A quarterly magazine for the proclamation and defense of the Gospel
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A quarterly magazine for the proclamation and defense of the Gospel |
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Vol. 4, Issue 2 | Summer 2010 |
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Primum Mobile is a quarterly web magazine. This issue and all its contents are © Copyright 2004-2010 by the editors. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
by Paul Lytle
It was the week before Christmas a couple of years ago when I found myself in my pastor’s living room, explaining to him why I was thinking about leaving the church. I was not unused to the surroundings. I was in the sort of church where any halfway involved person found himself in the pastor’s living room fairly often. With about fifty people attending regularly, that’s the way it often goes.
It was the week before Christmas a couple of years ago when I found myself in my pastor’s living room, explaining to him why I was thinking about leaving the church. I was not unused to the surroundings. I was in the sort of church where any halfway involved person found himself in the pastor’s living room fairly often. With about fifty people attending regularly, that’s the way it often goes.
And I was very involved. I had been attending this pastor’s previous church, and when he left to begin a new one, I had been a part of the launch team. I played nearly every week with the worship band. I volunteered with the youth group nearly every week. I was on the verge of becoming even more involved, because at the time I was applying to go to seminary, and the pastor was planning to help train me in church administration.
It was a time of really wonderful spiritual growth for me, but maybe that was part of the issue. In growing spiritually, I was beginning to realize something — not all churches are created equal.
Before those few years, I certainly knew that there were liberal churches that doubted the Bible, and other churches that would (gasp!) baptize babies. Hey, I grew up a Baptist, and baptizing an infant is just about the biggest sin you can commit for the typical Baptist (except for having a beer, of course). I hadn’t really studied the subject, but I had heard enough sermons about how wrong it was.
But as far as denominational or theological differences, I couldn’t tell you all that much. When I started at that church, I was a very immature Christian, fairly new to the faith, and was really only concerned that the church I was attending was Evangelical.
But over the next few years, God caused a great deal of growth and learning in me. The spark of love for Him that He had brought about in my salvation was fanning, and that growing fire drove me more and more into the Word, into theological books, and into teaching.
The result opened my eyes to something that honestly surprised me — an orthodox statement of faith does not mean that a church is solidly orthodox.
I began to get seriously concerned about our little church when a woman pastrix was asked to preach there. I was quite surprised, primarily because I had heard our pastor (at our previous church) preach against women in the pulpit. My pastor would later tell me that you have to make compromises if you are going to preach. I felt like I was going to be ill when I heard it.
Our church’s focus was a little disconcerting as well. I knew that we were making an effort to be “multicultural,” but at first, I really just thought that was a way of inviting everyone in. I quickly realized that it was more than that — it was a focus, a concentration, an emphasis that would be preached more than the Cross itself. I invited some friends to visit the church, but not one of them came a second time, and each of them gave the same reason: The focus on racial reconciliation overshadowed everything else in that place. It was a good goal, but as the primary focus of the church, it became our gospel — the thing we proclaimed before Christ Himself. My friends didn’t understand why I was going to such a place.
Yes, if you asked the elders, they would have told you that they believed in orthodox Christianity. But that was not what was coming from the pulpit. The statement of faith was there, and it was okay, but the true focus of the church was something very different.
Since I became a Christian, I have regularly attended and left four churches. The first I left to help start the church described above. That one was number two. The third I left because I moved out of the area. Finally, I am in the process of leaving the fourth, and for the second time in my life, I am leaving for theological reasons.
It is not something I do easily, and something I pray I did not do hurriedly. A lot of people wear a church like a pair of pants: something that can be stripped off rather easily and should be changed regularly. Such is not the biblical view of a congregation. We are meant for this community of believers.
And as sorry as I am for helping to start that church from the opening paragraphs, I am not sorry for the community there. Even when I was beginning to feel uneasy about the teaching and was embarrassed that I was sitting under such preaching, I was never embarrassed about the group I was in. I was always welcome in my pastor’s home, and he was never queasy about giving correction. I was so often on the phone with other congregates or simply hanging out with them. The church knew me, knew what was going on in my life, and was checking in on me.
It was beautiful.
I’ll give credit where it is due — that was as close as I’ve ever been to what Christian community is supposed to be.
