About 58 percent of young adults indicated they dropped out because of
their church or pastor. When we probed further, they said:
- Church
members seemed judgmental or hypocritical (26 percent).
- They didn’t
feel connected to the people at their church (20 percent).
- Church
members were unfriendly and unwelcoming (15 percent).
The reason that many church-attending young adults stopped going to
church upon graduating from high school? Their faith just wasn’t personally
meaningful to them. They did not have a first-hand faith. The church had not
become a valued and valuable expression in their life—one that impacts how they
live and how they relate and how they grow. Church was perhaps something their
parents wanted them do. They may have grown up in church, and perhaps they
faced pressure from parents and even peers to be involved in church. But it
wasn’t a first-hand faith.
…it takes a church to raise a committed young adult.[1]
…“less than 20%
of people who attend church actually feel close to God on even a monthly
basis.” Over 80% of church goers DON’T feel close to God. How
is that possible? Of the almost two-thirds of people who attend
church to learn more about God, only 6% say that they learned
anything about God or Jesus the last time they attended.
Translation: a whopping 94% of us didn’t get much out of Sunday’s
meeting! Worse still, 61% of church goers say they “did not gain any
significant or new insights” about their faith when they last attended
services.
“The early church leaders didn’t have the
things we now consider essential for our faith. They didn’t have official
church buildings, vision statements or core values. They had no social media,
radio broadcasts or celebrity pastors. They didn’t even have the completed New
Testament. Christ-followers were often deeply misunderstood, persecuted and
some gave their lives for their faith. Yet they loved and they served and they
prayed and they blessed—and slowly, over hundreds of years, they brought the
empire to its knees.”
How could the early church capture the imagination
of the Roman empire while we, with all our resources and rigor, are slowly
losing influence in our culture?”[2]
There is an ongoing silent migration away from the church of
an estimated 3,500 individuals each and every day. A 2014 study indicated that
over 1.2 million people will leave the church in the next year. Several factors
are contributing to this trend, but the majority of individuals who are leaving
the church report that they no longer feel connected.[3]
These excerpts are from papers written on the subject of
people exiting Church. Some focus on a specific age group, suggesting that those
in the group are more affected than others. That may be so, however, the shallowness
of Church affects all ages. Older people may put up with the emptiness of
meetings by not making waves, they’ll sit in the pews, pay their dues, and go
home. Responses to why people are leaving Church extend from denial to blame. Ed
Stetzer places the blame on the young people leaving –it’s their own fault; “They did not
have a first-hand faith.” On the opposite end of the spectrum Barna writes, “94%
of us didn’t get much out of Sunday’s meeting.” It seems to me that most of the
suggestions to keep members from leaving will be unsuccessful. Even if plans are
successful, what would have been accomplished? “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve
always got.”[4] My
personal belief is that Church as we know it needs to die, or, at least to go
through a complete metamorphosis. The result of metamorphosis would be an
egalitarian group gathering to encourage and support each other in Christ. Believers
must take back from Church those responsibilities and privileges that
rightfully belong to them as individuals. Each believer is to be a light in his
or her world, that’s not a Church thing, it is an individual responsibility. To
justify its existence the Church has institutionalized many of the obligations
assigned to individuals. Take a look at what is advocated in Christianity Today, “it takes a church to
raise a committed young adult,” You will not find that statement in scripture,
but you will find God’s admonition to parents to raise their children in the
Lord. The Church has appropriated functions assigned to individuals or parents.
The Church has stolen our personal responsibilities and service. The Church was
not commissioned to preach the gospel –disciples were. Unless Church changes
and becomes a gathering of believers supporting each other to follow Jesus, my
first option stands –it needs to die.
