Seeking His Lost Sheep

Seeking His Lost Sheep (Part II)

We have mentioned pre­viously the types of back­slider that are difficult to re­claim. Now we are to think of those more easily reclaimed.

F. W. DETAMORE, Evangelist, Florida Conference

Those More Easily Reclaimed

We have mentioned pre­viously the types of back­slider that are difficult to re­claim. Now we are to think of those more easily reclaimed.

1. Former workers.

a. Fallen preachers. Many have yielded temporarily to the snares of sin, but they still love the truth in its entirety. They greatly appreciate a kindly hand extended in love. If at all pos­sible, help them back into church fellow­ship even though they cannot return to their former status as conference workers. They still must be saved, and every effort should be put forth to reclaim them.

b. Former colporteurs and church school teachers. I group these together because their problems are usually the same: diffi­cult financial straits either embittered or discouraged them and they went out from us. They still believe the doctrines fully and need to be convinced that we love them and long for their return. They are not a diffi­cult type to reclaim.

2. Young people from weak homes. These make up a large number in the ranks of backsliders. Children were baptized at ages ranging from nine to twelve. As they grew older they faded from the church—not be­cause they were poorly indoctrinated, but because of poor home training and lack of good grounding in childhood.

You will be surprised to discover that these are quite easy to reclaim. They seldom lose their love for the truth. After tasting the world a while they learn its emptiness, and in time of adversity and need they crave the comfort and security of the church. They respond quickly to kindness and love, and often a single invitation will start them back to Sabbath school and church.

3. Marriage with unbelievers. It is no secret that marrying unbelievers is one of the biggest contributing factors in swelling the ranks of backsliders. Probably this is the biggest single cause of backsliding. Many who marry unbelievers never intend to give up. A few leave the church at marriage and unite with the Catholic or Presbyterian Church and have no intention of ever re­turning. These are very difficult to work with unless the marriage later goes on the rocks. Some, bruised and bleeding, will then return to the church.

Others have been pulled from the church through natural ties in an outside marriage —associates of unbelieving partners; com­promise in matters of recreation and amuse­ments; carelessness of Sabbath observance; lowering of standards of dress, et cetera. This group is not unreachable. For a time they may seem indifferent or cold, satisfied and worldly, but there often come times of self-inventory: "What am I getting out of life?" "I was reared better than this"; "The end is surely getting near and I must straighten up."

Sickness or the arrival of little ones in the home often arrests this type. In sickness they naturally turn to God, and this creates a longing to return to the church. One of the greatest allies in the battle to regain back­sliders is the arrival of little ones. A parent stops to think seriously of his obligation to his child. He wants his child to be a better person than himself. I find this feeling of responsibility of a parent to a child one of the most forceful levers in helping back­sliders out of the world and back into the church:

When the home is divided, the Adventist parent cannot bear to have his child taught error by the worldly parent or the in-laws. You will often find young people whom you thought poorly indoctrinated, arguing fer­vently and effectively the various points of our doctrine. At this stage they are often easily reclaimed.

4. Cares of this life in young mother­hood. This is one of the periods when we lose a great many young women from our ranks. And their loss is so unnecessary. Dur­ing the latter months of pregnancy a young woman becomes self-conscious as well as uncomfortable. The last two or three months she is seldom at church. Then the baby comes and she really does have her hands full. Finally, when the baby is six or eight weeks old, she musters courage to tackle getting out to church. The problem is all the greater if the husband does not attend church with her.

At church the baby cries considerably. If the church is small, several people may stare at her as much as to say, "Why don't you take that baby out? Don't you know it's wrecking the church hour?" Or in a larger church she finds herself in the "isolation ward"—the mother's room. She is often confused, frustrated, and depressed by the noise and talking, and she decides, "Well, I'm just not going back till Tommy is old enough to get something out of Sabbath school."

But by that time Tommy has a little sis­ter, and by the time Johnny and Karen have arrived in due order, the poor mother is a confirmed backslider, not because she didn't believe the 2300-day prophecy, but because she didn't have a helping hand offered her in bringing four little ones to Sabbath school.

Urge young women to visit mothers, offer­ing assistance in bringing them to the serv­ices and helping care for their broods at Sabbath school. Young mothers are prob­ably the easiest of all types of backsliders to reclaim. They want to come back; they want their children in the church. But, over­whelmed, they've given up trying. Quickly they'll reach for a helping hand of love, and bring their little ones with them.

5.   Wage-earner Sabbathbreakers. Many have dropped out in times of crisis over the Sabbath work problem. A worried father, already behind in his payments, weakens when threatened with the loss of his job. A woman recently widowed and meeting the cruel world on a job-seeking basis, yields and accepts Sabbath work.

Such people still love the message and intend to straighten up and return "when we get on our feet." Scolding will not cor­rect them or bring them back. Just talk faith and the promises of God. Offer to go with them to their employers to help find a solu­tion to their Sabbath work problem. This type of person, if not out too long, is not difficult to reclaim. (Luke 12 is a chapter of encouragement to wage earners.) But when he is out too long he eventually rationalizes away the imperativeness of Sabbath observ­ance. He may even start going to the Baptist Sunday school, and eventually will argue that the Sabbath is done away with. Then he is difficult to win back.

