When to leave a church...

Hi folks,

I'm interested to know what conditions might lead one to consider leaving one's church for another.

I attend a small pentecostal church (and occasionally a baptist at nights) where the people are full of love, but there is a lack of corporate prayer and each one follows one of the well-known false prophets. I don't need to name names, you just need to turn on the TV.

There's no reproach and very little teaching. We have a Sunday morning meeting and that's it. At times there's no sermon. Just 4 pre-recorded songs, offering collection and communion. I see little if any seeking of God. I've been here for 12 months and have tried to lead by example and serve. I've seen no change. Maybe I'm not trying hard enough.

To be honest, I'm getting a little tired of Pentecostalism. There's so much wading through rubbish to obtain the treasures. Yet if I follow the bible it clearly shows gifts still operating.

I even feel bad about seeking advice on this because I feel like I'm judging the members of the church. And plus I keep hearing this whole "bloom where you're planted" thing. What is that? I'm happy to stay if that's the best thing, but I'm becoming a little tired of it all. I want to be with at least SOME people who truly are seeking God and want to be around the same. I mean, I'm a young single man in my early 30s who desires God. Not prosperity, not Word-of-faith, not chasing signs and wonders, just chasing God. Is there really so few of us?

Thankyou in advance for all your wonderful advice.

P

dear p, how about hosting a bible study in your home and invite the church members and you nieghbors,friends,fellow employees.once in a while have your group pick up around the church and do other menial jobs and after a while invite the pastor.pastors are sometimes afraid to do much outside a comfort zone.love is the answer.jimp

Hi Jimp. Yup, love is the answer.

I am trying the bible study. I'm hosting this site's Simulcast event at my home. I'll invite others and see who comes. But we're so small, we have no pastor. We have visiting pastors from other churches of our denomination.

when to leave a church?

when the gospel of Jesus is not preached anymore
I tell my congergation when we stop preaching the work of Christ on behalf of sinful men, leave this place.. If the gospel is not the center of everthing that the body does, and the elders or elder wont be corrected.. Leave..
andy

Hey Pandarus-

First of all I want to commend and encourage you in your efforts. You stated,

"I've been here for 12 months and have tried to lead by example and serve".

I want to be an encourager to a guy that is making an effort to serve and be an example. I know you do not do it for that reason. However, may I say , "Well Done". It is refreshing to see someone show that heart and attitude.

It seems to me that one of your biggest challenges is the lack of leadership in the fellowship. I may be mistaken as all I know is from your post. However, you indicate its a small number of folks that get together and sing a few songs, receive an offering, and have communion together. Of course nothing wrong with those things. They are an important part of our Christian walk.... but you are wanting and needing more.

I mentioned the lack of leadership. Obviously someone leads to some degree. Someone picks songs,obtains the tapes, counts offerings, disperses the offerings, prepares communion elements, etc. However, you specifically mentioned the lack of teaching/preaching and lack of corporate prayer.

Lets consider two things:

1. Strengths- you stated that ,"the people are full of love". THAT is a tremendous strength there. Do not underestimate that as a starting point. You also mentioned their openness to the gifts and moving of The Holy Spirit. THAT is another tremendous strength. You evidently have some folks that walk in the love of God and are open to His supernatural working in the world. THOSE are foundations that can be built upon.

2. Challenges- No preaching, teaching, challenging ones life/walk and the lack of corporate prayer.

POTENTIAL HELPFUL ACTIONS: I commend your proactive stance at hosting the simulcast. That is a great first step. Hopefully it allows you to see who has hunger and stirs it in some others. Might I also suggest talking to the key laypeople of that fellowship and asking them if they would join you in having/allowing a time of corporate prayer on Sunday mornings. Share your heart, open your feelings up to them and talk about how you long to see a genuine move of God in your community. Share about corporate prayer being key for the purpose of seeing God do a work in the community. Most genuine christians do desire to see God touch their towns, families, and friends. Many have just lost hope and need to know it is a real possibility if they will cry out to Him for it. If you can get a few fires lit with the simulcast .....and cast a vision for corporate prayer that lets folks know that God will meet them there.... then you are on a path that will be a blessing to you, that fellowship, and your community. Perhaps you might also find other little groups that would then join together with you on Sunday nights to pray for a wider moving in the area. Just some thoughts.

Blessings to you. You may well be the person called to begin pulling folks together for prayer that will be key in changing that community for good.

As a final thought may I suggest listening to some of the audio messages on the site by J. Edwin Orr. He was a tremendous revival historian. There are 68 messages in the audio sermon section from him. Give a listen to his messages that are specifically on the history of revival. You will be encouraged to find that most of them began out of circumstances not so terribly different than yours. He is particularly knowledgable about the Welsh revival and was a personal friend of Evan Roberts granting even greater insight to that one.

