Does one to be released by pastor and elders?

[Triumph1300]

I never heard about this before, but some say when a person decides to go to another church, that person needs to be “released” by the pastor and elders. Just recently a few people decided to start attending elsewhere and now they are going to be asked to attend a meeting where they will be released to go. I have been attending church since 1980 and have never heard about something like this. Is there any evidence in scripture about this?

 

[marks]

I never heard about this before, but some say when a person decides to go to another church, that person needs to be “released” by the pastor and elders. Just recently a few people decided to start attending elsewhere and now they are going to be asked to attend a meeting where they will be released to go. I have been attending church since 1980 and have never heard about something like this. Is there any evidence in scripture about this?

I've heard of churches which won't accept you as an incoming member without a letter from your previous pastor.

I don't know anything in the Bible about that.

Much love!

 

[Triumph1300]

I've heard of churches which won't accept you as an incoming member without a letter from your previous pastor.

I don't know anything in the Bible about that.

Much love!

Really? Never heard about such a thing. Weird.

 

[marks]

Really? Never heard about such a thing. Weird.

That's something I always liked about Calvary Chapel. Just come on in!

Much love!

 

[Enoch111]

Is there any evidence in scripture about this?

None whatsoever. All born-again believers are in the Body of Christ. But they are scattered in churches throughout the world. If Christians choose to leave one local assembly and go to another, they are directly responsible to the Lord, the Head of the Body. Sometimes it does become necessary to leave, because the pastor himself is the problem.

 

[Triumph1300]

That's something I always liked about Calvary Chapel. Just come on in!

Much love!

Seems the right way to me.

 

[Deborah_]

I never heard about this before, but some say when a person decides to go to another church, that person needs to be “released” by the pastor and elders. Just recently a few people decided to start attending elsewhere and now they are going to be asked to attend a meeting where they will be released to go. I have been attending church since 1980 and have never heard about something like this. Is there any evidence in scripture about this?

Ideally when leaving a church one should go with the good will of the leadership and membership. But I've never heard of it being formalised quite like this. When we moved house 3 years ago, we were presented with a gift during the last morning service we attended at our old church. I suppose you could call that a "release".

But obviously people change churches for many different reasons, and sometimes there's bad feeling on one or both sides. Twice we've changed churches within the same area and we wrote to the pastor of the first church, politely explaining our reasons. But they both reacted quite negatively. In such circumstances a formal meeting doesn't sound like a good idea.

 

[Rita]

In the past I have had to ‘ resign ‘ my membership officially when I have left a church. Right from the start I never really agree with official membership, as far as I was concerned I was ‘ in the kingdom. Yet, man has made it that way with its rules and regulations. I have equally never agreed with ‘the church fellowship ‘ deciding if someone is worthy to become a member- some of the discussions that have take place have been awful, weighing people up. In the end I complied because it was the only way to be able to ‘ work ‘within the church as it was made a condition of your involvement.
It’s like when you moved and went to a new church you had to prove yourself all over again, there was little discernment with regards to your gifts and abilities or suitability to roles within the church.
Rita

 

[Triumph1300]

Seems to me that if a person has a close relationship with pastors or elders it would be the decent thing to let them know you are leaving. Also if you have a function of some sorts. But if there is no function, personal connection or contact with them, why bother. This “release issue” or “getting a letter for your next pastor” seems to be more of a control issue than anything else. When we go by scripture there is nothing to be found justifying this. I see it as another thing from the world working its way into the body of Christ. (Lots of that happening during this Covid disaster....)

 

[marks]

Seems to me that if a person has a close relationship with pastors or elders it would be the decent thing to let them know you are leaving. Also if you have a function of some sorts. But if there is no function, personal connection or contact with them, why bother. This “release issue” or “getting a letter for your next pastor” seems to be more of a control issue than anything else. When we go by scripture there is nothing to be found justifying this. I see it as another thing from the world working its way into the body of Christ. (Lots of that happening during this Covid disaster....)

My wife and I went to an Easter service at the church on the corner. They were outside.

At one point they announced that since they were informal today, they could use the app to record their attendance. I remember churches when I was a child that posted weekly attendance numbers.

I think one thing some churches are trying to avoid is taking in someone who is under discipline in another church. Cut them off from fellowship, but they can just start somewhere else.

Much love!

 

[Triumph1300]

I think one thing some churches are trying to avoid is taking in someone who is under discipline in another church. Cut them off from fellowship, but they can just start somewhere else.

Not sure if that's the right way to handle bad situations.

 

[marks]

Not sure if that's the right way to handle bad situations.

In such groups as I've led I've never felt I should do that. Jesus have the instruction, Paul set the precedent, let them be to you as a heathen. For myself, I've never come into a situation that I didn't think was best served by simply trying to draw someone in more. But I think there can come a time when that becomes unworkable.

There was such a difference in population densities between apostolic times and now. In those days, there were so often just a single congregation in a particular city. So to cut someone out from fellowship became an all or nothing. They couldn't just go down the street.

Much love!