When and How to Leave a Church

Well, good morning. This is the second week of a two-week break from our verse-by-verse exposition of John's gospel.

! But I'd still like for you to join me in John's gospel in chapter 17 and verse 3.

This will be the first text that we'll turn to today.

This morning we're going to think a bit together about when and how to leave a church.

If you are going to be connected meaningfully to the life of a church, you will experience the loss of people that you care about.

It is inevitable that people will leave a church.

Some for legitimate, reasonable, healthy reasons.

Reasons that we would be glad to send people out of our church.

And their departure, it's handled with great maturity.

We walk together through that process.

Sometimes, this is sadly not the case.

So today I want to take a bit of time to think about good reasons to leave a church.

With some additional comments about when and how not to.

We don't have a lot of explicit biblical data to derive conclusions from on this topic.

We do see in the Bible people sent from one place to another for a particular purpose.

And we do see letters commending the acceptance of people sent.

However, our complex Christian society requires that we come to some conclusions implicitly.

Which I hope to help us do so faithfully.

By complex, I mean we live in a saturated marketplace, if you'll allow.

There are churches all over.

So how do we navigate both joining a church and then in some cases, leaving one?

All of that said, do be discerning.

Anytime you hear teaching from the Bible.

A guest, a guest member.

Anytime you hear teaching from the Bible.

Especially so when the Bible is approached topically and implicitly.

So be discerning.

Anytime we open God's Word together.

Be especially so this morning.

It's easy.

We have seen people do this over and over and over again.

To use the Bible to say what they want to say.

And that's certainly not my desire this morning.

I want you to hold me accountable.

Are we being faithful to the text as we try to derive wisdom from it on topics like this?

Now, so much could be said here.

I could go on and on and on.

I've been a pastor now for almost 17 years.

And so I have experienced loss across those years.

So to keep me from just rambling on,

I've structured our time around three characteristics of a local church

that I think will help us think well on this matter.

So a bit of an outline for you to my rambling.

And here it is.

The church is, number one, theological, confessional, and therefore convictional.

And you'll actually find this in your bulletin this morning.

Secondly, the church is relational.

And thirdly, the church is missional.

Let's pray together.

Father, as we take some time this morning to think on this topic,

I pray that you would help us to do so biblically.

I've got a spattering of texts throughout my notes.

I pray that you'll help us to take them up and to think about them,

your word and how it applies to this particular matter.

Help us to have our affections for you increase as we spend these moments together.

And help us to have our affections for the thing you are most affectionate for,

your church also increase.

We need your help.

If anything is going to be done this morning that is of any real benefit to any of us,

we certainly need your spirit to work in us, in my speaking and in our hearing.

I pray that you'd apply this carefully to our hearts.

We pray this for your glory in Christ's name.

Amen.

So when to leave a church.

First, the church is theological.

And I could say it's theological and therefore confessional and therefore convictional.

A church is a group of people who gather regularly for a specific purpose.

What is that purpose?

Church is made up of Christian people and we gather to worship our God for his glory and our good.

That's why we do this.

Lots of other great things happen in the life of a church, right?

Eggs are exchanged.

And essential oils purchased.

But that's not why we exist as a church.

Neat byproducts, right?

It is altogether possible.

And we should not miss this.

It's altogether possible to worship the right God wrongly

or to have the trappings of worship in order.

So appearance of right worship.

But to worship a God of our own making.

So the church must be.

It is necessarily theological.

We have to do theology to be a church.

The study of God.

And we study his word so that we can know him by it.

How do you turn to John chapter 17 and verse 3.

John 17 · chapter mention

Here Jesus says,

And this is eternal life.

I want the definition of eternal life for me.

What is eternal life?

This is eternal life.

That they know you.

That they know you.

The only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

To be a Christian is to be a theologian.

Not merely to know about God, but to know him.

That's a serious thing that we do.

And we ought to do it seriously.

J.I. Packer in his seminal work, Knowing God, said this.

Quote,

What is my ultimate aim and object in occupying my mind with the things of God?

What do I intend to do with my knowledge about God once I have it?

For the fact that we have to face is this.

If we pursue theological knowledge for its own sake,

it is bound to go bad on us.

End quote.

It's going to lead to pride.

It's going to puff us up.

We want to know God and therefore live our lives in accordance with his commands.

