Perhaps more than ever before, people are leaving (or changing) churches en masse. There are some good reasons people leave church. What I’m seeing of late, though, doesn’t fit in the “good reason” category. The pandemic launched several more pandemics — fear pandemic, anger pandemic, political pandemic, racial pandemic, and a church pandemic.
The recent climate has given way to a mass exodus from churches, mostly for terrible reasons people leave church.
8 Terrible Reasons People Leave Church
1. I’m not being fed.
Every pastor LOVES this one. If you are leaving a church because you’re not being fed, be prepared to leave the next church you attend, as well. Christians should progress over time to “self-feeders” and “other-feeders.” That is the process of true discipleship. If you see feeding as the church’s job, you will eventually experience “hunger” at any and every church over time.
Just like an infant grows and becomes independent, we as Christians should not rely on the regurgitated food of preachers as our only source of feeding. “I’m not being fed,” is code for “It’s your job to feed me.” And it’s NOT the church’s job to feed everyone equally. Most Christians just need to pick up a fork and start feeding themselves. That’s the best way to learn self-feeding.
2. You like “church shopping.”
If you find yourself bouncing from church to church, you will always struggle to connect and engage. I know people who leave churches every few months. They are seemingly on a lifetime quest to find the perfect church. But until there are perfect people, there will never be perfect churches. In fact, the minute any one of us walks in, the church ceases to be perfect.
Quick sidebar: Some “church shoppers” shop for fear of engagement. They’ve been burned before, so they are hesitant when they see fire. But shopping isn’t the solution.
