building

Why I Left Church

/ EllieJ

You probably don’t know me. If you do, there’s a good chance you don’t know my whole story. I’m not shy about it, but neither have I been terribly public about it. But the truth is, my “story” is a part of who and what I am today and has been a major contributing factor to my current journey.

My journey is my own. I know of many people who are walking a similar path and many who will never set foot anywhere near it. I’m not saying that my way is the right way and your way is the wrong way. I simply want to give context so that maybe you will have a better understanding of where I’m coming from.

As of the writing of this post, it’s been a year and a half since I formally requested a release from the church I had been a part of for over seven years. In those seven years, there wasn’t an area of ministry I had not been involved in in some way or another. From janitorial and building improvement, to kid’s and youth ministry, men’s and women’s ministry, small groups, corporate prayer, graphics and media, worship, and even preaching, I had done it all. I did it for years without question. That was how I’d been raised. But then something changed.

I started to read my Bible—not so different from what all of us who profess to be Christians should be doing, but I wasn’t just reading it and putting it away, I was reading it looking for something to take with me as I went about my day.

The change started slowly. It was (and still is) exciting. I was seeing the Bible in a different way and making connections I’d never seen or heard of before. And while I was making connections on one hand, I was seeing a disconnect on the other hand. The Church of the Bible didn’t look much like the church I was so busy “doing.” I’d read about what Jesus was doing and how He was teaching His disciples, but failed to see how that had been translated in to what I was doing for the church.

Let me be clear, I am in no way knocking the local church. I believe there is a place for it, but I also believe that we all need to take a close look at our part in it and why we do what we do. Most of what I was doing for the church had little or no biblical foundation. Before you get all riled up, I strongly encourage you to look into this for yourself. Forget everything you think you know about what church should look like and go to the Gospels to see exactly what Jesus said He would build. If you’d never been exposed to church in your life and read the first five books of the New Testament and then walked into a church building, would it meet your expectations? Be honest.

The first week after leaving church was strange. I’d never intentionally skipped out on a Sunday service a day in my life. The next week was even more strange, as was the next. I eventually settled in to a new routine and actually found myself able to relax on weekends instead of spending Saturday preparing for Sunday and spending Sunday doing everything I’d prepared for on Saturday. There was no rest for me on the “day of rest.” Without “doing” church, I found rest. I felt like I could breathe again, never having realised I’d stopped doing that somewhere along the way.

Why do I put “doing” in quotes? I think there is a massive difference in going through the motions of church (activity in a local organised body)—the doing—and being the Church (the global body of Christ).

Before COVID hit, I’d attend a local denominational congregation every once in a while. After spending 20 years as a worship leader, I missed corporate worship. I also met on a weekly basis with several other people who found themselves on a similar path. We were all in need of fellowship and encouragement to help with the healing process.

Fast forward to today. I’m part of a local small group with no church affiliations and I’m also part of an online small group with a church affiliation. Both groups are family to me. If the lockdown ever ends, I have no plans to join another local congregation.

Most people would rather forget 2020. I don’t. 2020 was a year of immeasurable growth for me. I learned so much that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I’m learning to forget what I thought I knew and open my mind and heart to what the Bible actually teaches. Verse-by-verse, I’m exploring what it really means to be a part of the Church Jesus said He would build—and I don’t have to be a part of something men are trying to build to do that.

Being a part of the body of Christ is not the same thing as being a member of a local church. The two are not the same thing. I’ve known of people who were involved in a local church that never made a commitment for Christ and I know many strong believers who never darken the door of a church building.

I think this pandemic has offered churches (and their members) across the globe an incredible opportunity to redefine what it really means to be a believer. Many leaders are embracing this time and are re-evaluating and redirecting so that when they are allowed to open the doors again, nothing will be as it was. It’s my prayer that believers everywhere, in establishing a “new normal,” also take this time to re-establish themselves, not in a local church, but in Christ.

Restore

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

On day King Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money brought as a sacred offering to the Lord’s Temple, whether it is a regular assessment, a payment of vows, or a voluntary gift. Let the priests take some of that money to pay for whatever repairs are needed at the Temple.