And so, the church, it must be theological.

And it should be no surprise to anybody that it is.

We read and we pray and we read out loud to one another.

And we sing and we preach and we hear preached.

The word of God.

We are theological.

And because of that, we have to decide what the Bible says about some things.

We can't say we're theological, study God's word to know him by it,

and then shrug our shoulders about what he teaches from it.

We ought to say it says something.

And churches do this, of course.

And so, we're confessional.

We write down what we believe the Bible says.

And because of this, we are therefore convictional, or should be at very least.

Right?

What we believe the Bible teaches about something,

we ought to actually live in accordance with that.

So, should you leave a church, if anyone in the church disagrees with you about anything?

Certainly not.

There are people who think in this way.

If so, each of us would be left to our private study.

And we would all be worse for it.

Not a single one of us doesn't need the church to help us to grow in the truth.

So then, if that's not the case,

what does constitute a significant enough disagreement to leave a church over?

How should we think about this?

And thus, I parade in the idea, once again, to you of theological triage.

So, in your notes, I've listed this out for you.

I've listed it in order.

First, second, third, fourth.

Although, I'm going to talk about it a little bit out of order.

If you're entirely new to the concept,

the idea of triage is assigning importance to something.

So, my classic example is,

if a bus of people was in an accident,

and they all got rushed to the emergency room,

very quickly, a charge nurse or doctor is going to assign importance to the injuries that are being experienced there.

Right?

What needs the most attention?

And we can give the same concept to theology.

Those doctrines that we hold.

So, the last of these, and I like to say them this way because I like to say the word quaternary.

Quaternary doctrine, or fourth order doctrine.

I used to say it's unimportant, but I like to say it this way instead.

It's important for no one.

Stuff that just doesn't matter.

My example is always, is there life on other planets?

Interesting to think about.

Important for no one.

We'll see.

I don't care.

Then, we can pick up tertiary doctrine, or third order doctrine,

which is important for you.

Right?

Not unimportant, but important for you,

and perhaps your family,

and those that you have influence over.

So, these are things that you ought to have some conviction about,

but we don't all have to share the exact same conviction.

So, an example might be,

what kind of television do we allow in our homes?

Some allow no television in their home.

That's a fine conviction to have.

Some allow for some.

There are certainly some television no Christian should allow in their home,

but there's some gray area in between.

How are we trying to be wise in what we allow into our home?

Another example I thought about this morning,

as I got ready for the morning,

how do we think about our Second Amendment rights?

Men, do you carry?

Do you not carry?

Are there convictions that back the actions that you take?

We don't have to agree on this

to be Christians in fellowship together.

So, turn with me and let me show you an example of this from Romans chapter 14.

Romans 14 · chapter mention

This is the first six verses.

This lays out this idea for us.

There Paul writes,

As for the one who is weak in faith,

welcome him,

but not to quarrel over opinions.

One person believes he may eat anything,

while the weak person eats only vegetables.

And the issue at hand here is meat offered to idols.

You could argue this is an important gospel issue,

freedom that we have in Christ.

And Paul is saying,

it's an opinion that we should not quarrel over.

Verse 3,

Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains,

and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats,

for God has welcomed him.

Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?

It is before his own master that he stands or falls,

and he will be upheld,

for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Another example,

although we don't know exactly the nature of it,

I think this is about the Sabbath.

One person esteems one day as better than another,

while another esteems all days alike.

Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

The one who observes the day observes it in honor of the Lord.

The one who eats,

eats in honor of the Lord,

since he gives thanks to God.

While the one who abstains,

abstains in honor of the Lord,

and gives thanks to God.

So there are convictions at work here,

all meant to please God.

Tertiary,

third order,

important for you.

And I'll tell you, beloved,

I like conversations in this realm,

because I want to be wise.

I want to think about God's commands,

and how to apply them in the world in which we live.

No one's having conversations in Paul's day

about whether or not to put a gun on their back

before they put on their jacket.

They're not talking about this.

So help me think.

Think with me.

Let's take up God's word.

Let's push and pull at each other,

and let's not divide over things that fall into this category.

Okay, back to the top.

Primary doctrine.

First order doctrine.

Doctrine that is important for everyone.

Everyone needs the good news of Jesus Christ.

These would be doctrines,

truths that must be believed in order for a person to be saved.

