What would happen to your spiritual life if "church as you know it" ceased to exist? Not that it's likely to happen, but what if the following scenario —some of which, admittedly, are uniquely American— unfolded in your town, state, or country:
- All church buildings locked and banned from use
- Gatherings of Christians larger than 12 persons (not including children) prohibited
- Christian conferences, concerts, seminars no longer permitted
- All children's ministries and youth groups curtailed for the foreseeable future
- Every summer mission trip and choir tour suspended
- Men's and women's ministries disbanded
- Dramatic presentations, especially Easter and Christmas plays, classified as illegal
- Organized practical ministries banned, such as Christian counseling services, food pantries, church-based homeless shelters, crisis hotlines, single mothers drop-in centers, church-run childcare & preschools
- Every ordained minister's credentials revoked under threat of imprisonment if found preaching sermons or providing formal instruction to other believers
Would your "walk with the Lord" be serious disrupted or perhaps even derailed if you didn't have a "church" to attend this Sunday and beyond? Is your Christian life wrapped up in a building, programs, ministries, and meetings?
Jason Zahariades admits in "Detoxing from Church" how his involvement in church distorted his true spiritual condition, at least temporarily:
Involvement in an organizational consumer-driven church blinds us to the real state of our lives. By participating in this kind of church I can enjoy inspiring worship, biblical exposition of Scripture, fellowship, small groups, kids programs, service projects, missions, discipleship, books, radio broadcasts, multimedia presentations and virtually anything else I need in my spiritual life. In fact, I can enjoy an entirely alternative lifestyle where Christianity is prepackaged for me – books, music, entertainment, news reports, advice, etc. And as I consume it, it forms a façade over the real condition of my life. The rub is when my true condition actually bubbles to the surface and I find myself troubled, discontent or miserable. Then the church or the pastor or the worship team has lost the “anointing” and I must find a new organizational church that will provide me what I need to feel better about who I am.
In this distorted perspective, I fail to recognize that the true state of my life and faith is who I am and what I do in relation to God and his kingdom, not who I am and what I do in relation to the church.
And since we've been discussing the whole issue of transparency, I love Jason's online confession about how he "uses" church attendance to provide his spiritual fix:
- I need to worship. So I go to my local church, which, if it’s cutting-edge, has a worship pastor on staff that prepares an inspiring "worship experience" for me on a weekly basis. One local church I know advertises its worship services on its marquee, "We worship five times, three ways, one God." (Hello! Is it me or does that just sound wrong?)
- I also need to fellowship with my fellow Christians. So I go to my local church to attend a programmed version of community that provides a surface-level contact with people around some form of activity at my convenience. If I need more fellowship, I go to a small group, usually focused on the dynamic personality of the small group leader or on the subject matter I feel I need to better my life. But again, this is at my convenience and fairly optional if my schedule becomes too demanding.
- I need discipleship and Christian growth. So I go to my local church to attend Sunday services, Bible studies and small groups where someone opens the Bible and tells me what it says and how it should apply to my life. I also have the option of learning "practical" topics such as how to be a good spouse, parent, employee, leader, steward, etc.
- I need to serve. So I go to my local church and participate in a program where I use my time and skills in a fairly convenient manner to help others. For the most part, it’s fairly safe. And if I'm a volunteer, my participation is completely based on my schedule.
- I need to be engaged in mission. So I go to my local church to connect to their evangelistic ministry and their missions program. Every so often I might volunteer to hand out sodas or serve coffee in a convenient and semi-relational form of "reaching people" for Christ. I might also give money to local missionaries the church supports and maybe participate in a weekend mission trip.
- I need a children's program to educate my kids. So I go to my local church to place my children in the care of Sunday school teachers and youth pastors who will provide the spiritual and moral foundation for their Christian growth via an age-relevant program.
- I need purpose for my life. So I go to my local church, hoping to find a leader with a vision big enough to inspire me. Then I sacrifice my time, energy, and money to become involved in the leader’s vision so I can build something big for God with him. New programs. New buildings. New projects. New groups. New services. New converts. New church plants. New missions. More and more and more vision to give my life a reason to exist.
If this speaks to you, please read his entire article and see how he learned to detox from "church" and refocus his spiritual life concerning the above issues. I found his honesty refreshing and his struggles address many of the things I have been blogging about over the past year.
By the way, Jason eventually found his way back into a Christian community, but he came back with a renewed understanding and appreciation, looking to Christ rather than an organization to lead him in his journey of fait
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An excellent word for the body of Christ, Jason!
