Washington Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president

Have you ever panicked?

You know that feeling when you have locked the keys in your car and are miles from home.  Or maybe you panic when you are locked out of the house on a rainy day, and you know the rest of your family are not even close to home to come let you in.

I think the worst panicked feeling is when you can’t find a family member. You may take your family to the park or zoo, and, before you know it, one of them wanders off, and you can’t find them in the crowd. Or you are at the store trying to shop and watch children at the same time, and suddenly one of them has disappeared.

Several times when my children were young, they would play hide and seek with me.

The only problem was that they didn’t tell me they were playing hide and seek. One time my son decided to play hide and seek while at the store, and he hid in a clothing rack. I was supposed to be in charge of the children, and I panicked because I didn’t know where my son was. My heart was racing. I broke into a sweat. I was panicked and afraid that I had lost my child. My mind imagined all sorts of things, and none of them were good. He didn’t answer when I called until he couldn’t contain himself any longer. He popped out from behind the clothes with a giggle. The feeling of panic was replaced with a huge sense of relief.

Not being able to find family members is a terrible thing.

I wonder, though, if we have the same feelings when church family members stop fellowshipping with us. Do we have the same feeling of panic or concern when someone stops attending church, stops being involved with ministry, stops coming to Sabbath School, stops being interested in spiritual things, a walk with Jesus, and the Christian family? Or do we just shrug our shoulders and let them go without showing any interest in them?

Do you let church family members just drift away?

Jesus shared the illustration of the shepherd who had 100 sheep, and when he was counting them to make sure they were all there, he realized he was missing one. I imagine that he may have even counted several times to make sure he had counted correctly. When the realization came that he was missing one, he left the 99 and went looking. He looked until he found that one lost sheep. (Matthew 18:12-14)

As as we pray and prepare for Pentecost 2025, why not look around your church family and see who is missing and go in search of them? Why not invite the missing back to fellowship with the family? Why not invite them to come pray with you? There may need to be healing and apologies that need to made.

There may be forgiveness extended.

Those are the things that family does so healing can take place. Don’t give up and keep praying for our lost church family and keep being their friend. Pentecost is about praying for Holy Spirit power to pour out on each of us and bring healing, unity, and light to shine into our communities so that others can see what true Christianity is all about. Let’s pray and work together.