Blessings,

Solomon101

check this out: http://www.cfcindia.com/web/mainpages/word_for_the_week.php?display=09_01&year=11#Submit leaders

by Zac Poonen

Solomon101, thanks for your very helpful advice. I will put these things into action! About things getting done, a few people take turns doing things - leading singing, doing communion and offerings. Same group of people each week. I'll pray about it.

Hi Pandarus, it is great to hear of your desire for God and I wish you God's blessing for your future Bible Study group.

To find an answer to your question it may be helpful to ponder some of the following:

Why are you in the church you are attending? Can you positively say that the Lord led you to it?
If the answer is yes, than should you leave unless the Lord leads you otherwise?
If the answer is no or not sure, I would pray specifically until God answers. Based on experience, as long as no answer is coming, I would take it as a no to changing churches for the time being.

And brother, consider how Jesus came not to do His own will but the will of the Father, not to please Himself but to please the Father, the Gospels are full of this example.
And we must walk as Jesus did,right? (1John 2:6)
In practice this mean that we surrender all such decisions to the Father and seek His will for us. If He wants to send us to Timbuktu, we shall go, if He wants us to spend our life in the uneventful little church, we shall stay, you see? :) Either way He can be trusted to use us if we just let Him.

hi, leave now ezra and nehemiah for it is rediculous to have a trowl in one hand and a weapon in the other.God would not want you to suffer so.and by the way hosea about that hooker your married to ;enough is enough. do your own thing,and let her stay where she sold herself to. no my brother, stay until you hear from God and obey Him in whatever He tells you to do.jimp

Hi SV and jimp, thanks for your guidance. I think you are absolutely correct. I must wait on the Lord to direct my steps and not do anything until he tells me clearly. This rings true in my spirit and I will be following this advice.

I'll have you know too that I started praying for the church and God today answered many of my prayers. I take this as a sign possibly to stay. I will stay in faith.

Thankyou again for your Godly advice.

Pandarus, God bless your love for a misguided people. False prophets bring the world into the body. This will continually grieve you and you will not be able to contend with the assault of the truth by false teaching. So even if men are not teaching in this assembly, this will flush itself out. The body is for worship of Him whom we hold so dear. It is also for our building up by the gifts God lavishes on the saints to be used so that the saints may draw even closer to Him as well as each other. My concern for you is that you will be missing what a body can bring you. You too, are to be a benefactor of what others bring just as it is that you share with them. You will be in a giving mode but there will be little there for you to receive. So that part of the equation will be very one sided. You cannot help but call upon the Lord in greater measure when the body does not function well, for it will be you contending against forces which would see you brought down and succumb to the worldly condition of the rest. You will need a tremendous amount of strength and patience and it will continually test your faith. There will be movement one way or another. Light and darkness cannot abide together when one does not compromise truth even though others try to hold to both. God is faithful in these situations and He will give you what you need. Be careful not to move in the flesh as it is a common mistake when so much is wrong. The truth will always convict, persuade, and correct in love. Many here will pray for you. Do keep us informed of where to target our prayers. Your continued strength, through dependence upon Him alone, will be an obvious one.

ybiC

pandarus: This question has been recurring in my mind for several days now because it came up between my wife and I several months ago. My wife had some insight I thought was good. A believer CANNOT leave a church because the believer is the church. You might be able to break fellowship with a particular group of people over a disagreement. Paul and John Mark did this. But neither of them left a church. We, as those born again, are all the church. How can we leave what we are? For many this seems like a trifling answer, almost like someone is trying to be funny about the question but when your paradigm begins to shift you realize that it is not a trifling answer at all. A group of believers meeting in a home on a Tuesday evening for a light meal together, some worship with or without an instrument, and prayer for one another are just as much "having church" as a group meeting in a building on a Sunday morning with formal worship, a formal message, and all of the trappings of "church". In fact, if I meet a friend at Starbucks and we study the scripture together over a cup of coffee we are having a meeting of the church. We are assembling together for mutual worship and edification. In these settings I really believe there is usually a greater level of openness and accountability (scripture calls it mutual submission) than in the more formal setting. Although there are some AWESOME fellowships that are more formal and there is nothing inherently bad about doing it that way, I think we need to realize that the more formal expression is not the sum total of the church. If what is going on in the formal setting has ceased to be a genuine expression of the Biblical church or if there is obvious and untenable doctrinal error then by all means meet in homes or wherever you can. Build one another up in the Lord. Study the Word. Pray one for another. Worship together.