I said to you all through our study of Romans here recently,

that that's the hill we want to die on.

Because people are dying.

We want to stand firm on those doctrines

that people must believe

that they might have the salvation of their souls.

Primary doctrine.

So, there's a creator God

who is holy

and has a standard by which we are to live.

He is the creator.

We are creation.

He has the right to demand something of us.

And all of us have failed to live up to that standard.

All of us have broken His commands.

We call this failure sin.

And it creates a great problem for us.

The greatest of problems.

We often speak of the world as broken.

And it is, to be sure.

When we speak of ourselves,

apart from God's intervening work,

we are dead because of sin.

And eternal death is what belongs to us.

But Jesus, God incarnate,

came and lived a perfect life.

He did not inherit Adam's guilt

because he was born of a different line.

He was born of a virgin.

Mary.

He kept the law perfectly.

He fulfilled that demand of God on us

so that He could give it to us by faith.

He died a sacrificial death

so that He could take away the penalty

that our sin has bought for us.

And He was raised on the third day.

Triumphed over death.

Showed Himself.

Proved that He was in fact God incarnate.

The Messiah.

The One who takes away the sins of the world.

And so now, we can repent.

And we can believe.

We can cling to Him

and have this beautiful transaction happen between us

where He takes away our punishment

and gives to us His righteousness

so that we can be justified

and adopted into God's family.

Justified by grace through faith

in Christ alone.

First order doctrines

important for everyone.

Jude, verse 3 and 4.

Jude writes,

Beloved, although I was very eager

to write to you about our common salvation,

I found it necessary to write appealing to you,

contend for the faith

that was once for all delivered to the saints.

I think this is what he's talking about.

First order types of doctrines.

The faith once for all delivered to the saints.

Why do I think this?

Because in verse 4 he says,

For certain people have crept in unnoticed

who long ago were designated for this condemnation,

ungodly people

who pervert the grace of our God

into sensuality

and deny our only Master and Lord,

Jesus Christ.

Undermine the gospel itself.

And he's writing to them

to contend for that faith.

Primary doctrine.

It matters greatly.

And then we come to secondary doctrine

or second order doctrine,

which is important for us.

These are the types of doctrines

that are good for us to generally agree on

to be in fellowship in a church.

They're going to define our practice

and in some cases possibly define sin.

What will a church determine to be sin or otherwise?

Some examples.

Like via view on divorce

and or remarriage after divorce.

There are some disparate views out there

and we should know what we think is allowed

and not allowed with some boundaries.

Right?

The regulative principle.

Right?

How do we think we are supposed to gather together?

What does the Scripture say we should do

when we come together?

And then there's always the classic example

of our view on baptism.

Right?

A way that we are theological

and then confessional

and then convictional.

We're going to practice this ordinance

in a particular way

because of what we believe

the Scripture teaches on the matter.

So our church has two confessional standards.

Right?

We ask of every member of our church

to affirm,

so fully agree with,

the Apostles' Creed.

This is not a big ask.

It's first order kind of stuff.

Things we should believe to be true

in order to be saved.

And then we have a much denser document

that we approved this year,

Providence Baptist Church Confession of Faith.

It's a lot more.

There's a lot more going on in this.

But we don't expect that everybody in the church

fully comprehends or fully agrees

with everything found in this document.

We ask that our elders affirm this document

and that it's the teaching standard

for the church.

So it contains within it

those things that are first order

and those things that are second order doctrines.

Right?

We have to have some views about some things.

It's important that we are theological,

confessional,

and convictional.

So,

Christian people

need to be thinking

in this way

and wrapping up

their thoughts about

when to leave a church

with those things

that are of

secondary

order.

If you're debating over first order stuff,

we'd love to talk with you

and teach you,

but you just may not be a Christian.

Okay?

If you're all a Christian,

you believe those first order,

important gospel doctrines,

there's a lot of things

that can be considered

in that second category.

Again,

baptism,

a very classic example of this.

There are reasons

that there are

paedo-baptist churches

in our community

that baptize infants

and churches that don't

only baptize

professing Christians.

But as we do this,

the very best

Christian thinking

is,

number one,

deferential.

Deferential.

That is,

respectful

and

humble.

You and I

only know

anything

that we know

because of the grace of God.

I have not arrived

at any grand truth

on my own.

