“If you leave this church, you are leaving God.” “Stop coming and you will backslide and fall away.” “Don’t question the leaders — that is rebellion.” Many people have heard words like these. They are meant to keep you in your seat. And they work, because they run on one powerful feeling: fear. Fear is…
It is a sad pattern, and it shows up in the news again and again. Someone in a church is hurt — a child, a member, a victim of a leader who did wrong. And instead of running to help that person, the church closes ranks. It hides the problem. It protects its name and…
Jesus gave a warning that every believer should take to heart. He said danger would not always look like danger. Sometimes it would look gentle, kind, and holy. It would look like one of the flock. But underneath, it would be something else entirely. “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing,…
If you have been in churches for years and something about how money is handled has started to weigh on you, this article is for you. You are not alone in noticing. This is one factor, among many, that contributes to people walking away from organized religion. It is not the only factor, and for…
Cult psychology is the art of taking what is good in the heart and mind of a person and turning it against them in order to control them. The tragedy is that the very things that make you a decent, faithful, community-minded person — your loyalty, your generosity, your desire to belong, your respect for…
Drive past almost any growing church and you will eventually see the banner: a capital campaign, a thermometer chart, a appeal to “give sacrificially” toward a new sanctuary, a gymnasium, a parking structure, a second campus. The building fund is one of the most familiar features of modern church life. It is also one of…
He has a bestselling book, a conference tour, and a social-media following in the hundreds of thousands. His face is on the church sign, the app, and the merchandise. When he steps on stage the lights find him, and the room responds. The celebrity pastor is one of the defining figures of modern Christianity —…
“Sow a seed and reap a harvest.” “God wants you rich.” “Your breakthrough is one offering away.” The prosperity gospel — the teaching that faith and giving will reliably produce wealth and health — fills arenas, sells books, and funds private jets. It is also, measured against Scripture, very close to the exact thing the…
The lights dim. Fog drifts across the stage. A countdown clock hits zero, the band launches into the opening number, and screens the size of billboards fill with motion graphics. Modern worship can be genuinely moving — and it can also be indistinguishable from a concert. For a growing number of believers, that resemblance has…
Most people have never heard of a “membership covenant” until they try to leave a church and discover they cannot do so quietly. Others have watched a friend be named from the front, shunned by the congregation, and cut off from lifelong relationships — all under the banner of “church discipline.” Done as Scripture describes,…