Eschatology Today

Inaugurated Eschatology: (n.) The wonderful already-but-not-yet tension and reality of redemption. Read the theological reflections of Pastor Jay and others around him below. This is a great place to dialog about the beauties of the Gospel!

The Bride of Christ Part 3: When Should I Leave A Church?

Before we move forward, I often get the question, "So, if the church is so important, and getting involved and staying is necessary, what reasons might there be to leave at some point? Should I stay, no matter what?"

There are good reasons for leaving a church. It's just that most people don't use them. They use lame reasons, like aesthetic preference, a 'feeling' or 'liver shiver' as a friend says, personality of community, you are continually called to repent of sin, if the pastor wears enough pastels in his ties, at what point the offertory is passed, etc.

But, I think in certain situations it is quite necessary to leave and if one did not leave it would he harmful for them and even harmful for the kingdom. Here are four good reasons to leave a church. There may be some extenuating circumstance not involving these four areas, but these four are no brainers for me.

1) Relocation (local means near you). You are led to move away from the parish. The drive is either impossible (you go really far away) or unrealistic (pretty far away, like more than a 30 minute drive in my opinion is too far to come to a church. Move back or find a good church closer to home. You are just not going to get super involved at that distance).

2) The church ceases to be legitimate and healthy according to Biblical truth. This may manifest itself in doctrinal divergences, lack of character in the leadership, or both. If those two fail, you are now part of a church that is more of a danger to you and the world than a redeeming instrument of grace. These churches may go either Jesus plus (legalism) or Jesus minus (liberal), or just weird and fuzzy (most emergenty, post modern loving types). These types of dysfunctions are going to be obvious. If there is a question, talk to your leadership or ask a spiritually mature and theologically deep friend about how to evaluate what's going on. But, a church that fails to be orthodox and spiritually strong is not a church you want to be at.

3) You are called by God in the midst of that church to be a missionary or church planter in another area with the love, support, and blessing of that church. This should happen often at a gospel driven church. If you sense God leading to be part of a church plant, or to be trained up to lead a plant or become a missionary, by all means obey and go. Healthy churches grow not just in local ways, but in sending out satellite campuses, church plants, and missionaries.

4) You currently have a very loose affiliation with your church (like attend a service and go home on Sundays), you are not overly excited about it, and you hear of a church that really is hitting on all cylinders doctrinally, in leadership, and in mission and character, and furthermore, you sense a high potential of deep community there. If you are fence riding, then start to think 'big theology' of church and choose one that is a robust local church. If you know that church is not the one you are barely going to now, then get to one and then go for it there.

So, those are four areas to consider. If your desire to leave your current church does not fall into one of those, you need to really consider the Biblical nature of your desires.

A Great Sermon on the Church

Sorry I am so tardy on blogging. Crazy busy times. A basement that is being fixed and redone. I will get to it. But, for now, check out a sermon that helps make the point on the centrality of the church by Greg Thompson at http://www.trinitycville.org/worship/sermons_online.php. It is the one preached on March 8th.

A Word From a Pastor's Pastor

Pastor Josh mentioned at After Hours the other night that one of the most influential concepts from Jonathan Edwards (and the best place to start reading) is his sermon, "God Glorified in Man's Dependence." Click here to download a PDF of this sermon!