A Review of “Church Refugees” Leaving the Church But Not Their Faith Behind
“So, the dones are leaving behind the church. But they do not necessarily leave their faith. In fact, it seems they have a strong desire to maintain their spiritual lives. The reason the Dones have dechurched themselves is not that they no longer believe in God. Rather, it is because they feel the church is no longer fostering an environment in which they can spiritually grow.”
I have a dim view of Mallory Challis’ glowing review of “Church Refugees” by Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope. (https://baptistnews.com/article/these-christians-are-leaving-behind-the-church-but-not-their-faith/) There is a celebratory glee in reporting upon strong, faithful, and committed Christians leaving the oppression of the church. The author reports at least four reasons justifying these heroic former members walking away in a fit of pique. These include hateful teachings about homosexuality that offend their friends or family members. Some are done with church because of a lack of support for a member’s pet projects. While others have walked away because of the time and resources dedicated to Sunday morning corporate worship that could be spent elsewhere. And finally, some have walked away because the church has too great an emphasis on doctrine, rather than on personal relationships.
The book and the article term these people as the “Done.” Many were a part of the 20 percent who did 80 percent of the work, but have become dissatisfied. That name, “Done,” is instructive. “I’m done!” connotes anger to such a degree that one is committed to cutting off any further contact or communication. Hardly a mature and faithful response to issues within the church. And yet, amazingly, the author of the review claims,
“So, the dones are leaving behind the church. But they do not necessarily leave their faith. In fact, it seems they have a strong desire to maintain their spiritual lives. The reason the Dones have dechurched themselves is not that they no longer believe in God. Rather, it is because they feel the church is no longer fostering an environment in which they can spiritually grow.”
But the church is the place for spiritual growth, as the Westminster Divines said:
25.3. Unto this catholic visible church Christ hath given the ministry, oracles, and ordinances of God, for the gathering and perfecting of the saints, in this life, to the end of the world: and doth, by his own presence and Spirit, according to his promise, make them effectual thereunto.
The Divines based this high view of the church on Scripture and not on feelings:
- I Cor 12:27—Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.. (NASB-95).
- Eph 4: 11—And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming (NASB-93).
Is this to say that every one of the estimated 300,000 particularized congregation in America is a place of spiritual growth? Certainly not. The Scriptures speak of synagogues of Satan. The Scriptures speak of false teachers. The Scriptures speak of the Lord extinguishing the lampstand of faithless churches. But the Lord promises that He will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matt 16:18).
We may well ask the Dones what the Lord asked Elijah in I Kings 19:13b-14: “And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 Then he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
But Elijah was not the only believer left. Just a guess, but I doubt all 300,000 churches are false churches. A true church is one that faithfully preaches and teaches the Word of God, that rightly administers the sacraments, and that practices church discipline. Every aspect of the church involves the Word of God. We see the Word preached. We see the Word on display in the sacraments. And we see the Word in action via church discipline. It seems more likely that the Dones are consumer-oriented connoisseurs of boutique Christianity than that all churches in America are false.
The mission of the church is to “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matt 28: 19-20). And yet, if accurate, this quote, from Miss Challis, is quite disturbing:
“Outside the church, the dones often seek ways to foster spiritual growth. Small groups, Bible studies and other non-institutional activities that prioritize relationships and conversation over doctrine and business-like decisions provide spaces in which they can explore their personal relationships with God free of judgment and structure that is holding them back.”
The very offices (elders and deacons) that God has ordained to oversee, teach and care for His people are the very people accused of holding back the Dones from spiritual growth. No evidence is proffered. Jesus told Peter to feed His sheep. That is a high and noble calling.
One of scariest verse in the Bible is in Judges 21: 25, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” It seems history is repeating itself, even though we have a king. Our king, the Lord Jesus Christ, has ordained that His church be ruled administratively by elders. Our rule may be imperfectly executed, but it is the Scriptural pattern for the church.
As elders, we need to examine those imperfections. We need to redouble our efforts to ensure that the Word of God is preached well, that our doctrines are taught to the next generation, that the sacraments are rightly administered, and that discipline is practiced at from the local congregation to the General Assembly.
The sheep are scattering. As under shepherds, we must seek them out and call them back to the church.
Al Taglieri is a Ruling Elder in the Providence Presbyterian Church in York, Penn.
-
Persevering to the Point of Bloodshed
We find a nearness of Christ in the midst of agony. It is as though we can flip the infinitely famous passage in Hebrews 4:15 around on itself, and find comfort in suffering. That in our weakness, we sympathize with our perfect high priest, who has endured every aspect of our human experience, and yet he did it without sin. And when we suffer with him and like him, though always tainted with sin, we understand what he has endured on our behalf, just a little bit more.
“Enough is enough!”
There are times this is the very cry of our hearts. Oh sure, we believe the truths that God’s grace is sufficient for each day. We believe we need not worry—that God cares for us. We believe he always provides the means to bear up underneath the present burdens (1 Cor 10:13). But doesn’t our experience often seem to disagree with these things we know to be true? We think, “I can’t take one more thing, Lord!” Or, “now this feels like the single straw that breaks…not the camel’s back…but my back!”
I’m sure this has been your experience. It may be your experience at this very moment, thinking you might not be able to keep going. Hebrews 12:3-4 is a close friend in times like these. Of the Lord Jesus, the author says:
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
That latter sentence may feel like a heavy word. It may strike you as, “You think your present difficulties are rough, it isn’t near as rough as it could be!” I have seen many disheartened by interpreting this passage in such a way. As though God were saying “suck it up, it’s not as bad as you think”—like the uncaring parent who flippantly says to the injured child “walk it off” or “brush it off.”
