The truth is that most church members are not willing to spend and be spent for their brothers and sisters. Most are not spiritually-minded and would be insulted or angered to be admonished without having thoughts of retaliation. Some are willing to put in their time by coming to the church house and allowing for a few extra gatherings for social events like games and entertainment. Any more than that would be too radical and invasive of their private home. Of course, the problems that we face stem from memberships who are carnally-minded.
In addition, we are uncomfortable with certain children spending time with our children or having a certain individual in our house to make improper advances toward our spouse. Our homes are a refuge that provides us a sense of safety, security, and comfort. These unfortunate safety measures are understood and justifiable protections for our family. We have already read from Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus concerning how we treat each other with respect, but the ungodly and corrupt in mind and judgment will not respect that teaching. This is a problem with church organizations that include a vast majority in the membership who do not have the mind of Christ. I think most of us understand the difference between true disciples of Christ and mere church members. Local churches include both in their membership.
What we have described is a principle known by different names, including Pareto’s Law, The 80/20 Rule, or The Law of Disproportionate Distribution. It means that eighty percent of the outcomes are produced by only twenty percent of the input. In other words, only twenty-percent get it and do what is needed to be done. This is, perhaps the reason we have Jesus spending time with the crowds but focusing the majority of His efforts on the twelve. But, we are not comparing the world of non-believers with the disciples of Christ in a city. We are discussing the interaction among disciples. And, while there is a need for older and wiser heads to provide needed examples, there is no such thing as a twenty percent Christian. You are either a called-out saint or you are not (in or out, no in-between). Jesus makes no exception to this rule and raises the bar of discipleship while witnessing the majority walk away from Him. They had a decision to make and Jesus forces men and women to make their decisions by raising the bar, not by lowering it so more can be added to the number.