6.   Those experiencing a moral break­down. There are many of these today. They almost all believe the truth in their hearts, and after a fling in immorality they come rudely to their senses and feel the need of the church again. It is not hard to win them back; they long to come back. But the big problem is that they have tied themselves up in remarriages until it is almost impos­sible to encourage them to seek membership again.

7.   Victims of habit. They may be victims of alcohol, tobacco, or kindred habits. They are weak. Only kindness and love can win them back. Scolding and discipline will only weaken them further. Let them know you have confidence in them and will stand by them in prayer, lending a helping hand in any way you can. Assure them that God is all-powerful. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Cor. 10:13).

When they gain a new confidence in Jesus and in themselves they will take a new hold on God and will just naturally return to the church. People living in sin and clinging to evil habits are easier to win back because they know they are far from God. There is neither intellectual nor spiritual self-satis­faction.

8.       The weak and the fearful. Some are not great sinners, but they are browbeaten by husband, wife, parents, or children. These fearful and timid ones can be won back, but they are difficult. They are so ac­customed to fearing others that they fail to fear God. No wonder the Bible says the fearful and unbelieving are outside the city of God.

Such need tender sympathy and assurance as we endeavor to reclaim them before it is too late. Invite them to your home. Offer to bring them to church. Let them know that if they become outcasts for God, the church will stand by them. Help to restore in their hearts the fear and love of God above that of man.

9.       Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Many believe the doctrines, but want the world more—for the present. Arguing the truth with these will do little good. Just assure them of our love for them and tell them that when they are ready, you hope they'll return. They are the prodigal-son type. You have to await their return after they have "spent all."

If they are in the youth group, you may win back many of them if you initiate a vigorous social and spiritual activities pro­gram in your church. We have so often ham­mered on the "don'ts" instead of presenting the "do's" that we've made religion unat­tractive to many of our young people.

10.    Those in debt to God and man. Some have become discouraged because they have been overwhelmed with their responsibili­ties. They are perhaps working at two jobs, and are so tired when Sabbath comes that they have neither heart nor energy to go to church. Lethargy leads to dystrophy and they die. Only a new birth will revive them.

Others are in debt to God. They get be­hind with their tithe and in discouragement let go of everything. Encourage these to start making token payments on back tithe so they will feel that they can eventually get caught up. Some are so far behind that they will have to start all over again and be rebaptized. Declaring bankruptcy, they take the hand of God and ask for a fresh start. We have seen several such make a new start for the kingdom.

11.      The injured. They believe they have been hurt by a deaconess' sharp tongue or a deacon's underhanded business deal. Or they have been cheated in the settlement of the family estate by a sister who is now church clerk. Or their son was unfairly expelled from the church school.

These are hard to win back, for often their charges are true. But even though they are imagined charges, they are just as real to the injured as if they were true. As­sure the injured person that you love him and want him at all costs to be saved; that he cannot afford to be lost because of being cheated out of $500. There may be a Judas in every church, but there is also a Jesus. In some cases where it is obvious that a church leader has wrongly treated a back­slider and is unwilling to admit it, the best thing is to encourage the backslider to at­tend a neighboring church and unite where he may worship without the irritating presence of the inconsistent leader in his former church.

12.  Sincere doubters. Some have fallen away because of honest doubtings, perhaps regarding the Spirit of Prophecy, the wed­ding ring, make-up problems, or some major point of doctrine. They feel it unfair to continue membership with such mental reservations.

These deserve special attention. Kindly help offered them, not in any spirit of "straightening them out" but rather sympa­thetically leading them to a dissolving of their doubts, will be appreciated. Assure them that many Bible writers, and Mrs. White also, went through periods of great strain of belief, if not doubt.

The argumentative bickerer and arguer can seldom be helped; but the sincere doubter can often be helped onto firm ground. Urge him to follow all he does see and encourage him in the fact that as he honestly moves forward in the light that ap­pears, dark paths of doubt will likewise be­come plain before him. Never scold a doubter for doubting.

13.  Gypsy backsliders. The world is on the go. So are many Adventists. Some travel and move so often that their church mem­bership fails to keep up with them. Thus they lose their rooting in the church.

When a person is going to move, his name and address should be sent on to the church and conference to which he is moving, and they should encourage him to transfer his membership to the new locality. Many who are now in the church do not realize as fully as they should the importance of keeping their membership transferred to their new location. Also, they do not always realize how eager their former church is to have the membership moved, keeping the records clean, especially with Ingathering goals to raise!

14.  Disbandment fatalities. Some have lost their membership through church dis­integration or disbandment. Away from town when the church fell apart, they later discovered that it no longer existed. Some have felt hurt and have put forth no further effort to re-unite.

Such, when they are found, should be en­couraged to re-unite by being voted into their present local congregation. Do not make their return embarrassing, awkward, or difficult. Let them know we are eager to have them with us. If they insist that they will soon be moving again anyway, encour­age them to unite locally and then transfer to the conference church.

