Since becoming a Christian as an 8th grader, I have probably heard the word “lost” in church contexts more than anywhere else in life. We are concerned about reaching the lost, because Jesus said the reason He came to earth was “to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). In fact, Paul tells Timothy that God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). As wonderful as it is to see someone come to salvation through Christ, we know that too often the found end up getting lost again.

 

Luke 15 relates the plight of the lost and the One who desperately wants to find them through parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. Although each is lost for a different reason (negligence, wandering or choice), the result is the same. They are lost.

 

In the book The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back?, the authors surveyed people who have left churches for a number of reasons. The various reasons people leave are compounded by the lack of connection or belonging. That is a problem that we can all work to improve. The book describes it this way.

 

“If we claim to believe and behave but do not belong, we become a lone ranger Christian. While we have a category for shut-ins and other challenging circumstances, the Bible seems fairly clear that we are a people who gather together physically. Our lack of belonging is in itself a behavioral issue. The author of Hebrews tells us not to neglect meeting together. In every city where the gospel was preached in Acts, the new believers were connected to a local church. We are given dozens of ‘one anothers’ in Scripture that can only be carried out as we belong to a local church. When we neglect the Bible’s exhortations to belong, we can become stagnant and dull in our faith.”

 

We need to encourage one another not to neglect meeting together, not to become stagnant and not to be disconnected; but it can still be easy for someone to drift away unnoticed like that lost coin. Let’s all look out for one another and encourage  one another to stay connected!

 

Brian