Ed Stetzer states
that young people are leaving the Church because they don’t have a personal
faith. I notice in the paragraph in which he explains “lack of faith” he does
not mention Christ; “The church had not become a valued and valuable
expression in their life…” Others have noted that many believers leave Church looking for a
closer relationship with God. It’s not because they lack faith in Jesus. Some
“leavers” are frustrated that the Church elevates itself above Christ –and
that’s not only the Catholic Church. Some are frustrated that the Church and
its managers have positioned themselves between believers and God. The heyday of the Church with which I
associated was the 1950’s, and from personal observation that Church has not
changed much. I made it a point when travelling to attend services of the
Church. On more than one occasion I went to a mid-week study and found the
experiences less than inspiring, most visits were déjà vu events. Except
for the cars in the parking lot, nothing had changed since the mid-fifties. I
do not expect truth to change, but traditions have little basis in truth. Some
Churches boast of their fifties roots, which seems absurd. The scripture
encourages spiritual growth, Churches demand conformity. I see a practical
application to what leadership training taught, that there is a huge difference
between twenty years’ experience and one year’s experience repeated twenty
times. Churches I visited would fit better in the fifties than today, as there
was no indication of an awareness of current issues. Material being used could
well have been printed back in the fifties.
I need to state what
is becoming a mantra for me; “there is no Church in the Bible!” The word Church
doesn’t exist in the original language of the New Testament. There were
assemblies or gatherings of believers. Jesus did not say he would build his
Church. The book of Matthew was written by a Jew, to Jews, about a Jew named
Jesus. Matthew used the common Greek word ekklesia
when recording what Jesus said about his kingdom. The Septuagint was the most
commonly used translation of the Old Testament at that time. The Greek word ekklesia appears some seventy times in
the Greek version of their scriptures. Jews knew what the word referred to, and
it was not Church. The Roman Church was established as a means of encouraging
unity in the Empire, in a similar way a few hundred years later, Islam was
invented to bring waring Arab tribes together. If it were possible it would be
helpful to consider the history of Christians that didn’t fall under the
auspices of Rome. However, the Roman Church dominated religious thought,
persecuting and murdering those who would not bow to its authority. Before the
intervention by Constantine congregations were autonomous, each congregation
appointed its own bishop. Some of the practices of the early congregations do
not line up with scripture as it is interpreted by legalistic Churches today. The
modern Church carries the genes of the Roman Church. It has been demonstrated
that every Christian Church has roots in the original Roman Church. The
Reformation took place giving birth to Protestantism. The Restoration movement to
some is considered the modern awakening of Christianity. The proliferation of
Churches however, speaks to the folly of all human institutions. I believe
attempts to wrestle support for Church from the scripture results in fiction.
There can be no restoration of a New Testament Church, because there wasn’t
one. Barna in the quotation emphasized the difference between then and now
writing, “They didn’t have official church buildings, vision statements or core
values. They had no social media, radio broadcasts or celebrity pastors. They didn’t
even have the completed New Testament. Christ-followers were often deeply
misunderstood, persecuted and some gave their lives for their faith.” But, his assumption falls within
traditional thinking, “and slowly, over
hundreds of years, they brought the
empire to its knees.” That was not Christ’s objective. Jesus clearly
and loudly stated, “My
kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My
servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but
as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm…”[5] People
throughout modern history have accepted that Church is a bona fide Christian
institution. It is not! It is presented as biblical because it has been around
a long time, and few Christians challenge its validity. Tradition has a way of
becoming truth for those who want to believe it.
What worries me about people leaving Church is that some having
connected Church with Christ, upon leaving the Church abandon Christ. No
institution represents Jesus, no Church speaks for God. Jesus said, “Come to me, all who are weary and
heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”[6]
His invitation was personal, to individuals. Nowhere is it written in scripture
that Jesus offered an invitation to a Church. John wrote of God’s love in
sending Jesus into the world, and said, “…whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”[7] Our relationship with God through
Jesus is personal, we are children in God’s family, and we are citizens in
God’s kingdom. The only valid activity of a Church, congregation, assembly, or
gathering, is to support and encourage each other to live as God’s children. It has become clear that Church policies,
rules, expectations, or whatever you want to call the doctrines that
distinguish one Church from another, do not represent the teachings of Jesus.
