First of all, they were church planters - so that is wholly expected. Secondly, as you pointed out, they were apostles - not Joe Average Christian.
I'm still trying to figure out when the people who are going to church consistently and faithfully get credit for establishing a system that allows church bouncings.
I don't care if this woman goes to 20 different churches a month; I just want her to recognize that it is due to the faithfulness of other believers she is able to do that. I think that realization one day will be a wake up call to settle.
Hi peterjames,
I understand your point, but I don't think a few hundred people across the country dropping in on different fellowships from time to time is going to 'ruin' fellowship for everyone. God just wants to be glorified in our worship of Him and faithfulness in our obedience to Him. Nowhere in the Scriptures is this idea that everyone has to be tied down to one fellowship group covered. It is assumed that most fellowships in the early days of the church were fairly static, just as they are today, but there isn't any instruction that it 'must' be that way for every attender.
Yes, there are deacons and people of some 'position' in most of our modern day fellowships and she would never qualify to fill one of those positions, but then not everyone in every fellowship is worthy, per the Scriptures, to fill those positions. Only some of were given to be pastors and deacons, not all of us.
I just don't see anything inherently wicked or wrong or unbiblical about what the woman is doing. It's possible that she isn't a born again believer. Should we scold her for continuing to seek what she needs? For me, I might make a couple of mentions that we'd love to have her join our fellowship in conversation from time to time, while finding out why she does move around so much, and then let it be. Maybe she has found 2 or 3 fellowships where she enjoys the fellowship and the teaching and chooses to visit around. I'm pretty sure the question that Jesus is going to ask those for whom he'll be writing their names in his Book of Life isn't, were you faithful to attend one denomination? Maybe she felt that she was burned by belonging to a particular fellowship sometime in the past and has decided not to allow herself to be 'tied' down like that again. I don't know, but I'd be more interested in finding out while allowing her to visit with my fellowship as much or as little as she'd like.
But that's just me. That's one of the problems of the new modern fellowships. In the days of the early fellowship of the believers, the fellowships were identified by the city and so there was apparently only one city wide group of believers that gathered. Today, there are fellowships on every corner and of varying understandings of what it means to be a 'christian'. She may just feel that it's good to go out on Sunday mornings and praise and glorify God in worship with different believers. Having some silly idea that we're all supposed to be a part of the body of the 'church'.
There are some things that are mandated by God to us through His Scriptures. There are other things that are merely traditional. We always need to be able to identify the two, and give each its respective importance in our lives.
However, if it makes the OP feel better she can just tell the lady to get lost.
God bless,
In Christ, ted