The Problem of Disengagement
- There is a problem that we must all face and address with courage and boldness.
- This has to do with the growing pattern of disengagement that many today are exhibiting. People who grew up in the church or who have long experiences of church life in the past are slowly disengaging and becoming uninvolved in the life and ministry of our church.
- This is a problem that we cannot disregard or treat lightly. This has dire consequences!
- The root cause of this problem is the common misunderstanding about the importance of engagement in the body of Christ.
- First Corinthians 12:12-26 talks about three sad results when we disengage with the church.
- It affects our spiritual vitality.
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
- It nullifies our unique identity.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
God made us a certain way (our being unique) because we have a role to play in the overall purpose of God in the church. God placed us in a particular local church (like RLCC) so that we can discover our true purpose together with others. To disengage with the church is to nullify that unique purpose. Consequently, we fail to discover who we truly are and why God has made us that way.
Have you lost your sense of purpose lately? Is it unclear to you? Maybe it’s because you have disengaged yourself from your local church. It’s time to engage again!
- It hinders our mutual responsibility.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
God created us to be connected with others, to be mutually accountable, and responsible for each other’s spiritual welfare. He wants our needs to be met through others and vice-versa. When we disengage with the church, we hinder that overall intention of God for the body of Christ. We become dysfunctional. Consequently, the needs of people remain unmet.
Are you pursuing a life of independence away from God’s people? You might think this is not significant. But it has dire consequences! All of us suffer when some choose to be disengaged.
Turning Point: “The church is the people of God we belong to.”
GROUP DISCUSSION (30 minutes)
- Why do some Christians choose to be disengaged from the church?
- How can we help our brothers and sisters in Christ not to drift away toward lukewarmness or even worldliness?
- How can we help ourselves to stay connected with the body of Christ?