by Gus Nichols<\/p>\n
A man who had not attended a church service in four years told me he never thought of “quitting” the church. I reminded him that he had already<\/p>\n
Then I asked what else you would need to do to “quit” the church? In case you ever decide that you no longer desire to be a member, what other steps will be necessary for you to take? Just what else will be necessary to “quit” the church?<\/p>\n
As his true status dawned upon him, his expression reflected his sober thoughts. He replied, “Why, Brother Nichols, I’ve already quit, haven’t I? Well, I surely didn’t mean to! And I don’t know when I did it, but I’ve quit the Lord and His church! I’ll tell you right now: I’m coming back!” He did, too. At the next service, he was restored, and three years later, he was still faithful.<\/p>\n
Dear reader, how about you? Have you quit the Lord and His church without resolving to do so? Perhaps no one deliberately decides to quit, while many carelessly drift into backsliding. If you have (1) quit attending services, (2) quit boosting the program of activities planned by the elders, and (3) quit giving as God has prospered you to enable the congregation to meet its budget, you need to be restored.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Gus Nichols A man who had not attended a church service in four years told me he never thought of “quitting” the church. I reminded him that he had already withdrawn his presence from its services, refused to give his moral support to the activities of the congregation, and had withdrawn his financial support,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[356],"class_list":["post-94498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-attendance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94485,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-the-church-disappoints-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":94498,"position":0},"title":"When the Church Disappoints You","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 12, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Jesus' twelve apostles disappointed Him at times. Sometimes they would look at Him with a bewildered look of \"what are you talking about?\" as they failed to grasp the meaning and application of what He said. Sometimes, he would plainly say something simple like, \"We are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88139,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/quitters-are-needed\/","url_meta":{"origin":94498,"position":1},"title":"Quitters Are Needed","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ed Smith via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 17 No. 2, 30 June 1991 The only thing I hate more than seeing somebody quit a worthwhile endeavor is quitting it myself. As a youngster, I recall always trying to persuade people not to quit activities that I found enjoyable, such as athletics,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5908,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-jesus-ever-require-someone-to-quit-a-marriage-or-walk-away-from-family\/","url_meta":{"origin":94498,"position":2},"title":"Did Jesus ever require someone to quit a marriage or walk away from family?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: He was married and his wife was going to leave him for a man who just got out of prison. He begged her to not leave. He figured they had sex but was not certain. She reluctantly came back to him. Several years later, his drinking and mental abuse\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20258,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-hard-hearts-need-hard-words-of-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":94498,"position":3},"title":"When Hard Hearts Need Hard Words of Truth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry W. Benton The preacher was all alone in his stand for truth and right because the assembly had become so worldly, and now he was the \"troubler in Israel\". He was so discouraged that he decided to quit preaching. He was miserable when preaching the truth because no\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/HardHearted.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":64448,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-jeremiah-wanted-to-quit-preaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":94498,"position":4},"title":"When Jeremiah Wanted to Quit Preaching","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton It wasn't just mental fatigue and having to deal with obnoxious attitudes, but having to constantly deal with brethren undermining him and working against him, some even looking for ways to get rid of him for good! It got to where he dreaded preaching the needed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43072,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-left-the-church-because-i-dont-think-my-baptism-was-right-but-now-my-dad-wont-have-fellowship-with-me-what-do-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":94498,"position":5},"title":"I left the church because I don’t think my baptism was right, but now my dad won’t have fellowship with me. What do I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I am in need of some answers. I was raised in the church of Christ. My father quit the church when I was about two years old, but my mother continued to take me. 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