Why is it important for church leaders to understand the Dones

Earlier this year I attended a men's prayer breakfast at a local church. I had not been to anything like this in quite some time. I was invited by a friend and it is a church that supports Sun Ministries so I went. There were about 60 men in attendance. As the speaker started his presentation I was very interested in what was on his mind. It would indicate to me what the church thought was important.

After a little bit of event promotion and pleading for involvement he got to his main topic. To my surprise it was The “Dones”. He quoted statistics and made his case for why these “lost sheep” must be returned to the flock. I was astounded at the way he derided people for leaving the institution. It became obvious to me that he wouldn't recognize a “Done” if one was right in front of him because there I was – right in front of him.

I don't blame him for presenting slanted information. Most of the information on The “Dones” comes from institutional church leadership sources. They are desperately trying to figure out how to get them “back in the fold”. This is the source of their error. I never left the fold. I am still as much a part of God's church as ever. What this man did was to regurgitate information and propaganda. He then decided to cast these people in a negative light. That is beyond excuse.

He had at his disposal a real life “Done”. This church has connected with Sun Ministries and even supported it. All he had to do was ask and I would have taken the time to give him first hand understanding of the “Dones”. I could have introduced him to dozens of them. I could have helped him understand their motivations for leaving and what they are doing outside his system.

I think every church leader and even those people that remain in the institution should make the effort to understand the “Dones”. We are a part of God's church. We are not likely to come back. We do long to have unity in the body of Christ. So I am making it easy on you. Do you want to understand the “Dones”? It's your move.

I encourage you to participate. Use this link to join the Meetup group and register to attend a Meetup of The “Dones”.

Meet the "Dones" group - Click Here

Would you rather have us come to you? I would be happy to bring a couple of people to meet with your staff and answer any questions you may have. Just email me - terry@sunministries.org

We look forward to having you meet us.