Some people get upset, even angry, when their personal church mailboxes are removed. Let me clarify our policy concerning mailboxes.
When people do not attend a single Sunday worship service over a 3-month period, their mailboxes are removed. There is no hidden message here; we simply need to reclaim unused mailboxes for new church members. When they start attending Sunday worship services again, their mailboxes are reinstated at the request of their shepherd.
When people stop coming to house church meetings, their mailboxes are also removed, even if they continue to attend Sunday worship services. This indicates that their membership to Seoul Baptist has been revoked. The basic unit of Seoul Baptist is the house church; Seoul Baptist church consists of 170 house churches. One cannot be a member of Seoul Baptist without being a member of a house church.
When we hear that people are interested in other area churches and are visiting them, we immediately remove their mailboxes to discourage them from coming back. We want our church to be a church that gives and shares, not just financially but in terms of people as well. We encourage our members to become members of other area churches and serve them, but few do so. Removing their mailboxes impels them to become members of other area churches.
Some people consider these measures overly harsh and protest them. They complain that churches are supposed to be communities of love, and that these kinds of policies make a church loveless. But churches are communities of mission as well love. To accomplish their mission, they need rules. And these measures are a part of church rules.
As loving as churches should be, Jesus said that churches must occasionally discipline church members: “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17)
Our church has its own unique mission and rules. Church members should accept and respect them unless they are contrary to Scripture. If they can’t accept them, it’s better for them to go to other churches and serve there instead of staying at our church while complaining and protesting.
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