Changing Churches

[Andrew Lee]

I recently found out that one of my enrolled students has recently changed churches. I received her pastor's recommendation before she started taking courses, from her previous church which she was attending for decades, but this now brings up an interesting dilemna.

She mentioned that she has recently joined a new church and is working to getting more involved. Should I ask her to get another pastor's recommendation from her new church? If so, will she no longer be able to continue at TUMI Chester until she's served at her church for a few months and the pastor recommends her?

She is currently taking our Kingdom of God (Module 2) (http://www.tumi.org/migration/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=227&Itemid=222). It's interesting that this comes up now since we just completed lesson 3: God's Reign Invading where it focuses on the church being the Agent in which God will proclaim His message of salvation. We have had great discussions in class regarding the centrality of the church. I absolutely agree and have been challenged recently on the idea of Leadership as Representation (http://www.tumi.org/forum/showthread.php?t=19) from other threads on the forum. I am praying through this to determine how this all comes together.

I have not specifically spoken to her regarding this issue (was brought up in a prayer request in a gathering), but wanted some input before I do.

For the record, her ministry is mainly focusing on people in her community, which has not changed since her change in churches. I would definitly encourage her to work within her new church as she reaches out to her community, but in the meantime, what would anyone recommend?

I would hate to ask her to stop taking classes as she's really been growing and I can see that the courses that she has taken (this is her second semester) has really empowered her and helped her reach her community. I would think that I should at least ask her to get another pastor's recommendation, but I'd like to hear people's thoughts regarding whether she can continue taking courses in the meantime.

[Don Davis]

Greetings, dear brother Andrew!

This dilemma is common among urban students, unfortunately, and becomes even more troublesome when such exits or break-ups are vague or whose activating events are difficult to assess. It is a fact of the city; people (like in the suburbs) will be led to or will in fact (for whatever reason) change churches in the course of their TUMI studies. We ought to anticipate and expect this, and use our best discernment and reckoning to see if such exits are due to things either benign or malignant. In other words, leaving a church because of a justified sense of God's leading, which is supported by the pastor and understood by all is one thing; exit due to moral or personal problems which are due to deficiency in character or doctrine is another.

Of course, in our role as Satellite Coordinators, it will be both impossible and counter-productive to attempt to "chase down" every reason every student will give for changing churches. We are advocates here at the Hope School of Ministry of emphasizing changing churches, not leaving church altogether. I have found that in the midst of a change of situation we offer grace and understanding to our students for the transition period, allowing them over a period of time (3-6 months) to "re-attach" to an assembly where they can become known, transfer membership, and/or reconnect with its pastoral leaders regarding their gifting, call, and commitment for leadership training. In very few cases have we found individuals unable or unwilling to connect within this time. They usually affirm with us the essential nature of representation, and strive to become a part of its life, fellowship, and mission.

The principle is what is critical here, not a wooden or inflexible mis-application of our protocol regarding the imprimatur of the pastoral leadership of the new church. Truly, like the Sabbath, TUMI exists for the students, and not vice versa.

I think we must without equivocation stand for and defend TUMI's unique commitment to leadership as representation. Practically, this means that no student leader can merely represent their own interests, but must necessarily be under (or be seeking to be under) the godly watchcare of legitimate spiritual authority. This being said, however, we should likewise should expect that, under certain circumstances, our students will in fact change churches, and should not be immediately penalized for it in a legalistic way. Affirming the principle that all our students be within local churches under the care and oversight of godly shepherds need not conflict with allowing students who are in the midst of changing churches time and space to reconnect with another without forfeiting their studies seems a wise, via media, to quote Aristotle.

As in all things, holding to principle while discerning as best we can how to respond in each specific circumstance is a fairly helpful rule of thumb here.

Don