Treatment and prognosis
In the medical world, the reasons for haemorrhaging are
checked out by a series of tests and treated accordingly. If there is a knife,
glass shard, or other foreign body causing the bleeding it must be removed
first! If there is a lack of platelets –
a transfusion of platelets can be given. Lack of factor 8, or the lack of other
anti-clotting factors, present their own problems but there are ways around
them.
In the case of the
spiritual world of the church, the haemorrhaging problem is not detected until
there is a big problem which is not as easily addressed as in the medical
world.
In mega churches they may well have a problem but they don’t
actually notice. For example, say there
are 500 people attending services week by week.
The first week of the month the leaders look out to see a full church of
500 people. The following week the
leaders look out on a congregation of 500 people, so they assume all is
well. But of the 500 people attending
the first week, how many were in the congregation of 500 on the second week? It is possible that 25% of the first week’s
congregation did not attend the second week, yet an additional 25% attending on
the second week, were not present on the first week. Through a month of four Sundays, how many of
the church’s members actually only attended 1 Sunday service? This would be very hard to measure, and
unfortunately pastors, leaders, ministers may look out on a large congregation
filling the church week by week, and hardly think about all the individuals
that go to make up the attendees of the church.
In a smaller church, however, of under 60 members, under 30
or under 10 members, if someone is missing from just one week, their absence is
noted immediately, because their presence is valued and people are concerned
for them and it is likely that if no one knows what has happened i.e. they are
on holiday or have already told folk that they will be missing from church on
Sunday, there will be a visit, or a phone call very soon after the service has
finished.
As a young person, in a church of less than 30 people, we
had gathered for the normal Sunday morning service, and we waiting for it to
start. We always had a breaking of
bread/communion service in the morning, and as we waited, I noticed that the
bread and wine had not been prepared, and was missing from the table at the
front of the church. I approached one of
the deacons, and pointed out the fact, which seemed to have eluded everyone.
The responsibility for the bread and wine belonged to one of the elders. A phone call was immediately made to his
home, but there was no answer, so the deacon and a nurse from the congregation
went to his house, which was relatively nearby.
They found that the elder had collapsed and was lying on the floor as a
result of a stroke. He was rushed to
the hospital and survived. Had this been
a big church would the absence of one person be noticed so quickly or followed
up with such speed? (Ignoring the fact, that this elder had a responsibility
that was not fulfilled!)
Sadly the matter of
pastoral care is much harder to address with a congregation of 100’s of
people. It is also possible that within
large congregations there are people who want to remain anonymous, wish not to
be noticed or followed up, so that they can miss church attendance whenever the
feel like it and not have to answer phone calls or visits inquiring as to their
absence the previous Sunday as they were relaxing watching ‘the game’, or ‘went
fishing’, and would prefer that no one knew.
How is this matter best addressed? Probably Jethro’s advice to an exhausted
Moses in Exodus 18, would be a good pattern to follow. Place mature people in leadership
roles/pastoral care roles over tens and
fifties, or an appropriate number. They
care for the handful of people in their care, and if bigger problems arise which
they are unable to cope with, those who take responsibility for their care will
come alongside to help.
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