Diane, Marcel,

I'm chastened. The thought of attending a church to reach the non-Christians who attend there regularly, was first presented in a post in the 'Out of church Christians' thread. It sticks with me and you re-inforce it. I have had to leave churches because the leadership was way off track, but I see now, that [i]having[/i] to leave was also a function of my spiritual immaturity.

Spiritual growth is always desirable and looking back, I can see this, too, that sometimes one is at an impasse which has to be broken somehow, and staying in a church may actually [i]prevent[/i] the circumstance in which it can take place. But, it is [i]always[/i] necessary to be in face-to-face fellowship with some Christians, even if they are few and it is not 'traditional' church; one has to be able to hear each other's prayers and share each other's insights from scripture, worship the Lord in song, and love one another in the Lord.

I make sure any Church I attend that 99% of the people are smiling and don't look as though there going to a funeral. :-P

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Bill

There are alot of churches to choose from, so I would definitely pray and fast when choosing a church (or choosing to leave a church).

I attended a church for several years that at one point was a wonderful place to worship, fellowship and grow. But over time, something changed. The pastor began to preach alot of odd "prosperity" messages. He also became very much fixated on his "authority." It eventually came to a point where no one was allowed to disagree with the pastor, because the pastor "was the voice of the Lord" and "God's annointed."

If someone quietly opposed something controversial that the pastor began doing, they were osticized by him (often publically). Eventually, the pastor began "kicking out" those who disagreed with him. To this pastor, just "questioning" his actions, messages or behavior was a "sin."

What was so perplexing was how quickly this man fell from being a very humble man of God into a prosperity preaching man with an "authoritarian" attitude! He also began holding an attitude that, "if God is going to move in this town, it will ONLY happen in THIS church!" And the pastor was dedicated to holding a monopoly on a "move of God" in the town.

It crushed the hearts of many who attended the church. After a while, the pastor allowed alot of very questionable men to come and preach. When someone disagreed with them, the pastor told them to leave the church. Ironically, the pastor would sometimes change his position and attitude toward some of the guest preachers or their doctrine. He would quietly not invite them back. This was of little solace to those who were earlier forced out of the church due to holding the same beliefs.

This pastor became a very dangerous man. The church itself is now a haven for gossip -- directed at anyone who couldn't line up with the pastor's "vision" for the church. Without any voice of opposition, the pastor now has free reign to do as he wishes. It is both very sad -- and very frightening! Money, time, and effort are often spent on very ridiculous ideas. And when they fail, the pastor blames the failure on others.

The church eventually went through several "phases" of modern "neo-charasmatic" practices and doctrines. The church experienced Holy Laughter (for several months until it got "old"), Gold Dust & Fillings (for several months until it got "old"), and many other neo-charasmatic experiences. Preachers would come with conflicting accounts of heavenly visits (no two were alike) and other miraculous events. One evangelist even claimed that a 12-foot tall owl spoke to him saying, "Whoooooo do you think you are? I have had this town too long. Whooooooo are you to oppose me?" In this south-Texas town, many of the locals tell ghost-stories about the evil that is associated with owls. Thus, many people were gullible enough to never question the stories told by preachers like this (or question the fact that there are no such thing as 12-foot owls).

I stayed at the church for several seasons, believing that God could restore that pastor to the man he was before. I figured that one day, he would notice that he had lost something (like Samson's hair and strength), and he would eventually turn into the man I knew he was. Besides, many of his motives seemed very pure. He really seemed to care about the lost, and he constantly preached that our church should do more to win the lost. He would talk about visions of standing-room-only crowds. As time went by, however, I fear that this became his motivation -- a huge, outwardly "vibrant" church.

I sadly left the church. But now, I am actually glad that I did. I now attend a church where the pastor is a very humble servant of the Lord, who could care less about being respected as a "great" man of God. Instead, he is concerned with shepherding the flock, encouraging the troubled, winning the lost, and discipling the congregation. My new pastor encourages the elders of the Church to voice their ideas and concern about the affairs of the church. He tells them that he is eager to listen to them share whatever is on their heart. He tells the congregation to not take his word like a blank check, but to be like the "Bereans" -- and search the scripture to make sure what he says is true.

Hopefully, my former church will realize the truth that "in the multitude of advisors, a king is made safe." Unfortunately, it appears that the pastor has kicked out nearly everyone who had any type of thought contrary to those he held dear. Like the builders of Babel -- they are accomplishing quite a bit. But it doesn't seem to be the type of unity that the Lord desires.

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Christopher

The biggest warning sign (i think) would be in the preaching. When hell and sin is not mentioned, I would say its time to leave. Also If hell and sin is mentioned make sure its in a right spirit. You want preaching that convicts not condemns.

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Josh Parsley

MrBillPro said,

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Diane

ccchhhrrriiisss,

What an excellent description of a church like one I used to attend, only difference being I'm not sure the 'pastor' was originally a humble man of God, but much else was an incredibly accurate synopsis. I've never heard anyone else put into words the constellation of thought patterns, behaviours and justifications I witnessed - was part of for several years.

Dear Diane,

I sort of agree with what you're saying. I believe that if we are true followers of Christ, we will have times of terrible saddness. The heart of God is greived for the conditoin of His Church and for a dead and dying world. We ask for His heart and I believe His heart is heavy for His chuch, but when we come together on Sunday shouldn't we be glad?? Shouldn't we be rejoicing because HE IS! Because He has risen and we are redeemed because of His blood. Because the King of kings has not only adopted us into His kingdom, but also died for us so that we may live. I think that there is much to be sad or even depressed about concerning the church, but of what concequence is that in light of who is HE is??? We need to worship Him and be glad no matter what is going on around us. I think we have a poor testimony to the world if we can't even be happy on Sunday...

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tina

I've noticed that in Revelation 2-3, only 2 of the 7 churches named were deemed faithful. The rest had some problems... very serious ones at that, yet the Lord never called one person out of those churches to go to the one next door. Rather, He called them to repent.

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Jimmy H

For anyone who is considering leaving their church please listen to sermon titled "run for your life" by Carter Conlon. It's on page 4. If I had any computer skills whatsoever, I would have posted the link for you. :-?

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tina

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Diane