WHY I LEFT MY CHURCH pt 1

Why I left my Church

Part 1

I used to think that it would be a far, far easier thing to start going to a church than it would be to leave a church.

Now I am not so sure.

Let me explain.

Going to church used to consists of getting up in the morning and moving your body from home to the building that everyone calls “the church,” sitting for 40 minutes or so then off to the easy boy chair or lunch or wherever. 

But things have and are still changing in that building called church.

The buildings inhabitants are no longer content with a handshake or nod of the head. Now they want to know your name, where you work, what you do for a living, what talents and interests you have, the wife’s name, kids names, birthdays. Oh, and don’t forget the information cards, prayer request cards, opinion cards and the how the church can we meet your needs cards.

So you make the leap of faith and drive to church. You find a parking space amongst a sea of various vehicles, and you walk into this big arena like area with all these really comfortable looking chairs, nothing like those long hard make your butt go numb pews that you used to remember.

Taking a quick look around you’d think you just walked into a U2 concert. Huge speakers are suspended from the ceiling, there are rows of lights ready to flash an awesome color show, monitors are scattered along the front of the stage, and spot lights ready to illuminate the singers and musicians as they perform their solos. You see drums, electric guitars, keyboards and rows of microphone across the front of the stage.

And then the worship starts…

 WOW!

It is just like watching a concert, and it’s free!

What’s really nice is that they put the words up on these giant screens so you don’t have to pretend that you already know the words to the songs. The people on the stage are all smiling and full of energy. Who would have ever thought Christian music would have such a catchy beat to it? Man, that guy on lead guitar, he sure can shred. You love it when the drummer goes solo and that crazy lead singer with his metro sexual faux mohawk blows you away with his soaring vocals. Catchy stuff. You end up thinking to yourself, gee, I used to sleep in church but now I almost want to dance!  Man, these guys are so good everybody applauds after each song!

Then who is this guy you think to yourself as some man walks out onto center stage. Oh, here is where the announcements come. Boring!

But wait, seriously?

This guy in blue jeans and a Jesus was pierced for you tee shirt is the pastor?

And he isn’t walking up to a big wooden structure, he’s now standing at a small table like you would see at a bar or Applebee’s? Or maybe he is just sitting on a stool while holding his worn out bible. He’s no longer draped with funny looking clothes with bright colors, now he looks more like you do minus the Jesus was pierced for you tee shirt...  Maybe he is even a little more dressed down than you are. And the things that he says aren’t as boring as that other church you used to go to as a kid. Now he is actually making sense to you.

As you listen you think to yourself, Ya, I am special. Ya, I can do it. Ya, I am worth it. Ya, God does love me.

As you ponder the words that he is speaking, your eyes go a bit to the left and you see this table with , well, it looks like food.

So after the pastor speaks a little while, he moves over to this table and states that now we will be cooking with the pastor.

Gosh, never heard anything like that before in church…

So you think to yourself, what’s up with this?

Then the pastor says that he is going to make a salad.

Uh, ok.

What happens next is he holds up a variety of fruits and vegetables and explains that a salad is made of various components and that each ingredient is necessary to make a salad. He continues, some people are like this lettuce, without them, no matter what you add, you just won’t have a salad. Then he holds up some celery. Some people add crunch. Then he holds up the tomatoes while saying that while some people don’t like raw tomatoes, some people do, and he does, so in the big bowl they go. On and on he goes, holding up various fruits and vegetables and then adding them to the bowl. Finally, after everything is added, he says that the body of Christ, the church, is like a big salad and you people are the various fruits and vegetables that make up the church, and without everyone of you, the salad will be incomplete.

Wow, you think to yourself, I finally understand this body of Christ, church thing. I guess I must be a fruit because I do like tomatoes in my salad, and my wife must be one of the vegetables!

After that he starts to talk about faith.

He says that faith is a fact!

So to really get across the message of “fact faith” he walks over to stage left where you see a rock climbing wall!

Wow, how’s that gonna demonstrate faith?

Next thing you know, the pastor calls somebody to the stage and up walks this cute little 9 year old girl who speaks with a lisp.

You think to yourself, no way is that cute little girl gonna climb this wall! But wait! She puts on a safety harness that is connected to a rope secured to the top of the wall and she starts to climb the wall! Amazing! Gee, I don’t know if I could do that! What faith this girl must have! She climbs to the top and the whole congregation breaks out with applause!

Man, when did church become so entertaining?

I like the music, I like the teaching, I loved the show!

So what’s the problem with a church like this?

The problem is this kind of church is all about you and not all about God.

Problem is the music is geared more towards pumping you up instead of praise and worship for an awesome God who shed His blood for the forgiveness of your sins…

Problem is that the teaching is easy to understand and swallow because it doesn’t pierce your heart and convict you of your sin nor does it inspire you to live a godly, holy life for the Savior of the world.

Problem is, even though you never repented of your sins, you have been told about how precious and needed you are.

Problem is that you are never hit with the thought that you are really NOT a part of this group because you never did repent of your sins or ask Jesus into your heart as your Lord and Savior.

Problem is you have no idea just how bad it is for a child of God to be compared to fruits or vegetables when the bible says that you are holy, blameless, beyond reproach, filled with His Spirit, forgiven, covered by the blood of the Lamb, precious little child of God.

Problem is if you start to ask questions, you better be sheepish about it and make yourself sound stupid or you well be accused of being a narrow minded, self righteous, trouble causing fundamentalist.

And if you put the FUN in FUNdamentalist, you will take all the FUN out of church…

Problem is real faith is a gift and not a fact.

Real faith is to trust God no matter what He may do or allow to happen to you. 

Real faith has nothing to do with safety harnesses, rope or rock climbing walls.

Real faith is an assurance of things HOPED for.

Real faith is a conviction of things that you can’t see.

Real faith is trusting God when you are losing your job, your house, your security, your loved one to cancer or car accident, your taking the rap unjustly or your doing it once without birth control and now your gonna have an unplanned baby.

Real faith is being convinced that although all the evidence points to the contrary, God is in control, God does have a plan, and God will pull you through if you don’t give up and lose heart even if some of the worst events in your life don’t work out the way that you wanted them too.

Real faith is what you will live or die on.

NO MATTER WHAT.

Like it says in Hebrews 11:13 All these died in faith, WITHOUT receiving the promises…