So after careful consideration, you are done with organized religion. You’re not looking for another church because you have already tried that. You are just done. So here is the question. Is there something wrong with you spiritually? Are you walking away from God? Are you just a rebellious christian who wants things their own way? The answer is probably no. If I had to guess I would say you looked behind the curtain too many times and were confused, maybe angry, or possibly horrified at what you discovered. Maybe what you saw was not like the Early Church as described in the Bible, but instead, more like a machine that desperately needed to be fed at all costs. You figured out that something has gone terribly wrong with the modern church and that you, as a genuine believer, simply could not go along with it anymore. The question now is, what should you do?
The first thing I want to say is that I am not going to debate you into returning. I know thats most likely not possible or necessary. The second thing to understand is that you are not alone. Southern Baptist Churches alone have lost over 1,000,000 members in the last 10 years. And this decline is accelerating. The bigger problem is that a large number of these former members were very active in their church in all ways including giving. In fact, in a recent study it was found that almost all of the people surveyed were very active. You might say that they were too close to the curtain and saw too much. The question is, what did they see?
Different problems within the organized church affect people in different ways. What may be no big deal to one person may be a deal breaker to another. Usually it is more than one issue that causes a person to exit permanently. But suffice it to say that there is definitely a tipping point at which people give up on the system and strike out on their own. For me it was when I realized that my Christianity was being managed by people with goals that were entirely different from mine and from the Bibles. Secondly, I ran the numbers and when I realized how inefficient churches are at reaching the lost I knew I had to try something different.
The purpose of this site is not to bash churches or to get more people to be done with them. It is instead designed to help Christians re-engage our world in a more meaningful and effective way. In the eyes of God you are a very valuable person and a much needed tool for reaching the lost. An organizations shortcomings in no way change what God is trying to accomplish in this world and in your life.
On the left side of this website you will find a series of articles that outline reasons why people leave church for good. You will also find a section where we outline ways to re-engage in the battle so that you can make the difference in this world for Gods Kingdom. Remember, your relationship is with God through Christ. It is a personal relationship and not one that needs to be managed by others. I have found the best guide to be the Holy Spirit and the Bible. We have subjected ourselves to the bondage of the machine for far too long. I like the quote – “So often times it happens, that we live our life in chains, and we never even know we have the key.” We have had the keys this entire time. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