My latest church home was a much easier decision, but still not one I easily made. It was not nearly as cohesive a community. In fact, there was very little community there at all. I was never at my pastor’s home. I never had coffee with a single elder. When the theology slipped too far (or so was the opinion my wife and myself after a lot of talk and prayer), we decided it was time to move on.
Let me be very clear — it is not an option whether you want to be in a church or not. I know some people think that they can hang out with some other Christians and that’s good enough. It’s not. God established the Church for a reason, and it is pride to not want to be a part of it. God loves the Church, and to reject the Church should make you question whether you are even a Christian. (Seriously. It’s not that we are saved by loving the Church, but it is an evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in you that you do. Read John’s first epistle through a few times, and you’ll come to understand how important he thought it was. I’ll quote 1 John 3:14 in particular: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.”)
There are a few reasons I’d address in brief on why we need to be in a local church. In the first place, we are to submit to spiritual leadership. The writer of Hebrews tells us:
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.-Hebrews 13:17
And this would include correction. Listen: we can fool ourselves sometimes that we’re doing just fine, but sometimes we need someone we trust to tell us, “Hey, you seem to be having problems with some area or other.”
It is within the Church that we use our gifts in union with the Body of Christ. Paul describes the Church like a body, and its members as individual body parts (1 Corinthians 12). When we work as a group, we will do great. But if a kneecap wanders off by himself, the entire Body of Christ is hurt by it, and that individual hurt more than any other. You may think you’re okay by yourself, but the Bible clearly tells us that this is not how it is meant to be.
So the Body is helped when we are in unity, and the individual members are helped as well. In the community of believers, we are all stronger.
In addition, we are required to submit to spiritual leaders in the Church. See the Hebrews 13:17 again. Likewise Paul tells us “to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work” (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).
Lastly (for this will be all I write on the topic right now, though I make no promise not to write an entire article on it at some point), God tells us to. “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:23-24).
These things cannot be adequately accomplished without a devotion to the local church. It should be our goal upon joining a church that this church should be like a home, with its people truly viewed as family, with its elders truly sought for guidance and correction.
This topic is not the focus of my efforts today, but I did want to briefly touch on the need for us to go to church before looking at some things to consider before leaving one. What follows is not a checklist. I do not intend for you to score your church and use that to decide whether to leave or not. And I certainly do not suggest that you leave if you find one or two items from this list in your church. The decision to leave a church should be approached with much prayer, much consideration, a lot of talking with the pastor or elders, and a lot of talking with godly friends.
Leaving should be a last option, not the first. While I entitled this article “Leaving a Church,” I would rather this list be used to identify problems in order to repair them rather than support to leave.
I would not leave a church because they fail on a point or two. A habitual failure in many areas, however, would get me to start talking to someone about it.
And that someone should not be only disgruntle friends. Go to the pastors or elders. Express your concerns – not with disrespect, but with love. Go not with your own words, but research the topics thoroughly from Scripture first. Go with passages and ask your pastor to explain his reading.
In other words, go in a spirit of reconciliation. If you are going for any other reason but that you love these people and want to remain with them, then you are in the wrong. More often than not, that conversation will give you confirmation on whether you need to leave or not. If your pastor greets you in the same spirit, then you should probably hang around (depending on how critical the issues are — if he denies the Gospel, then you should probably still leave).
In both cases in my life where I have left a church for theological grounds, my confirmation came with that discussion with a pastor. In both cases was I mocked and scolded, even though I had come with passages of Scripture to support my position and was willing to discuss the issues. In neither case was I given a biblical response, but insults. It was clear after both conversations that I needed to go elsewhere.
What follows are perhaps warning flags, but meant only as points to discuss or think on. I would be disappointed if anyone took this list as proof that he needed to leave his church.
Here is the big one. Doctrine is so important that a wrong step can destroy your church and move it right off the narrow path. So let’s say this right away — if your church denies the basic tenants of the faith, you don’t have to read any more. Get out of there! If they deny the atonement of Christ, that He died in our place to satisfy the just wrath of God against us for our sin, then leave. If they tell you that you need anything else besides faith to be saved, then leave. If they deny the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the future return of our Lord in Glory, then leave. If they deny the reality of sin or hell, don’t even wait to the end of the sermon. Stand up and hightail it away.