The Church takes upon itself to be the spokesperson for God, which it has no
right to do. There is a growing chasm between official Church doctrine and the
personal beliefs of congregants. The Church is out of line with the teaching of
Jesus, most do not accept simple belief in Jesus as the criteria of membership,
but require conformity to their doctrines. Each Church has a unique set of
doctrines by which its members are defined. The teaching of Jesus did not
include a hierarchy of believers. If there was a privileged class, James didn’t
know about it, “My brethren,
do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of
personal favoritism.”[8]
Jesus commanded his disciples to love each other, he acknowledged that the Law
was summed up in two basic commandments; love God, and love people.
The duty of every disciple is to believe Jesus. The task, if
we can call obedience by that term, is for disciples to love God, and to love
people. God’s responsibilities are greater than any we have, and it is very important that we focus on our duties and not mess in
God’s business. A very long time ago in Africa, a friend and I were visiting
with a family of American missionaries, I don’t remember how the subject of
alcohol came up, but the lady announced that people who drank alcohol were
dirty. That didn’t go over well as my friend and I both came from families that
on occasion served alcoholic drinks. Condemnation is at best in bad taste, and
worst it is a sinful disregard of Jesus’ teaching. Issues facing the Church
today require more than glib, idiotic or bigoted responses. Churches face a
catch-22 situation; as “guardians of the faith”, or when preaching God’s word.
The scripture speaks of God’s condemnation of immorality, but that doesn’t give
license to the Church or an individual to judge the actions of others.
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God
gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,
being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy,
murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God,
insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they
know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of
death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who
practice them.[9]
God does not judge according any human hierarchy of sin. The
list of things that go along with a depraved mind includes some things I’m sure
in my lifetime I’d be found guilty of. –Didn’t always do what my parents said I
should. May have engaged in a little self-promoting gossip. I know for sure I
took more jam tarts than anyone else at the table. I can’t say I have never
envied the material abundance of the rich. So, what gives me the right to judge
someone else? “…for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”[10]
Christians are commanded to love people. If a Church assumes
the role of speaking for God, say, on the subject of “same sex marriage”, it
would have to condemn the practice, based on what is written in scripture. Some
Churches believe they have the right to modify scripture to fit the times;
those Churches would condone the practice. There are I suppose Churches that
ignore issues and pretend they don’t exist. Individuals do not have permission
to condemn or condone practices which God has pronounced right or wrong. We are
told not to judge, because that is God’s sole prerogative. The Church is not a
divine institution, preachers who use God’s word as a bludgeon are wrong in
doing so. The Church has no more authority than an individual. “…the majority
of individuals who are leaving the church report that they no longer feel
connected.” Whether the Church condemns, condones, or is ambivalent to an
issue, some or more likely most members will be upset. We have an obligation to
love, what the Church says in immaterial, believers have to obey Jesus. “Teacher, this woman has been
caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone
such women; what then do You say?”[11] Jesus didn’t answer right away, when he
did he told the accusers that the one without sin should throw the first stone.
With everyone gone Jesus asked the woman if any had condemned her, she
answered, “No!” Jesus then said, “I do not condemn you, either.”[12] Quoting the scriptures did not give people
the right to condemn. Both condemnation and forgiveness of sin are divine
responsibilities.
Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of
passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all
things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to
regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is
not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge
the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will
stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day above
another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced
in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who
eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not,
for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives
for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord,
or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the
Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both
of the dead and of the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you
again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand
before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, as I live, says the Lord,
every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God. So then
each one of us will give an account of himself to God.[13]
It seems to me that believers must pattern their lives after
Jesus. It is through Jesus alone that we have access to God. The Church has no
authority to condemn, or, condone. Paul concluded the portion of his letter
above stating, “…each one of
us will give an account of himself to God.” The Church has no role in
discipleship, other than to encourage. It has no responsibility, and outside of
support to disciples it has not function. The Church is a blight on
Christianity, as seen through it, Christianity is fragmented and impotent. The
power of the word, and the love of God are seen in the lives of believers.
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