Should we fret people leaving our church? Maybe yes, maybe no...

Closing the "back door" of the church is something that church growth pundits think we should be thinking about on a constant basis. There are some things we can do to keep people "with us" as this article attests. But, even Jesus had this problem...

Jesus, too, had a "revolving back door" in his ministry...Reach out to them, apologizing when needed, offering clarification and love when this is what's called for. But remember that when Jesus, God's Word made flesh, preached the gospel on this earth, most of his hearers did not accept his message. Some accused him of having a demon. One of his key leaders even betrayed him.

Jesus knew that God's kingdom would not expand by "pleasing all of the people all of the time." Instead the Kingdom expands as the relative minority of people who hear the gospel, live it, and in turn, give it away. Our task is to keep scattering the seed.