I would be

cut off from,

I would not know,

would not behold

any of the majesty,

could not take up the Bible

and read

if it wasn't for

the grace of God

in my life.

So we ought to think together

and we ought to do so

deferentially

in this way.

Now you may know

that I love church history.

This is the primary reason

that I love it,

right?

Among some other things.

And that is because

church history has taught me

that I am

currently wrong

about something.

There's

no character

in church history

as much as we

appreciate them

that was right

about everything.

You can identify it.

Oop,

can't agree with them

on that matter.

That has to mean

that I am currently

wrong

about something.

If I knew what it was,

I would fix it

immediately,

but I don't

know

what it is.

And so I want to be

humble.

You're in the same boat

as I am.

All learning,

sorting,

right?

Approaching God's Word

with humility.

To me,

just the second point,

the very best Christian

thinking is

biblical.

Of course,

right?

Of course.

This goes

without saying

Christians should

think biblically

and I do mean that.

They should think

biblically.

They should take up

the Bible.

But beyond that,

I mean

that we should spend

way more time

in our Bibles

than we do

in other formats.

Hear this

way more time

than we do

listening to podcasts

or watching

our favorite guy

on YouTube

or

in books.

You know how I love

books.

Or even

from

sermons.

books.

You should spend

lots of time

in your Bible.

If I could

snap my fingers

if it was granted

to me to snap

my fingers

and do something

for the health

of our church,

this is what I would

ask of our church.

That everybody

read their Bible

every day.

Meditate on

its truths

and pray it.

I would ask

God

that they would

believe what the

Bible teaches

and that he would

do what he said

he's going

to do

and we wouldn't

be on social media.

Social media

is not necessarily

evil,

but we're getting

far too much

from it

than we

should.

Meet with God

in the Bible.

Something happens

in our culture.

A hot moment

happens.

Let God's

word be the

thing that

springs into

your mind.

Not some

guy you think

is going to

have an opinion

about the

matter.

Rush off to

see what he

or she

might have

to say.

Let God

speak to you

about the

issue at

hand.

It is far

too easy

to be convinced.

I'm in the

same boat

with you on

this.

It's far

too easy

to be convinced

of something

by someone

articulate

who references

the Bible

rather than

thinking

biblically.

So the very

best Christian

thinking is

deferential,

it is

biblical,

and thirdly,

it is

relational.

It's

relational.

Think with

others

who know

you

and who

can keep

an eye

on you.

And beloved,

this means

that we

have to

slow our

thinking

down

sometimes.

Did you

know that

you don't

have to

form a

strong

opinion

about

stuff

in a

week?

Social

media

would have

you think

otherwise.

So you

can take

a little

time,

slow down,

take a

beat,

think

carefully,

and think

with

others,

right?

You can

have the

right

doctrine,

but you

can hold

it wrongly,

create pride

in you,

misapply it

in some

way.

Allow

your

pastors

the

privilege

of

thinking

with

you.

We

want to

walk

through

complicated

things.

We're

trying to

think

too

and

think

biblically.

And I

will tell

you,

speaking on

behalf of

your

elders,

we often

feel like

a quiet

whisper in

the corner

of a very

loud room.

And I

just don't

think this

should be

the case.

I don't

think that

I should

have to

compete

with

whatever

talking

head

is out

there

on

the

internet.

I can

tell you

this,

I'm not

going to

compete

in the

same

medium.

I'm

not

gifted

enough

to do

that.

If I

spent all

my time

trying to

produce

videos,

I

wouldn't

have

time

for

anything

else.

And

they

would

be

bad.

They

just

wouldn't

be

good.

I

tried

to

shoot

a

couple

videos

across

the

COVID

era,

and it

took me

forever

to do

it.

Boy,

I was

pitiful

at the

whole

process.

Perhaps

because we

know each

other.

There's

some

relational

equity

here.

There's

some

God-given

authority

for the

way a

church

ought to

function.

We

could

talk a

little

more

and

arrive

at

truth

together.

We

want

to

think

with

you.

And

if we

don't

do

this

together,

you

may

miss

out

on

some

correction

of your

beliefs

or

attitudes,

maybe

some

warning

for

believing

something

that could

be totally

true,

but where

it could

lead.

And then

hear this

really

carefully,

we may

miss out

on the

same.

