to reach out to my former church friends, but I fear that the entire situation will be awkward.  What if those friends don't want to hear from me?  What if there really is no place for us in their lives?  Will they ever speak to me again?

For weeks, I've been wrestling with my response to my former church family.  But as I started reading Paul's letters of greetings to various churches throughout the New Testament, the answer became clear.  I'm supposed to pray for my friends.  I'm supposed to ask that God will further their ministry so that they can reach out to the lost.  Even if they're located an hour and half away in a small town, I hope that my former family of believers can bring light to the darkness in this world.  So to you my dear friends, this is my prayer:

"To this end also we pray for you always that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power; in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."     

II Thessalonians 1:11-12