Leaving can Hurt so Much... and so Many!

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Consider the following scenario and see if you might be having similar feelings...

You are a mature, experienced, seasoned believer. You consider yourself deeply rooted “in Christ”. You have been in fellowship with a congregation for many many years. You’ve lived through the ups and downs that all congregations of God’s Church experience. But now... you want to leave the church.

Mature and faithful Christians are leaving their long standing relationships with congregations... and are not sure why they feel the way they do. Let me be clear –– I am referring to people who are leaving a congregation––not God. Lot’s of reasons are offered... irrelevancy, hidden suffering, ineffective leadership, impersonal or bland worship services, a lack of biblical literacy, and much more. This comes as no big surprise... it’s been happening for quite awhile.

Recent studies confirm that churches across America are hemorrhaging. They are losing members at a staggering rate. Sadly, while losing people, some congregations don’t even notice or seem to care. These studies also point to a massive decline in the basic Biblical knowledge and understanding of Christian faith and practice among professing believers.

Some critics suggest that now is the time for the sheep to become their own shepherds. This notion makes the church virtually irrelevant. I am not too concerned about that notion finding much if any authority. God established “the body of Christ”, His Church... it will not fail.

Can the Church suffer... yes it can. Can people become disillusioned by the failures of leadership... yes they can. Can people feel the desire to escape to something “better” or “different”.... yes, and they evidently are. But to what, to where, to whom?

What’s at stake? Quite possibly... your spiritual well-being. Your relationship with Christ. Your adherence to right doctrine and truth. Your obedience to God’s commands. These are very serious considerations when considering leaving a congregation of the body of Christ.

Let me clarify what I hope you already understand.... God does not destroy or muck up a church, people do that. Nothing could make our adversary Satan happier, than to see mature Christians frustrated and disillusioned with their church. He loves divisions and divisiveness. He knows that if you leave, you will likely begin a journey of bouncing from church to church looking for something that really doesn’t exist... the perfect church. During that time of searching you become less and less focused on Christ and more and more focused on finding something to satisfy a desire you’ve created in your mind of how the church must be... to be right. Right for who... you?

There are at times very valid reasons for leaving a church. There are times when certain conditions and circumstances within a local congregation are so spiritually debilitating and destructive, that leaving is the only way you can save yourself from spiritual devastation. But that is not the normal environment found in today’s Bible-based doctrinally sound church.

This may sound cliché, but how do you suppose Jesus would view your desire to leave a congregation of His Church? The Church is His, created at Pentecost by Him. So, for us not to embrace the Body, would be tantamount to not embracing Christ. For us to demean, marginalize, minimize and overly criticize the Church would be akin to doing the same of Christ. Rejecting the church, even if it’s just a local congregation you’re not feeling real connected to, is like saying... “Jesus, I don’t need what you’ve provided for my transformation, edification and growth... I don’t need to be here... I can take care of myself... I can find a group more suitable to me... one that does things I like to do”... and on and on the self-justifications pour forth.

Admittedly, our “ways and means of church” today are a far cry from what God formed in the first century. But that does not mean He rejects the Church of today. We’re the Church... He doesn’t reject us.

In spite of all the things we think we don’t like about the way today’s churches operate, God is still able and capable of working with His organization in spite of what we think it is not doing. It's His formula for assembly and fellowship to help us work out our salvation with Him, among one another.

In the simplest of expressions.... if you love God... then you love His Body –– the Church. God and His Church are inseparable. If you are really a worshipper of God, a mature Christian, you will worship Him like David did and expressed passionately throughout his writings in the Psalms. You will accept the ups and downs of your congregation, because they’ll always be there. You will be patient... waiting on God to work things out. You will hang in there and pray for change or a different perspective. You most likely will discover yourself growing through the frustrations you’re experiencing. If “focus on God” is your desire, your sincere passion, then zeal for God's Church and all that comes with it, will consume you. There is no way to separate God from the workings of His Church.

His Church... often embattled and dysfunctional, is still where God chooses to meet us. Maybe it’s time to thank Him for what you do have in brotherhood and fellowship and stop complaining about what you think you don’t have and don’t like.

Next posting... if you must leave your congregation, then you need to carefully analyze your motives for what may ultimately be a fruitless quest. We’ll examine these important considerations that may or may not justify your decision to leave your church family, in the next entries.