I’m speaking very harshly here because of the seriousness of these doctrines. We can disagree on eschatology (the study of the end times), on infant baptism, or whether to do the sermon before or after the music, or whether to raise our hands, on whether to use a guitar in the worship, on politics, and on a hundred different things. We cannot disagree on the Gospel. Those who disagree on the Gospel are called pagans, not Christians, whether or not they call themselves Christians.
That being said, there are other forms of bad doctrine that can technically be in orthodoxy, and yet not be really great. These should be considered carefully, and they should be questioned as to whether they rise to the level of needing to leave the church or not.
a. Bad focus
This is the problem of the church I described at the beginning of this essay. They would affirm orthodox theology, but their focus was not the Gospel. I would guess that most churches are guilty of this one. Even if they do not have a particular niche (like Purpose Drivenism, multiculturalism, tolerance, legalism, whateverism), they will generally speak and sing about us rather than about Him.
In case you are confused, the Bible is about Jesus. It is He who should be the focus of our sermons, our songs, our advice, our hope, our Gospel. The truth is that we are sinners who deserve to die for our sins, but in God’s sovereign plan, Jesus was raised up as a sacrifice for us. He is the one who has earned eternal life, and He who gives it to us. This is the fiery climax of the entire story of redemption. The whole of the Bible tells this story.
So if your pastor is telling you how to get out of debt, he probably has missed the point. His focus is off. That small shift in focus can change everything, and this needs to be weighed carefully.
On the other hand, you must ask whether your focus is the one is off. Are you really hoping for a sermon on how homosexuals are going to burn in hell and get disappointed when your pastor offers them repentance for the forgiveness of sin? You are the one who has lost the focus on the Gospel. Are you hoping your pastor preaches on how we should all be lovey-dovey with everyone and hand out flowers, and instead he preaches on how we are sinners in need of a Savior? He has it right. Listen to Him.
b. All Law
To borrow the concept from my Lutheran friends, a good sermon should hit upon both Law and Gospel. The Law is that which we are supposed to do, but fail to do. The Law proves that we are sinners without hope in and of ourselves. The Gospel is what Jesus did for us that we do not deserve. Out of love, Jesus came to take the punishment we owe for our sin. In repentance and faith, we are forgiven, not by our own actions, but by His.
A lot of churches make the mistake of forgetting the Gospel. This manifests itself in one of two ways. In the first way, the church will become legalistic. They will find their righteousness not in Christ, but in a list of rules. This list varies from church to church, but typical ones are: we’re not homosexuals, we wait until marriage to have sex, we don’t drink, we don’t smoke, we don’t listen to mainstream music, we vote Republican, etc. Now, some of these actually are virtues (many are not), but that’s not where our righteousness comes from.
The other way we can err is to focus on our charity. There are a lot of churches whose mission statement is something along the lines of “We exist to love God and love others.” Admirable, but that is a summary of the Law, not the Gospel (Matthew 22:37-40). This is what we fail to do every day. This is why we need the Gospel.
c. All Gospel
If some churches tend to forget the Gospel, others will ignore the Law. In an effort to embrace all people, they will refuse to wield the Law as it is meant to be wielded — to drive sinners to repentance. These churches are so fixated on the love of God that they forget everything else, such as His justice and wrath.
These churches tend toward universalism, though they may not have gone that far. The sermons will be filled with talk of forgiveness and love, but there is nothing specifically said about why we need forgiveness. If sin is mentioned, it will be corporate sins (such as how society is guilty of racism or sexism) rather than individual sins.
d. Wrong law
We also should be sure that the Law is preached properly. A lot of sermons will speak of problems that are not sins, or list things that we need to do that are not in the Bible. Prosperity will talk about giving seed money and promising great returns. Well, that’s not in the Bible. Seeker-sensitive teachers will talk about problems such as a poor sex life or not having great communication. Are those sins that require a crucified Lord?
We must keep focus on our purpose here, and that is to worship God. A series on politics may be interesting, but it may not be appropriate for church. A simple test on whether our focus is good or not is to ask this question: “Would a Muslim be offended by this sermon? Would a Mormon?” If the answer is no, then you have not heard a Christian sermon.