Love me

enough

to think

with me

because I'm

not going

to be

perfect

all the

time,

and I

need

you

to also

help

me

to

think.

So the

very best

Christian

thinking is

going to

happen

in this

way.

And it

means at

times we're

going to

arrive at

different

conclusions.

Faithful

Christians

throughout

history

have

arrived

at

different

conclusions.

Again,

the matter

of

baptism.

Pado-baptists

and

credo-baptists.

One of us

are right

or we're

both very

wrong.

I don't

know,

but we've

arrived at

different

conclusions

for centuries

and that's

probably going

to continue

to happen,

but let's

do it

together.

Let's

walk that

process

out

in

relationship

with one

another.

So that

was the

first

point.

First

big

point.

The church

is

theological,

confessional,

and therefore

convictional.

Secondly,

the church

is relational.

The church

is relational.

This is

Ephesians

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4.

Paul says,

I urge you

to walk

in a manner

worthy of

the calling

to which

you have

been

called.

Like,

to the

gospel,

to pursuing

Christ,

walk in

a manner

worthy of

that,

with all

humility

and gentleness,

with patience,

bearing with

one another

in love,

eager to

maintain the

unity of

the Spirit

in the

bond of

peace.

There is

a divine

reality that

if we are

in Christ,

there is a

unity of

the Spirit.

And Paul

is exhorting

us here

to do

the work

of maintaining

that unity.

There is a

way,

I have made

the case

to you

before,

for us

to disagree

agreeably,

to be

humble

and gentle

and patient

and to

bear with

one another.

People are

a mess.

the church

is messy

because it

is made

up of

imperfect

people on

a journey

toward

glory.

If me

being here,

a member

of this

church

first,

a pastor

of this

church

second,

was contingent

on me

always enjoying

all of you,

I would have

left a long

time ago.

I don't

always like

you.

I love you

a ton.

There's a

huge difference.

Willing to

walk with

people through

all the

messiness

that we

are,

to not be

so easily

offended all

the time,

to set aside

our own

preferences for

the sake

of others'

preferences,

to have

hard conversations

when you feel

offended by

something that

somebody says.

It's

difficult work

to walk with

people throughout

the entirety

of your

life.

life.

And we

shouldn't

cut and

run on

one another

when things

get

uncomfortable.

Charles

Spurgeon

once said,

this is in

your bulletin,

quote,

the day we

find the

perfect church,

it becomes

imperfect the

moment we

join it.

End quote.

The people

of a church

are not a

commodity

for your

consumption.

You shouldn't

show up,

prospective

church,

join the

church,

expecting this

group of

people is

there in

order for

you to

be served

with all

of your

stuff.

The

leadership of

a church

is not a

commodity

for consumption.

If you

are here,

even if you

have yet to

join the

church,

if you

are here,

if you

come to

this spot

and join

us on

Sunday

morning for

any period

of time,

I want you

to hear this

with such

clarity.

I love

you.

I'm not

particularly

a people

person.

I have

a very

limited

capacity

and energy

to really

know people.

The Lord

has put me

in a position

where I

am desperate

for him

to work

beyond my

natural

gifting.

I will

tell you

that he

puts a

love in

me for

you.

You just

show up.

Show up a

couple Sundays

in a row

and I want

to serve

you.

And I

want to

serve your

family.

I want

to lead

you in

the truth.

I want

to see

you grow

in your

affections

for our

God,

grow in

holiness,

serve

sacrificially

for your

eternal

joy.

I want

to do

all of

that.

Every

man that

serves as

a pastor

here feels

the exact

same way.

We

lament

together

over

departures.

It is

hard for

all of

us when

someone

leaves the

church.

Don't be

a consumer.

The

congregation

as a

whole,

us as

individuals,

it's not

good for

you.

It's not

good for

us.

If I

have held

your babies

and made

them laugh,

don't ghost

me.

I love

you.

So,

for what

relational

reason might

you leave

a church?

So,

I have not

given you

any reason.

I have

said,

I have

given you

any

reasons

to do,

I think,

I think

this,

when it

makes a

lot of

sense,

when your

connections

throughout the

week with

other

Christians,

those you

are serving

and those

that serve

you,

those

Christians

just all

happen to

be part

of another

healthy

church.

