Thinkbubble

In response to The Razzler’s article ‘wondering’ I would like to answer some of the questions.

The main questions I would like to answer are:

When is it appropriate to leave a Church?

Is it ever appropriate to leave a Church?

To quote:

‘Or should we stay and fight because we are a community of believers and the bride of Christ’

For this reason I think once you have made a commitment to a Church through membership, then you should make all attempts possible to work through the problems you encounter. No Church is perfect because no Christian is perfect therefore if we left a Church each time we felt unsatisfied or frustrated, then we would constantly be leaving. This would not be good, because we are called to do God’s work and we are called to love another and support one another in our faith. Which we cannot do if we never establish deep roots and grow together in Christ as a community. Also, the Church is called to be set apart and visible to the world, to set an example and reveal God, what message would we give if we just gave up on people when things got tough.

I do think however that there may be times when it’s ok and right to leave a Church. (I have also read passages in the bible recently on this, which I will find again and add to this blog once I have found them).

1.  Headship

If the headship of the Church (minister or leaders) is not following the Gospel, and all attempts have been made to resolve this matter, then I think it is appropriate to leave. This is because we cannot be led by misguided leaders. When people are being chosen for leadership there are certain elements that are used in the selection procedures, I believe that these elements can also be used to ascertain if the teachings are in accordance with the word of God throughout the length of service of the leaders (there are passages in the bible on this, I will find them).

2. Church death

If the Church is dying and all attempts have been made to make the Church grow, then I think it is OK leave, because the Church is called to grow and support one another in faith, if this is not happening and the Church is displaying the classical signs of death, then how long can people really be expected to stay in the Church if it is not functioning as it should. (Again there are passages on this, I will find them)

3. Spiritual hardship

If you are unable to encounter God in the Church, or you can’t feel God’s Spirit present or you are not growing in your faith, I think it is acceptable to leave. I have experienced this personally. I was going to a Church, which had some good points but more bad points, me and a friend continued to go and got more involved in an attempt to work through the problems. However one day after much deliberation we decided to leave and someone asked me ‘when did you know it was the right time to leave’ and I said ‘when we felt more depressed when we came out of Church then we did before we went in’. This is funny, but humour aside we did not agree with what was being taught and our faith was not being nourished.

4. Last resort

If you have encountered a series of problems and tried everything to resolve them but failed then I think it is important to move on, because it will hinder your own growth and others in the Church. I am not sure that this is the way God would have intended us to act. But I think that if things are just impossible and destructive, then it is right to leave.

The thing is I think that every problem can theoretically be resolved, because if we are following the basic values of Christianity, love and forgiveness then surely every problem can be resolved. Unfortunately the world is not perfect and neither is the Church so this does not always happen. Sometimes by staying in the Church, through shear determination the problems can be resolved, but I think that ‘staying no matter what’ can be more harmful. I still have some thinking and debating to do on this…..