2.27.2007
Leaving Church - Part 3 - Why Leave?
Leaving Church - Part 1 - Those Left Behind
Leaving Church - Part 2 - How Not to Leave
I recently discovered that Lifeway did research about people who leave church. This was interesting to me because I usually get information about things like this from Barna. From this study, I gained a real handle on the real reason people leave.
Here are some quotes.
"Clearly, many of the reasons people no longer regularly attend church are interrelated. More than 80 percent of the formerly churched do not have a strong belief in God, explaining why work and family are a higher priority than church. But would they be “too busy” to attend if they felt more welcome at church?andAlthough many formerly churched adults stay away from their former church for the same reasons they initially left, some indicate that the church did not notice or care. Sixteen percent said “nobody contacted me after I left” and another 16 percent said “nobody seemed to care that I left.”
...“Christian leaders seem to be reluctant to [proclaim] the terms of discipleship that Jesus laid out,” Ogden writes. “What are the reasons for our reluctance? We are afraid that if we ask too much, people will stop coming to our churches. Our operating assumption is that people will flee to the nearby entertainment church if we ask them to give too much of themselves. So we start with a low bar and try to entice people by increments of commitment, hoping that we can raise the bar imperceptibly to the ultimate destination of discipleship.”
Waggoner said it appears that some of the formerly churched left because the “destination” was so slow to emerge. “In the end, it’s important for church leaders to not only assume responsibility for those who seek to join their churches, but also for those who attempt to leave. Be vigilant at both the front door and the back door of the church.”
"“Many members are vulnerable to attrition because of either a nonexistent or immature faith,” said Brad Waggoner, director of LifeWay Research. “When individuals begin to seek out membership, they should be guided through a process whereby they are clearly taught the gospel and then following salvation, grounded in strong biblical truth. Far fewer people would drop out of church if their spiritual foundation was deep and strong. The church must also be sensitive to this combination of a less developed but genuine desire for faith as they approach the formerly churched about returning.”and
"One of the many biblical metaphors of church leadership is that of the shepherd,” said Waggoner. “Throughout Scripture we see that the shepherd was to protect, guide and care for the flock and to go after those who have strayed from the fold. These findings indicate that churches should seek out those who have lapsed as well as taking steps to reduce further departures by meeting members’ needs for a welcoming and spiritually fulfilling church environment.”Waggoner noted that prompting the formerly churched to visit a church with an eye toward attending regularly requires some work. Most of these individuals had multiple reasons for leaving. Not surprisingly, the work of the Holy Spirit along with the efforts of church members, friends and family members is needed to light a fire under them, Waggoner said."
I am aware that Lifeway is not an objective resource. However, I do want to look at this. Based on these quotes, I find that:
- 80% of us do not have a strong faith in God, therefore church is not a high priority. Also, and increase in welcoming committees would make a difference.
- We want people to harass us when we leave so we don't feel forgotten.
- We are not interested in being discipled so they start us out slow.
- We are destination-driven to a fault...huh?
- We are unable to understand or accept the gospel. Essentially, we are spiritual retards and the church needs to hold remedial Christianity classes for us.
- We want people to harass us when we leave, because we have lapsed and our salvation is at stake. Also, it's all about our needs not being met.
- The Holy Spirit must not be doing His job, because He requires our family and friends help to "light a fire under us" to get us to return.
What I really think these statistics and comments show is the true reason why people leave church...
...the church is completely out of touch with many of us. Gone should be the notion that Christians must be cookie-cutter copies of each other in order to have a vibrant faith. But as soon as we begin to emerge out of the mold, these kinds of things are said about us.
What needs to happen here is simple. Researchers need to spend 6 months reading the blogs of church-leavers, really reading them. Interacting on them. Asking questions without judging. Then they might find out just a little bit about why people really leave. Maybe that would initiate the kind of change that needs to happen in order to get us back.
Then again, many of us will likely never return to what these people consider "church". We are perfectly willing to forge our own way, instead. We are finding new forms of "church community", new ways to "meet together", new ways of expressing and practicing our faith.
I didn't want this post to be negative...but it did end up that way. I am only human and am obviously not able to be completely objective on this subject.
Next...Why Church?