It just

starts to

make sense

that all

of the

relational

connections

that you

have are

happening

someplace else

on Sunday

mornings,

that it

really might

make a

lot of

sense for

you to

walk more

closely with

those people

than those

that you

covenanted

with.

I intended

to read it

all,

but for the

sake of

time,

I'm going

to skip

over reading

our covenant

to you.

It's there

in the

bulletin.

Church members,

these are the

commitments that

we've made

to one another,

each of us,

to everyone.

Perspective

members,

these are the

commitments that

we make to

each other,

and we

would make

to you,

should you

join our

church.

Thirdly,

briefly,

the church

is missional.

The church

is missional.

Matthew 28,

Matthew 28:18–20

verse 18-20,

Jesus came

and said to

them,

all authority

in heaven

and on earth

has been

given to

me.

I have

all the

authority,

so go.

Go,

therefore,

and make

disciples of

all nations,

baptizing them

in the name

of the Father

and the Son

and the Holy

Spirit,

teaching them

to observe

all that I

have commanded

you,

and behold,

I am with

you always

to the end

of the age.

The church

is at the

center of

the Great

Commission.

Baptizing,

it's an

ordinance of

the church,

teaching the

observation

of all

things.

This is

discipleship

happening in

the life

of a church.

And it is

empowered

by Christ.

He has

all the

authority

and he is

with us

to the

very end

of the

age.

The mission

of the

church

necessitates

going.

All of us

are going.

We're here

right now,

but after this

we're going

to go.

In our

going,

we're to

make

disciples

of all

nations.

we're

to be

about this

as Christian

people

and as

a local

church

gathered.

And praise

God that

he sends

people from

this local

church to

other

places

in order to

expand his

kingdom.

So God may

send you

elsewhere

because of

work.

It could be

that you're

being led to

another place

because of a

job,

an opportunity

that you

would consider

taking up

and joining

another church

in that

place.

God may

send you

elsewhere for

particular

ministry work.

We've got

Matthew

Carnegie, a member

of our church

in Texas right

now at

language school

preparing himself

to go and do

translation work.

And Ms.

Wimke, who's

back from

the same

school and is

getting ready

to go do

Bible translation

work.

Chandler and

Hannah

Girton,

preparing now.

These are

people we're

going to say

goodbye to,

who are going

to depart

from our

congregation

to go and

do important

gospel work.

Lots of

kinds of

going.

We leave

this place

to gather

again,

and then we

go back out

again to

gather, I

hope, more

people who

need to hear

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ.

It doesn't

have to happen

in a foreign

context.

Not just

that way,

there may

be a

local church

that needs

your

service.

Just a

couple of

years ago,

a handful

of families,

I think it

was five,

to a church

in Gillsville

that needed

some help.

They needed

some people

to come

along and

walk with

them.

They're doing

well, a

good service

in that

place.

We are

kingdom

people.

We're not

just trying

to build

our

kingdom.

We want

to see

God work

through us

to build

His

kingdom.

So there's

a chance

that God

may lead

you some

other place,

but go

to serve,

not to be

served.

I hear too

many of

those.

I'm looking

for something.

You guys

don't have

it.

I think

they do.

And what I

can tell you

with confidence,

confidence,

if you

function the

life of a

church with

a fear of

missing out

mantra,

you will

definitely

miss out

on what

the church

can offer

you.

If you're

always bouncing

to the next

thing because

you think

it's going

to be the

thing that's

going to give

you the

feels that

you hope

to have,

you will

never have

deep

relationship

on mission

with God's

people.

So,

I hope that

frames it up

for you just

a bit.

When?

Now,

how?

I've

mentioned a

few things,

but let me

flip the

entire

definition,

words,

on its

head.

How to

leave a

church?

Let me

say this.

Don't.

Instead,

be sent

by your

church

to another

church.

If you

are a

part of

a healthy

church,

and we

pray and

we labor

for this

to be

such a

church,

to work

with and

walk with

people in

this kind

of way,

if you're

part of a

healthy

church,

then that

church will

gladly send

you for

good reasons,

to help you

think and

discern,

is God

leading you

to another

place?

And if he

is,

then we

will gladly

send you

to that

place.

don't

leave,

be sent.

Walk that

process out

with a

group of

people who

love you

dearly for

your good

and for the

glory of

our great

God.

Let's pray

together.