2 Kings 12:4-5 (NLT)

Joash was a very young king, but even in his youth, he had more wisdom than his predecessors. Though he did not tear down the pagan shrines, he took it upon himself to have the Temple of the Lord repaired and restored.

Good for the kid king, but what does it have to do with me and my life right now?

Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?

1 Corinthians 3:16 (NLT)

I believe that this verse is often used to say that you are the temple of God or I am the temple of God. But in this translation all of [us] together are the temple of God. God doesn’t just inhabit one person. He lives in and through the entire Church—globally. So what happens when even a small portion of that temple has fallen into disrepair? Other parts can make up for it for a while, but in time, as other pieces collapse, the entire building will begin to crumble.

Christianity is not a solo sport. We are not individuals, we are a body.

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up on whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.

All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

1 Corinthians 12:12, 27 (NLT)

All of you together.

Imagine what we, the Church, could accomplish if we would live like one body? If we would act like parts of a whole instead of trying to do our own thing and wondering why we can’t see anything (because you’re an ear, not an eye).

The purpose of Christians working, living, and learning together is not so that we can all be one big happy family (of course we can, though). It is because we are stronger together. We were created to work together. We are to hold each other up while the other is being restored. And we are to hold each other accountable. If the part beside you is in need of repair, don’t let it continue to fall to pieces, rather address the issue and fix it—together.

Like in the time of Joash, I believe that the Temple of God—the global Church—is in need of repair and restoration. We’ve fallen apart and separated into pieces we were never meant to be because we were meant to be one unit. The Temple. One building. One body. One Spirit. One Saviour. One Church.

Daily Bible reading: 2 Kings 12-14. John 5:25-47

 

The people brought

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

I often wonder where people assume the church gets funding from. I’ve heard unchurched people ignorantly say things like, “Why don’t all those churches take care of [insert issue here]?”

Churches are not magical entities loaded with goods and finances to clean up the messes of others on a whim. Sure, it would be fantastic if churches all over were able to stand up and be able to help with issues in the community. But the awful truth is that many churches struggle to make their own ends meet because even people in the church see it as the all-powerful organisation that doesn’t need help.

Our church, since we bought our building nearly five years ago, has learned a lot about ownership and stewardship. We get questions like, why aren’t we doing this? or why don’t we just pay someone to do that? My response is usually, who do you think is going to do it or who do you think is going to pay for it? And their response is usually one of confusion while they may or may not come to the realisation that the church’s finances are not infinite and that we must be good stewards of what we do have. While it would be great to be able to hire someone to do all the work, when funds are tight, if we can do it ourselves, we do.

Let’s go back and take a look at the first church building project.

Back in Exodus, Israel has escaped four centuries of slavery in Egypt only to find themselves adrift in the wilderness. But they’re okay. God is with them. In fact, He’s going to camp out with them. But He needs a tent. And He’s very specific about His tent. God gives Moses a seemingly impossible list of required items as well as how to make them and put them together. It’s a massive project.

I can relate to Israel here. We have a 35,000 square foot building constructed in bits and pieces between the 1940’s and 1970’s that has never been fully renovated. We have an average weekly attendance around 65. Big, impossible project.

Let’s take a look at some of the final tallies for Israel, shall we?

  • Gold: 2,200 pounds
  • Silver: 7,545 pounds
  • Bronze: 5,310 pounds

In addition to the staggering amounts of precious metals, also required was acacia wood—enough for the furniture and all support beams and poles, yards and yards fine spun and woven linen for the tent itself as well as the priest’s garments (I’m a spinner and a weaver—this is a HUGE project), leather enough for the entire roof, and the list goes on.

All but the silver—which came by way of a census tax—were gifts. Yup. Gifts. One of the pastors in our movement says, “If it’s not free, it’s not God.” It’s my understanding that his ministry has never had to pay for a building yet.

All of this is to ask a simple question: what do you bring? When the church has need, how do you fill it? Out of your overflow or out of your own need? Do you give just enough or, like Israel, give more than enough. How much would it take for your pastor to have to tell you to stop giving?

Daily Bible reading: Exodus 37-38, Matthew 23:23-39