Does God have a specific church where we are called to serve Him, or does He allow us to choose from a list of doctrinally-sound churches and still be in His will? And once we’re involved in a good, doctrinally-sound church, is there ever a time when God elects to move us? Romans 11:29 says, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” That means God doesn’t change His mind. But when our circumstances change, does God lead us in a different direction?
We’d attended Tri-County Baptist Church for years, and the pastor there had baptized all three of my children. But when Michelle, my youngest, reached her adolescence, we started having a lot of behavioral problems with her, and those issues spilled over into her church attendance. Michelle has Williams syndrome, and the church leadership couldn’t see past her intelligence to her learning disability, so they excluded her from everything and insisted she stay with me at all times. Basically, they didn’t want to be bothered with her.
The church was doctrinally sound and I felt certain that God had led us there, so why was I plagued with the thought Maybe it’s time to change churches? I didn’t believe that God had changed His mind, so I was in quite a quandary. I waited for Floyd to mention it, but he never did, so I drew the conclusion that it wasn’t a thought from the Lord or He would have told Floyd, too. Therefore, it must be me.
After battling that thought for a year, I finally mentioned it to Floyd. His response shocked me. He said, “You, too? I’ve been thinking that for a year.” The reason I didn’t mention it sooner was because I believed that as the head of the household, my husband would suggest that we change churches if he felt the Holy Spirit’s leading. Obviously, we had both felt it, and neither of us moved. I was waiting for him, and, believe it or not, he was waiting for me. He had thought, If this thought is from the Lord, then Marj will bring it up. But I didn’t, because I was waiting for him to bring it up. Oh, the importance of communication.
This incident shattered my firm belief that once God plants you in a doctrinally sound church, He doesn’t move you, but then I also believed that God directed His children to a specific church. And it’s just as important that the church ministries meet the needs of the family as it is for the family to serve God in that church. This church body had no desire to meet the needs of our youngest daughter, and God showed Floyd and me that it was definitely time to move on. When our circumstances changed, God led us in a different direction? And had we been open to communicating with the Holy Spirit, we would have moved a year earlier.