Now, before deciding that your church has missed the boat on the Law, please make sure you understand the Law correctly. For example, a great number of people today say that homosexuality is not a sin. But when we open the Bible, we find that it is, and that homosexuals are called to repent for the forgiveness of sins (see 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, for example).
So before you get upset at your pastor because he told you that getting drunk is a sin and you like getting drunk every weekend, please do the research. You’ll find that while drinking is okay, getting drunk is not.
e. Law, Gospel, Law
A lot of churches will properly distinguish Law and Gospel for visitors and unbelievers, but once you are in the church, all you get is what you are supposed to do as a Christian, as though the Blood of Jesus stopped working for you. You will find this in pietism movements and also (in a different form) in Purpose Driven / seeker-sensitive churches. Make no mistake — it is Christ that changes us, not moralism. When the Spirit brings about repentance, we will be turned away from that sin in our lives. When we make mistakes, we still have Christ as our advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1).
We are so prone to quote Philippians 2:12, “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” without realizing that the sentence doesn’t end there. The next verse tells us “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
In other words, the Good News of the Cross does not cease at the moment of salvation. Our continued sanctification is still a work of that same Gospel. When we forget that, we end up in legalism, making out rules for ourselves rather than continually repenting to our Savior.
f. Just . . . wrong
Some preaching cannot be put in any of the above categories. They are just wrong. Judging these can often be very simple. If you hold the teaching up to the historic Christian faith, you’ll find false gospels, heresies, and basic goofiness.
I’ve been to churches before where there just wasn’t a community of believers. Or at least not any I saw. They just scooted out after the sermon and didn’t think about it again until next Sunday. This is such a critical part of a church that it should be a heavy consideration on how to proceed with leaving or staying. But when considering the community around you, consider also the following.
a. Is it you, or is it me?
Leaving a church should be as painful as moving away from your family. If it’s not, it is either a comment on the lack of community at that church, or it is a comment on your lack of participation in that community. It is easy to blame the former, but let this be a place for self-examination. Ask the people at your church too. If they are regularly talking with each other about the events you weren’t at, that may tell you something about your own culpability in the problem.
Perhaps there is enough blame to go around. Perhaps the others there haven’t really opened up or seemed interested in being part of a community. Have you tried asking anyway? Have you been the first to open up? It may be that they are just waiting for someone to get the ball rolling. Before abandoning them, pray for them and seek ways to bring the community together.
b. Okay with sin
A lot of times a community is just too tolerant of sin. I confess that I have been part of this problem before. I was the leader of a Christian band once, and I allowed someone in unrepentant sin to join the band, and I didn’t even try to talk to him about it. Nothing was gained when I did this — I was merely nervous about bringing it up.
Sometimes we have groups who just don’t flinch when people talk about their wild weekends. In an effort to be welcoming, we become overly tolerant, and we forget about the reality and wickedness of sin.
But I will also say that sometimes such groups are waiting for someone to step up. Before you condemn your church for being tolerant, have you tried talking to that unrepentant fornicator yourself? It may be that he does not know the Gospel, that he can be forgiven and restored. It could be that you will be kicked out of the church. I had a friend who was in a Bible study where the group was helping one woman sin by taking care of her kids while she went out to engage in inappropriate and wrong behavior. My friend said something, and she was asked to leave.
At least then you’ll have a clear answer. With a clear answer, you will not have to wonder if you are doing the right thing.
At the same time, we must ask this question when we want to leave a church — am I trying to escape biblical reproof? In other words, am I the one in sin, and I just don’t want to face it?
By ignoring this question, you only condemn yourself. Do not simply lean on some day in the far past when you answered the altar call and a pastor told you that you were saved and that you should never question that salvation. Do you know and believe the Gospel? We can often get so caught up in the church culture that we forget what this is all about. Sometimes no one ever told us. The Church is not made up of “good people.” It is made of wicked people who were forgiven because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. He bore the sins of the Church when He died, and in that death took the rightful punishment for our sins.
Confess your sins and believe in Him. Salvation is a free gift of God, not something we can gain by appearing to be a good Christian. So often have I tried to project an image when I was around other Christians. It is like I was pretending to be sinless. Are you doing that at church? Don’t. Confess your sin and seek their guidance and help. If they understand the Gospel, they will know that they are just as guilty, and that you can be just as forgiven.
