It was a frigid day in rural West Virginia, and yet a great day because a young man came to Christ that Sunday morning.  He asked to be baptized in the nearby Mud River. 

The Mud River, however, was more like the Mud Shiver because it was covered with a thick sheet of ice.  Pastor Terry Keaton, took an axe and chopped a big hole in it.   The congregation watched from a bridge as they both stepped in.  Pastor Terry said the words, and then slipped the man beneath the waters, 

BUT the current caught the man and swept him under the ice and down the river.   The pastor panicked!   Terry jumped out and tried to intercept the guy, frantically chopping holes as he went.  Several yards downriver, he was finally able to snag the new convert and reel him in.

Pastor Terry was determined to retain that new church member.

Ironically, other folks are slipping away from churches today, never to be rescued.  They were often present for worship, and some helped with VBS.  Some were Deacons, others sang soprano in the choir.  Many were once a part of the youth group. 

But something happened.  Maybe they had expectations of the pastor that were not met.  Maybe someone said something that didn’t sit well.  Or maybe the fire inside just went out – and they drifted away from church. 

It is estimated by polling organizations that about 3.5 thousand people walk away from the church in the U.S every day.   Unfortunately, most of those folks don’t have someone like Terry to chase them down and break the ice. 

Jesus told a parable about people who wander away from the flock.  He said, “What do you think? If someone owns a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray?” – Matthew 18:12.

It was a rhetorical question with an obvious answer.  “Yes, certainly if one of the foolish sheep were to slip away from the flock, most anyone would make sure the other 99 were good, and then seek out that one lost sheep.” 

Well, what’s good for sheep – is good for people. 

Jesus went on to say, “In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost” – 18:14.  The Father in heaven values the one.  One person is too much to lose.  He is not willing to write them off.  Jesus said, “I came to seek and to save the lost.” 

If heaven rejoices when a wandering sheep has been found, tears must be shed in the heavenlies when 3.5 thousand daily wander away. 

So, what can we do about this?  People who leave the flock are typically suffering from a church inflicted wound.  They have been hurt, but they don’t have the courage or maturity to speak to someone about it, so they gradually withdraw.  And this withdrawal is their cry for help.  They hope that someone might notice and talk to them about their hurt.

Unfortunately, the majority of church dropouts will tell you, “No one noticed.  No one cared enough to call and ask why they haven’t seen me lately.”   And this then becomes their primary justification as to why they need to leave that church.

Like our Father in heaven, we need to seek out those who wander.  The pastor should be an essential part of that team, but Paul reminds us that “we are members of one another.” – Ephesians 4:25. A pastor doesn’t impart a sense of belonging – that comes from the church family

When we look at that pew and see nothing, we need to say something.  We need to seek that person out, sensitively probe and listen to them. In my many years of pastoral experience I have found that this is the most crucial step towards restoring broken fellowship. 

So, let’s grab an axe and get to it! 

A PRAYER: Lord sensitize us to those in our church family. 

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

Scripture passages are taken from the NETBible ®