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Leaving church

I’ve left the church. Not the Church, but the church. It’s an important distinction. The church is the building, the congregation; while the Church is the body of Christ, all his followers.With that said, I’ve left the church. I’m tired of the bureaucracy to do anything, even if it was something God breathed and Spirit led. I’m tired of the hordes of luke-warm bodies who might show up every week, write a check to cover their “tithe of obligation,” but the moment the benediction ends, don’t spend one second living for God until the next Sunday morning when it’s fashionable to do so, or because it’s what they’ve always done. I’m tired of having to defend my faith to people because I dress a certain way, or because I think that when God said to love everyone he meant it — including the homeless people who spend time under the walkway cover of the church, or my gay friends who have done no more ‘sin’ then the elders of a church, yet somehow being gay is worse than being a lier, an adulterer, or a murderer. I’m tired of trying to be the change in the church, the new generation that will climb the steps of the lighthouse to spoke the flame and make it burn bright again and being blocked every time.

I’m leaving, and there’s a good chance I won’t come back.

I’ve found something better — instead of finding a church, I’ve found the Church. I’ve found people who are willing to sacrifice their lives for God. I’ve found people who want to be God’s agents of change in the world. In fact, I’ve always known these people — they’ve always been around, but I was raised to always see the church they were from, and not the Church that they are, the body of Christ.

Some of these people were part of my local church, some of them I’ve known through my local churches regional affiliation, some were friends from outside church settings, and still others I’ve never met in person, but have come to admire and respect through their words. They too are frustrated with the church, and have decided to be the Church instead. Some are still in the local church, and that works for them — I’m proud of them for that — but, for me, it’s time to move on.

It’s very important that I remain part of the body of christ, part of the Church, and for many, maybe even most, that has been the local church. For me, that hasn’t been the case for years. I may have attended a church, but by no means did I feel I was part of the body there. I even participated on everything from pastoral search committees to a steering committee that recommended to the congregation to sell half their property. I’ve even been a youth leader and the media guru running sound and power-point for years. Yet, even through all that, it’s been a long time since I’ve been part of the body through the local church.

My spiritual guidance has come from some individuals of the church, even the pastor, but not on Sunday mornings. Rather, it was through individual conversations, and sometimes through conversations that would likely be considered heresy by the congregation as a whole. But, even though some of my time with fellow believers has been through the local church, most of it has been outside the church — and the parts that have taken place inside the church were not part of the church ministry, but rather the individual people involved, and as such can continue separate from my participation with the church as a whole.

What has kept me from leaving the local church up to now is I wanted a voice at the table. How can I be an agent for change when I’m not an active participant? It’s a valid reason, and one that some people still bring up with me. But, my response is this: I think the age of the local church is nearing its end. It may still survive in one form or another, but the way people seek God may not be in the corporate congregational worship experience we’ve known for the last few centuries. This is not to say that “God is dead,” but rather that He is doing a new thing, and I can be a part of it.

George Barna, the well known surveyor of church-life says this in his book Revolution, “As I have tracked people’s inclinations through our national research studies, I have concluded that by the year 2025, the spiritual profile of the nation will be dramatically different. Specifically, I expect that only about one-third of the population will rely upon a local congregation as the primary or exclusive means for experiencing and expressing their faith; one-third will do so through alternative forms of a faith-based community; and one-third will realize their faith through the media, the arts, and other cultural institutions.”

In the year 2000, Barna found that 70-percent of Americans experienced and expressed their faith through the local church, but by 2025 that number will be between 30 and 35-percent.

Personally, my faith is experienced and expressed through a hodgepodge or mosaic of ways. I participate in a small group, Epinoia Café, where we discuss odds and ends of spirituality and faith. I have individual relationships where I can be held accountable, while doing the same for others. I use the creativity God gave me through writing, and spending time doing web-design. I learn from both scholars through their books, and individuals who journal or blog publicly, while also listening to sermons from Rob Bell of Mars Hill and Rick McKinley of Imago Dei every week. Most of all, I still have the Bible.

All this has led to a more spiritual and God focused life then I’ve ever had. In leaving the church, I’ve found the Church. I, and I think and hope God, is well pleased.

Tags: life update