When and Why to Leave Your Church (Part 1) (VoF)

The question in our local paper's "Voices of Faith" feature this week was, "In your experience, for which reasons do people most often leave their place of worship?"
The real answer to that is obviously a complicated one. And one that is all the more difficult to answer for sure because most (almost all) people who leave do not tell the pastor or elders why, and the reasons that they give when they do share is often not the real reason. I think that many people have a sense that the reasons that people have for leaving churches are very often not good ones.
In my experience, which stretches now over ten years of ministry, there are three categories of reasons people leave a church. Economic, Theological, and Personal.

Economic

By economic reasons I mean people getting transferred to another part of the country, or having lost their job and being unable to find work, find that they need to relocate to another area to be able to support their family. Certainly this is a legitimate reason, and in many cases an unavoidable one. This is also a common cause today, especially in these difficult times in the midst of a difficult economy.

Theological 

The second reason is Theological. You are attending a church and there is a shift in a critical doctrinal teaching which you feel renders you unable to continue attending. Sometimes it is your church's leadership -- locally or denominationally -- that moves, or you yourself become convinced of one thing or another. And here I am speaking of serious doctrinal differences. Many people leave because they find out that their pastor is an "old-earth" or "young-earth" person. Or that their new pastor believes that Paul did not write the book of Hebrews. Those are not reasons to leave a church. However, if, as has happened in the mainline denominations over the years, the denominational leadership states that it is no longer important to hold to biblical inerrancy or full inspiration, or that Jesus need not be claimed as the one and only way to God, then you have reason to run to the exit.

I have personally experienced this. For years my wife and I attended a generic, non-denominational, Arminian, Dispensational church and were very involved in many areas of ministry. As I began to get more serious about studying the Bible and theology I began having more and more difficulty reconciling the teachings of my church with the teachings of the scripture in several important areas. I was discovering the "doctrines of grace," and a historic, biblical view of the scriptures that the church I was attending did not share, and in fact strongly opposed.

After a long time of studying and talking to people, including church leadership, I finally reached a point where I could not, in good conscience, continue there, and my wife and I began a search for another congregation. This was something we did not take lightly and that no one should. Though the spirit of the age seems to say otherwise, ones local church, the accountability that exists there, the relationships with pastors and elders and other congregation members are important aspects of our Christian lives, and contribute to our spiritual stability. They should not be quickly and easily rent, in the same way as you might stop going to a restaurant because you grow tired of the menu.
But theological reasons for leaving a church is certainly a legitimate reason to leave a church.

That being said, it is a rare reason. Especially today. Far more common is the third reason; Personal reasons. I'll pick that up in a separate post.

Pastor Gene

Schism Emerges Between Record Searchlight and the Facts of the Sufficiency of Christ Conference

I’d like to call on all the friends of RRF and of Biblical Christianity in general to pray for a situation in regard to the Sufficiency of Christ Conference being held today and tomorrow(April 27 - 28) here in Redding. 

Along with a call to prayer, I feel that I need to respond in some way to the situation that has developed regarding the conference. I do this especially for those who may be visiting our blog, probably through our Facebook page, for the first time, and possibly in response to this situation. 

This conference is “meant to edify ALL of the body in regards to Christ and the gospel, EXALTING Christ as sufficient in all things” (from the promotional flier). We are excited about the opportunity to pursue this biblical goal.

Earlier this week, the organizers of the conference were contacted and interviewed by our local paper, the Redding Record Searchlight. As a part of the interview, the organizers stated repeatedly and explicitly that the purpose of the conference was not  to “bash” a particular local group, known as Bethel Church. Bethel is a third-wave Pentecostal church in Redding which focuses on signs and wonders, and which has a huge following in our area.

The next morning the story hit the front page of the Local section of the Record Searchlight: “Schism emerges between Bethel Church and local pastors’ group.” As a relatively small city, without a plethora of sources of written news, I know that many of you read the Record Searchlight, at least on the weekends.

The article published in the newspaper, from the headline on down contains inflammatory language and misleads the Record Searchlight’s readers concerning the conference and its purpose.

Does God Speak to People Today?

This past week I came across this great, great posting from John Piper. I have posted it below in its entirety.
It is very important that if you start reading it, that you read it all the way through. Do it. You will be blessed, I promise.

If you would rather listen to it than read it, you can do that here.

Pastor Gene

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Let me tell you about a most wonderful experience I had early Monday morning, March 19, 2007, a little after six o’clock. God actually spoke to me. There is no doubt that it was God. I heard the words in my head just as clearly as when a memory of a conversation passes across your consciousness. The words were in English, but they had about them an absolutely self-authenticating ring of truth. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God still speaks today. . .

Is "Heaven is for Real" for real?

I finally found time to sit down and read the book, “Heaven is for Real,” by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent. I hadn’t really had any desire to do so, since I figured I kind of new what was coming. The subtitle, “A little boy’s astounding story of his trip to heaven and back” sort of spills the beans as to what will be found between its bright yellow and orange covers (complete with a picture of little Colton). After a few requests from members of my congregation, however, I dove in and after two sessions, had it finished off.

To give my impressions of it, I think it needs to be dealt with on different levels.

Gaining and Keeping the Hearts of Our Young People

In our men's study breakfast this past month we discussed the importance of having a biblical mindset in the critical task of raising our children. We talked about the importance of Proverbs 23:26, "My son, give me your heart." Notice it does not say to give me your obedience or give me your physical presence (as noted by the author of the book we are studying), but "give me your heart."
That is the challenge, isn't it, to gain the hearts of our children. It cannot be done without much prayer (with and for our children) and much time spent with them (the modern mantra of "quality time instead of quantity time" is an un-biblical idea).
One of the greatest tragedies that a Christian parent can face is to see their child come to their teenage years and reject the faith. But how do we do all that we can to see that does not happen? Obviously we can't guarantee that it won't, even if we apply ourselves biblically to the task. Even those who have done all the "right things" to encourage their children to "give me your heart" have no absolute divine promise that such children will remain in the church, though we pray that they will. 
The other day I came across a really insightful and rightly-focused article on the Christian Coalition's blog. It takes a fresh and helpful approach; instead of considering those who have left, and trying to see "what went wrong?" he considers those who have stayed in the church and to whom God has given a vital faith and asks the question, "what went right?" What is it that sets apart the kids who stay in the church?
Give this a read. If you are a Christian parent of young children be sure to give this a read.

Here is the link.

Blessings,
Pastor Gene

Casey Anthony, Justice, and You

If you heard a strange sound around 11:00 this morning (July 5) what you likely heard was the nation's collective jaw dropping as the verdicts in the Casey Anthony murder trial were read in Florida.

After the biggest media circus trial since the O.J. Simpson trial, the jury, after a deliberation of only 10 hours, returned Not Guilty verdicts on all the counts except for the "relatively minor" charge of lying to police (that this is a minor offense in the eyes of man can be the topic of a future post). After adjusting for time served, Casey Anthony could be back out partying before the end of the week.

The shock at the verdicts was palpable, and the pundit reactions were immediate and forceful. How could this happen?
Let me add this right here, I am not going to re-try the case here. I have my own thoughts, like everyone else, but my purpose is not to rehash or second-guess the jury's verdict.

Glorifying God in Your Work

I picked up this bit of wisdom from John Piper's blog the other day.
I'm reminded of the statement that is often attributed to Martin Luther, erroneously it turns out, but a proper understanding nonetheless; namely, that if you are a shoemaker, make the best shoe you can for the glory of God. Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Some good practical advice. The link is below.

12 Ways to Glorify God at Work