Thank you for this article. It is thoughtful and obviously borne out of Jason’s life experience. I resonate with much of what he shared as I have been someone who was very addicted to my church (culture). I have recently left and it has been a difficult and painful process for myself and my friends there who really don’t understand. Leaving has caused me to take a good look at my journey and where I have relied too much on others to feed, and affirm me.
Having said this I feel a caution with Jason telling others that in order to be the church they must leave the church. If we all did what Jason was telling us to do, wouldn’t we be doing the very thing that he is trying to save us from? That is letting someone else be in charge of our spiritual life. Leaving the church actually may not be what God intends for everyone’s journey. In fact I have many friends who attend church regularly and have a very real and living faith.
I believe what Jason and I have done is a very personal decision, one that should be discerned and tested and done with great humility. By this I mean not putting our own experience onto anyone else. Respecting where others are at and not judging that because someone loves their church and church activities that they are addicted to church.
Although I need a break from church right now I need to acknowledge that in spite of all its wrinkles the church as played a positive role in my spiritual formation as well. I share these final thoughts out of my concern that this movement of leaving church doesn’t cause yet another division in God’s kingdom…those who go to church and those who don’t. If anyone is reading this article and wondering what to do I think a great question for Jesus would be, “Is there anything unhealthy in my life right now and what would you like to do about it?” And then wait for Jesus to answer you and show you the way.
Jodi from Canada
Thank you for your comments, Jodi. Sounds like we agree that the process can be painful, but I trust that you keep your eyes on Jesus and learn to walk faithfully in relationship with Him.
I do not believe that a person truly leaves the Church (the one Jesus has been building with living stones) when he/she leaves the institutional church (the one built with human hands). Those who make up the body of Christ will always be members of one another, regardless of whether they belong to or attend what we refer to as a “local church.”
Jason explains what he means by leaving church:
The “organizational church” is not necessarily the “true Church,” even though it may be composed of many true believers in Christ who love the Lord and are sincerely trying to follow Him by faith. Jason simply believes that the organization sometimes gets in the way. We’re so enamored with the Christian programs, ministries, activities, and meetings, that it’s sometimes necessary to take a step back and reevaluate where our priorities and allegiances lie: in an institution or in Christ?
I don’t see this “movement” as creating additional division in God’s kingdom. The institutional approach to church has already done a fine job of that, with Baptists, Methodists, and a thousand other denominations dividing God’s people from one another in the same community. We ought to be one body, but we’re not. Perhaps if we all left our man-made institutions and just lived as brothers and sisters in Christ in a given locale, the world would take notice that we truly loved one another and found our identity in the person of Jesus Christ.
I have been involved in organizational churches for about 8 years, and one problem I keep coming across is turnover. People leave when they are no longer [fill in whatever reason you like] anymore, and don’t have the courage to try to fix it, and don’t want to (some variation on) “disturb the body”.
Churches seem to disciple Christians to follow “walk-across-the=romm” (yes, that’s an adjective now!) leaders who are professionally trained, so that now we are being trained to follow strong leaders. Mine included. We are supposed to be “servant leaders”, while the paid pros are “leader leaders.” I think this is broken. Badly. That said, I too suffer from the fear of being one of the people warned about in the NT wrt causing division. That also said, I really would love to be a part of a small group of families committed to sticking it out and learning how to do real life and real church together.
If we discuss these things with people who are under the authority of a pastor, are we subverting God’s authority structure? Or, are we working within it? And more importantly, why???
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Great insight, Bill. I too was a church planting missionary with the same denomination. I am currently active with a local church. But, I consider myself a recovering church addict and restored Christ follower. I’d love to stay connected to this conversation.
I’m a person who discovered 12 Step programs years ago. To say it’s expanded my consciousness ~and~ my relationship with God is an understatment. However, I’ve always believed that I needed to define my God as Jesus and not simply a Higher Power. No problem there, except I also believed that meant I needed to fellowship with like minded Christians in a church building. That meant we were FAMILY. A big hook for me because FAMILY is something I’ve never had hence the need for a 12 Step program. I came in with some expectations maybe that was my 1st mistake.
The problem has been (as I’ve experienced it) is that like minded Christians don’t exist. With all the Protestant denominations and all the political pursuasions (inclusive vs exclusive) (right wing vs left wing) the whole idea that we are all followers of Christ seems to be lost and what makes us brothers and sisters is ignored. Looking at the letter of the law and ignoring the spirit of the law, seems to miss the point in my view. However, that’s what I’ve been experiencing no matter where I go.
This is a timely topic and I’ll be signing up for more updates. I’m trying to sort through my stuff and heal my church addiction. I just need Jesus and at this point and my meetings should keep me sane.