If they do not understand the Gospel, then you have your clear answer.
As we have seen, we are asked to submit to biblical leadership. This rather necessitates some decent Christian leadership at your church. Unfortunately, this is not always found.
a. No leaders at all
I was part of one men’s group that technically had a leader to whom we were supposed to submit. Unfortunately, I never met the guy. He didn’t come to the meetings, but only got secondhand reports. Our group started to drift into wacky theology, and there was no one to whom I could really appeal. I spoke with the guy who led our discussions, but he only said that this was “our” group and not “his.”
Democracy does not work in the church. Our doctrines are not up to a vote, but have been declared by our Father in Heaven. He has commanded us to submit to church leadership, and that is for our own good. We need a shepherd to watch over us and keep us from heresy, from false teachers, and from unbiblical ideas.
Home Bible studies are so often plagued by lack of biblical leadership, and they end up just becoming a circle of people who ask each other, “What does this passage mean to you?” as though what Suzie thinks of a passage has any bearing on anything at all. Seek some leadership in these situations. Try to get someone involved to guide things.
b. Distant leadership
This happens quite a bit in mega-churches, when your pastor may not even know who you are. Maybe there are several pastors, and each one is given a few hundred people to shepherd. Your pastor may know your name, but he hasn’t the foggiest clue what is going on in your life.
It is almost impossible for a pastor to lead you without knowing where you are. If you have trouble getting to talk with your pastor for more than a minute or two at a time, there is a problem there. How are you to submit without instruction?
But also examine yourself. Have you made any effort to speak with your pastor? The problem may be you, that you have made it so you are not known.
c. Unbiblical leadership
There are restrictions in the Bible on who can be a pastor. Someone may have the gifts necessary for the job, but remain unqualified. Has your church promoted unqualified pastors? Have they embraced women clergy? Men who are not above reproof?
I am greatly concerned about churches who allow women clergy, and the reason I am is because they are willing to ignore a very clear command of the Scripture. Someone who is willing to ignore something so clear will be willing to ignore other things too to meet their own sinful desires. Beware of such people. If your church cannot get the clear points of the Word right, then how will they get the more difficult aspects right?
d. Unwillingness to discipline
A loving parent disciplines his children. If a parent does not discipline his children, it’s because he doesn’t love them. That is simply the truth of it. Likewise, love will compel pastors to discipline wayward congregants, as is commanded in the Word. A pastor who does not want to do this is a coward who does not love his flock.
There are a few more issues that should be considered (and probably a lot more I have left off).
a. Other churches in the area
If there are simply no other good churches in the area, I would generally suggest you stay put or start a new church. The rule of thumb is to choose the best church in your area and stick with it. If they deny the Gospel, that is one thing, but if you just have some differences in secondary doctrines with them and there isn’t somewhere better to go, then I would say to stay there.
b. Is your current church nearby?
Are you driving an hour to get to church? How are you going to be involved in a body that you can’t even get to without planning a whole day for it? We want to be part of a community, so you may want to look for something a little closer. Either that, or consider moving closer to the church. I’m not joking about that one. If that is where you are supposed to be, then be there, and not just on Sundays, even if it means moving.
c. Why is it you want to leave?
We can all find problems in any church. No church is perfect. The question is whether these problems rise to the level that you need to leave or not. A lot of times, there is an underlying reason you want to leave. You don’t like the music style, or the service starts too early, or it’s too crowded, or it’s too small. None of these are good reasons to leave. That’s your own selfishness, and you need to repent of that.
If you are going to leave a church, then let it be for the glory of God and not because of some minor style issue. We are not there for our glory, so who cares what color the carpet is?
In every case, let our focus be on Christ and on others. Whenever we find ourselves longing to leave for unbiblical reasons, let us go to God in repentance, knowing that we will be forgiven because of the sacrifice of Jesus. Let this confession be your tutor, guiding you to a better understanding of the Church as a whole. If we are in Christ, remember, then we will love that which He loves, and He loves the Church. If we are in Christ, then we are all brothers and sisters, a part of His Body, and a member of the universal Church as one. Do not allow this process to tarnish His name, for it is in His name that we meet in the first place.