15.   The poor. Some have given up, let go, and gone out because they feel too poor to keep up with their quotas: dues, fees, goals, pledges, payments, tuitions, subscriptions, and freewill contributions. What a tragedy that the poor often feel unwanted, or at least incompetent to do their share, and to save face they just withdraw!

How thankful we should be that God is no respecter of persons, and that Jesus was a poor man among men. When will we ever learn to promote in such a way that we hear no moneychangers in the temple, and the poor no longer feel inferior? Let them know that God loves them and will accept their meager gifts. Some of our best workers were the gift of poor families to this denomina­tion. The poor will respond to unaffected love.

16.   Wayward young people. Many young people are sent to non-Adventist schools by Adventist parents "in good and regular standing." What trials they face, what temp­tations! Band practice or basketball games on Friday nights; special "gym" on Satur­day; school parties and plays: book and movie plays to write up in reviews for Eng­lish classes; evolution-inspired answers to write on tests if a passing grade is expected; and by-and-by, marriage to a nonmember classmate.

The parents were the real backsliders in the first place for sending their children to a non-Adventist school; but it's too late now. The young person has become a full-fledged backslider. Talk up our own schools to every Adventist young person in public school, and do everything in your power to get him into one of our schools. But if it is too late for that and he is now grown up (or growing up) in the world, he is still not beyond reclamation.

A person brought up as an Adventist never forgets his faith completely. Even though he doesn't live it there is almost always a respect for the truth, and he will even argue its merits with a worldling. Young people are not hard to win back. Don't argue with them; don't scold them; don't even admon­ish them. Just let them know you have con­fidence in them and hope someday they will return. Urge them not to wait too long. Don't nag them. Assure them that you will not interfere with their present way of life, but that if your help is ever needed and wanted, you'll be glad to help. Such assurance wins a young person back much sooner.

17. The sick. I wish I could skip this listing, but I can't. In a large city a lovely, refined woman without malice but with emotion softly told the story of her heart­ache: "I was church clerk, and often at busi­ness meetings names were voted out of the church and it was my duty to remove them from the records. Little did I realize that someday the same thing would happen to my name. I was stricken with a heart attack, and then followed months of weakness and sometimes fainting spells. It became unsafe for me to leave the house.

"Years later a deacon came to see me, and after putting me through an inquisition, he left, apparently satisfied that I would no more be able to get out, for in a few days a letter came, stating that I had been dropped. I still keep the Sabbath, love the message, and read our literature. I want to be saved and am sorry I can't belong to the church. But it can't be helped; they have to keep their records up to date." ,

What a tragedy! Yes, some because of prolonged illness have lost track of the church, but even worse, the church has lost track of them. It is a criminal offense against the law of Heaven to drop a member because his body has broken. It is as though a man divorced his wife because after her break in health she could no longer do the house­work.

Let us go to these injured and neglected ones and do all in our power to let them know we love them, that we want them on the church books even if they can never at­tend another Sabbath. Until the church cor­rects some of these abuses it cannot prosper, for it is under the condemnation of the One who loves the poor, the sick, the widows, and orphans.


(To be continued)


Ministry reserves the right to approve, disapprove, and delete comments at our discretion and will not be able to respond to inquiries about these comments. Please ensure that your words are respectful, courteous, and relevant.

comments powered by Disqus

F. W. DETAMORE, Evangelist, Florida Conference

December 1962

Download PDF
Ministry Cover

More Articles In This Issue

Dry Rot

A parable pertinent to our age.

What Meanest Thou?

A devotional talk given at the Ministerial Association presession council, San Francisco.

"Go Even Unto Bethlehem"

The Christmas season is a time when a special oppor­tunity is presented for bestowing gifts on those to whom they will bring genuine pleasure; a time of peace and good will; a time when our thoughts are directed toward the miraculous birth of our Lord in the lowly surroundings of a Judean stable.

A Trend of Great Significance

Laymen will take charge of worship services in more than 10,000 churches next month throughout the United States and Canada and in military chapels all over the world.

"But by the Grace of God"

The author is a former Baptist minister now rejoicing in the Advent message, to which he and his wife have dedicated their lives.

A Press Conference with Billy Graham

From DECISION, September, 1962. Copyright: The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Minneapolis. Used by permission.

The Pastoral Program (Part II)

The conclusion to this two-part series on pastoral visitation.

The Oxford Group or Moral Rearmament (Conclusion)

What did this group actually teach?

Pastoral Entertaining

Entertaining in the min­ister's family is different. The minister's wife is often called on to entertain at short notice. She must prepare meals for visiting ministers and conference officials and often there is little time for these between-meeting meals. She must, therefore, plan ahead and organize well. Her budget is limited and demands on her hos­pitality many, so she entertains simply. In this she sets a good example.

View All Issue Contents

Digital delivery

If you're a print subscriber, we'll complement your print copy of Ministry with an electronic version.

Sign up
Advertisement - RevivalandReformation 300x250

Recent issues

See All