But that is actually the farthest thing from the Lord’s encouragement here. It is just the opposite. The first sentence (vs 4) grounds us in how we should be interpreting the second sentence (vs 5). The author is actually calling us to look upon Christ who did endure to the furthest extent. He alone is the person who bore the full brunt of suffering this life has to throw at us, and he overcame!
Read More -
4 Reminders for When You’re Hurt by Someone at Church
Written by Daniel P. Miller |
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
We may lack the power to control every aspect of every emotional reaction that other people’s words or actions ignite in us. But we are responsible for rightly responding to those reactions and repenting whenever they prove sinful.Preparing for Hurt in the Church
We live in a fallen world. As glorious and wonderful as life in the church is, God’s people have not yet been fully delivered from the effects of sin. So we need to learn to set our expectations for life in the church aright. Here are four truths you need to start believing right now to prepare yourself for the disappointment and hurt you’ll inevitably experience in your church.
First, every relationship you have in the church is ultimately about the reputation of Jesus Christ. When I am driven by a Spirit-empowered zeal to exalt Christ as Lord and Savior, I will labor to display his reconciling love in the difficult relationships he ordains for me. Such zeal for Christ’s glory must rule my feelings. It must overrule fleshly desires that pull me in other directions. My pain is not all about me. It’s ultimately all about Jesus’s honor as displayed in the church he died to redeem.
In this addition to the Church Questions series, Daniel Miller helps Christians understand their moral responsibility when responding to common frustrations in the church.
When hurt feelings become more important than Christ’s honor in the church, sin is certain to shipwreck our relationships. As Christians, we shouldn’t be ruled by our hurt feelings. Instead, we need to cultivate thoughts, words, attitudes, and desires that exalt Jesus. If we allow our feelings, especially hurt feelings, to reign supreme, we will cause damage to his church.
Valuing Christ’s glory above our feelings or personal comforts is hard. Our self-oriented culture trains us to put ourselves first, especially when we’re in pain. Of course, we shouldn’t muzzle our feelings. We must learn to acknowledge and deal with them forthrightly, as we’ll consider in a moment. Still, throughout that process, don’t ever lose sight of the larger agenda: glorifying Christ and seeing his kingdom exalted. The glory of Jesus displayed in his church must remain our primary ambition amid any pain we endure—even pain in the church.
Second, personal offenses are inevitable in a fallen world. Living in a Genesis 3 world doesn’t mean we should dismiss or fatalistically resign ourselves to any offense others may inflict. But it does mean that we—unlike the typical politician, media operative, psychologist, celebrity, or national citizen—believe in human depravity. We should therefore anticipate the ways depravity will make our lives difficult.
People will sinfully offend you. Your feelings will get ruffled if not pierced through by the words, decisions, and deeds of others. When this happens, don’t be shocked. Nothing strange is happening. Don’t buy the lie that your hurt is somehow unique. It’s not (1 Cor. 10:13).
Read More
Related Posts: -
Secure In God’s Grace
Grace makes no earthly sense. It is undeserved. It is unearned. It is a gift offered to us totally based on the character of God and not our own character. It is based on his actions, not ours. It meets us in Christ when we have nothing to offer—when we feel unlovable and unworthy. It hunts us down when we feel out of control—when we feel we have no power to change. It pursues us even as we reject it.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6–8)
What is love, anyway?
We say things like “I love tacos” and “I love basketball” and also “I love you.” We watch shows where people fall in and out of love. We’re told to follow our hearts. Yet sometimes our hearts aren’t reliable in the love arena. Sometimes they don’t fill with the weighty affection they once held for a boyfriend or girlfriend. And parents? Sometimes we struggle not to roll our eyes in disrespect.
In the Romans passage today, we read about the truest and realest love available: we read about Jesus. His love is the yardstick by which we measure all other loves. As 1 John 3:16 tells us, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” Jesus is love with skin on. He is the most perfect picture of love that’s ever existed.
So what is the nature of his love? Does it depend on how good we are? Does it depend on how much we pray? Does it depend on how well we care for those around us?
The good news of the gospel is this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This love depends on him. Before we trusted him, he died for us. Before we even knew we needed him, he died for us. While we still chose to make ourselves the kings and queens of our own lives (instead of making him the King of our lives), he died for us. He loved us first, and he loved us unconditionally. This is the grace of God.
Grace makes no earthly sense. It is undeserved. It is unearned. It is a gift offered to us totally based on the character of God and not our own character. It is based on his actions, not ours. It meets us in Christ when we have nothing to offer—when we feel unlovable and unworthy. It hunts us down when we feel out of control—when we feel we have no power to change. It pursues us even as we reject it.
When we read that Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross for us, we are reading about a love that was willing to give up everything for our sake. That is how much God wanted to be in relationship with us. That is how much he wanted us to know our belovedness. He was willing to face death for us. There is no place he is not willing to go for us.
Reread the above verses from Romans 5. We are loved in our anxiety. We are not loved in spite of our anxiety. Jesus doesn’t roll his eyes at our struggle or sigh because of our inability to get over it. He doesn’t overlook it or ignore it. He sees every part of our glorious and broken selves, and he draws near to us. His grace cannot be thwarted by our fear, our worry, or our stress. His grace meets us just as we are.
When we’re rocked by the twists and turns life throws us, we can remember we are secured in God’s love by the grace of Jesus. This love will never stop pursuing us. This grace is limitless. Christ demonstrated his love for us in this: while we were still rebelling against him, he died for us. This is the Love who will never let go of us.
Breathe in: Even in my insecurity—Breathe out: God’s love pursues me.
When have you seen or heard of undeserved love being given to someone? Your example could be from a book, a show, a movie, or real life.
An Excerpt from Anxiety: Finding the Better Story by Liz Edrington. Used with permission.
Related Posts:
