NOTE (1/12/18): We’re all learning and growing.  Some of the stuff I’ve written in these old posts may no longer be exactly what I believe or think, or at least may not be articulated the way I’d do it nowadays.  I preserve them in an attempt it to be transparent about my journey, and in the hopes that readers may still glean some insight from the core ideas found here.  Thanks for journeying with me!

It’s funny how many kids grow up in church, have a fun time in youth group and singing in choir, and then ditch out when they hit the “real world”.  Do they suffer memory loss upon flying the coop?  Or are there deeper problems, problems that run deeper than we may realize?

I am at that very stage of life where many of my peers choose to leave church.  And for that reason I’d like to share my two cents on a few reasons why I think that is, drawing from the experiences on my journey so far.  So let’s begin!

Not With Wise Words

Those who have been following this site for awhile may recall I talk often of miracles.  That is partly because one brought itself right smack into my family a few years ago.  If you haven’t read the story of my mom getting healed of a decade of chronic fatigue syndrome, I’d recommend you check it out before continuing.  Since the time of that healing I have seen many miracles – things like people being healed of heart conditions; babies that are paralyzed suddenly kicking their legs; and people who use canes throwing the cane aside and walk freely!

Why do I talk about them so much?  Because seeing God move in power is one of the main reasons I am where I am today.  It was not just nice sermons, Bible studies, or coffee and donuts after a church service that kept me seeking God.  When God unmistakably makes a change in someone’s life, no one can argue with that.  I think this is why Paul said, “My message and preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but the demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on man’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)  This combination of speaking and healing was evident in Jesus’ life as well – “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and disease” (Matthew 4:23).

I believe that God intends for the supernatural to be natural in the church, and not just healings of the physical body.  The book of Acts describes a range of supernatural things that are also meant to be normal: angelic visitations (when Peter was released from prison by an angel in the book of Acts, the people praying for his release expected his angel to show up at the door rather than Peter himself!), prophecy, speaking in tongues, and many other things.  Mark 16:17-18 sums this up well.  Amazing!

This is missing in so many churches, and this lack of power causes people to look elsewhere (ie the occult, reiki), and can end up giving up hope altogether.  But that’s not my main focus for today, so let’s lay this supernatural stuff aside for now.  I’d like to take a look at something more important.

Principles vs. Relationship

It’s like this: have you noticed how much information there is out there?  Really, we are pretty darn equipped in the church.  We could tell you all about how creation works and why the Bible is historically accurate.  We can tell you exactly what the Bible says about King David, homosexuality, and peacemaking, because we’ve got the whole book memorized.  We’ve got principles in financing, principles in church-planting, principles coming out the wazoo.  So shoudn’t the entire world be converted by now?  What’s missing?

Well…you see, all the above is based on facts, knowledge, principles, and the like; none of which can ever replace the entire point of God – a relationship with Him.  As my friend Ben Fitzgerald reminded me once, “All you need is 10 good principles without a relationship to destroy your Christian life.  The greatest endeavor in life is to be a friend of God, and you don’t get there by following principles.”

When a church makes its main goal to try to get people to understand facts and complete tasks, it teaches people to rely solely on their intellect.  And the smart ones, who perhaps could be most effective in the Kingdom of God, fall away – because they realize something doesn’t add up.  It’s not that the principals and knowledge we have are wrong necessarily – it’s just that they were never meant to be the driving force behind the church.  We don’t live just to follow a bunch of rules.

The point of it all is simply to know God!  And that’s something there is no formula for.  God is a person, He loves you uniquely, and He encounters us all differently.  Knowing God means learning to pray, learning to hear His voice, to experience Him and trust His promises, and to love Him in your own way.  The point isn’t to understand everything all the time (hope that releases you from that burden!).  God’s #1 priority is to simply have you love Him as He loves you!

Charles Finney said, “Unless [one] can preach the Gospel as an experience, present Christ to mankind as a matter of personal encounter, his speculations and theories will come far short of preaching the Gospel.”  Church must be conducive to this end – otherwise it’s all in vain.

Of course, if the lack of supernatural and the lack of emphasis on relationship weren’t enough, we could always talk about the hypocrisy, the power-struggles and scams and such that we’ve heard of in churches.  But there’s no sense in focusing on that, because we don’t need to glorify the schemes of the devil, the true enemy of all children of God.

Look Up

I think we’ve established that the church has problems.  But that’s them, and they can’t control you.  Can I ask where you’re at, personally?

Maybe you left church already.  Maybe you’re inside but you feel like you’re getting nowhere.  Maybe you were hurt – there was hypocrisy, you got dumped, or you just got bored of people who didn’t live in the “real world”.  So church messed you up.  You think there’s no life where you came from, and maybe you’re right.  I want to say I’m sorry, and I’m not trying to tell you to go back.  I’m just saying that I know that everyone has a need for God.  And I want you to know Him.  Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.  Even if no one around you is following the Truth (and I know there is), in eternity we all will face God alone.  So let God be true, and every man a liar (Romans 3:4).  His arms are wide open to receive you, perhaps in a way no one has experienced Him yet!  Who knows?  Perhaps you could be the next Martin Luther, who overturns the wrong religious establishments of the day just like Jesus overturning tables in the Temple, and establishing his Father’s Kingdom.  There are others like you out there; keep at it and you’ll find a home with His people.

Further Resources and Wrapping Up

For more on this stuff, there’s an interesting song by Brian “Head” Welch’s called “Die Religion Die” regarding the contrast between God and man-made religious establishments (check out his testimony too – he used to be a member of KoRn!).  Readers may also appreciate Darin Hufford’s article “Why I don’t Go to Church Anymore” and the book The Misunderstood God.  Jake Colson’s So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore (free on pdf) is along those lines too, and finally, for those who linked to this article through my Facebook and read the quote by Curry Blake, it’s from a pretty intense teaching of his on this topic called Somebody’s Right, Somebody’s Wrong, which you can download here.

My intention in this article is not to promote unnecessary anger towards people who just haven’t heard this stuff yet.  I don’t like it when people who make a career of slamming the church (not helpful, and just as hypocritical!)  Some in the church are doing the best they can with what they know; I’m in that boat too, so I don’t want to imply I know it all.  I just want to share the journey with you, and pray you’ll join me in this amazing adventure of learning to be a friend of God.  Be blessed!

(Understand this guy’s definition of “religion” though – a video response that I found interesting can be found here)