[falconplayer11]

Lately, I have begun to notice the faults in my church. I have never felt that I was in a position to judge my church and its leaders, but I can not help but notice the air of selfishness that surrounds the congregation at my church and the "feel-good, self-help" type sermons that are preached week in and week out. There is total lack of any doctrine (neither my parents nor I even knew that my church had a doctrinal statement until I looked it up online) It is like my church exists so that the congregation (if it can even be called that) can speak to God, not so God can speak to the congregation. Nobody knows what the doctrinal statements of my church are. Even some of the deacons and elders could not tell me what my church believes when it comes to doctrine.

I guess you could call it a Bible church. We are not part of any denomination, and there is no qualifications for being a member. To be a member, all you have to do is check the box on the welcome card that says member. This creates a very uneducated and uninterested congregation. Again, I feel awful for judging my church in this way, but I can not just keep burying this. Many of my friends go to churches where one must complete a class to become a member, and then is held to certain standards to continue their membership. If my church instituted anything like this, I guarantee you that half of the congregation would no longer come.

Do I have a right to leave my church? I have an idea of a church I would like to visit (I was invited to visit by the pastor). The last thing I want to do, though, is subject a church to my standards and pick and choose them based on my feelings towards them.

[Becky]

So... church is now a club... that you have to jump threw hoops to belong to...

I'm not sure I'm following you. Could you provide more information? What exactly do you expect to see in a church doctrine? what do you want out of going to church? What does a typical church day look like, what kinds of people is the church composed of, what's the sermon like?

I just don't see enough information to see why you think it's such a bad place. Do the members not love God? Why does the doctrinal statement matter? Do they at least adhere to the scriptures?

[Sean]

Originally Posted by falconplayer11

Lately, I have begun to notice the faults in my church. I have never felt that I was in a position to judge my church and its leaders, but I can not help but notice the air of selfishness that surrounds the congregation at my church and the "feel-good, self-help" type sermons that are preached week in and week out.

Can you give some specific examples of how the church is selfish?

There is total lack of any doctrine (neither my parents nor I even knew that my church had a doctrinal statement until I looked it up online) It is like my church exists so that the congregation (if it can even be called that) can speak to God, not so God can speak to the congregation. Nobody knows what the doctrinal statements of my church are. Even some of the deacons and elders could not tell me what my church believes when it comes to doctrine.

Where else would you want the church to publish their doctrine? How did you ask the elders about the churches doctrine?

It seems entirely reasonable to me that in this day and age the only place a church would have a published doctrinal statement is on the webpage. I work at a church, and as far as I know our only doctrinal statement is on the webpage. It's the only place I've ever looked for a churches doctrinal statement.

I guess you could call it a Bible church. We are not part of any denomination, and there is no qualifications for being a member. To be a member, all you have to do is check the box on the welcome card that says member. This creates a very uneducated and uninterested congregation. Again, I feel awful for judging my church in this way, but I can not just keep burying this. Many of my friends go to churches where one must complete a class to become a member, and then is held to certain standards to continue their membership. If my church instituted anything like this, I guarantee you that half of the congregation would no longer come.

Certainly if you instituted harsh membership requirements and punishments you'd have a congregation full of very obedient Christians, but you have the problem of forcing people to look good on the outside out of fear of punishment. I'm not even sure where church membership comes from. I can't think of any passages in the Bible which support.

Don't get me wrong. Maybe your church does need higher standards, but simply instituting more rules won't resolve the problem of luke-warm Christians.

Do I have a right to leave my church? I have an idea of a church I would like to visit (I was invited to visit by the pastor). The last thing I want to do, though, is subject a church to my standards and pick and choose them based on my feelings towards them.

Why would it be wrong for you to leave the church? Not that I'm encouraging church hoping, but you seem to have a wide of variety of serious concerns about the church. If your church isn't feeding you, isn't offering a place to serve, isn't really teaching the Bible, the people aren't devoted to Christ, and they're unwilling to change....there's probably a better church for you to be apart of. Notice I said, "IF." I'm not telling you to leave your church.

[ibanez_dude]

Well, even the other issues aside, the lack of knowledge of doctrine, attitude of the congregation, etc, the style of sermon can be a big reason to leave. I attended a church with that kind of "self-help", ultra-practical, no biblical substance style of preaching. I was visiting as a college student, they asked me to join the worship team, so I stayed. I ended up leaving after like 4 weeks of playing, cause there was no substance to the sermon. If you are not getting fed with God's Word, then that is a perfectly acceptable reason to think about leaving, even by itself. I come from a very contemporary background, but after I left that church, I now go to a very traditional church because when I visited with some friends who go there, I found that the preaching is just straight-up expository biblical teaching. I feel like I am getting fed, so I stay.

[TravisR]

Originally Posted by falconplayer11

Do I have a right to leave my church? I have an idea of a church I would like to visit (I was invited to visit by the pastor). The last thing I want to do, though, is subject a church to my standards and pick and choose them based on my feelings towards them.

You always have a right, but that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. It seems like you might be thinking about this too much, so maybe you should take a step back and just pray about it. Or maybe you're so upset or frustrated over something you've seen that you're not thinking enough about it and jumping to conclusions. Either way, you should pray about it. Speak to your Pastor. My church has been hurt so much by people who leave for reasons that (in my opinion) were unjustified, and I hope your church does not have to go through that as well. I'm reminded of the letters that John wrote to the various churches in Revelation. None of them were perfect. He praised them for the things that they were doing well and corrected the things they weren't doing right. Our churches today are the same way. Unless you have an irreconcilable difference with the leaders of your church, then you shouldn't make a mountain out of a molehill. Share your concerns with your Pastor but make sure you meet with him without prejudging and while doing your best to keep a humble and teachable spirit. I tend to believe that most people really do have good hearts and good intentions, even if they are misguided. Try to find the heart of the leadership at your church and when you find it, you will know where you belong.

[Folk_guy]

Originally Posted by falconplayer11

.... Do I have a right to leave my church? I have an idea of a church I would like to visit (I was invited to visit by the pastor). The last thing I want to do, though, is subject a church to my standards and pick and choose them based on my feelings towards them.

You have every right to select a church whose beliefs are more in line with your own. I would take your time in selecting a church, visit all of the Christian Church's in your area, research what they believe as a denomination (or as a church body if non-denominational), check out their websites, etc. Don't be too quick to leave your current congregation, until you've found one you like better. No group of Christians is perfect, and they are all going to have their faults, Churches are made up of imperfect human beings. Being a part of a body of worshippers even, a somewhat imperfect one is better than not worshipping with any congregation at all.

[balaamsass]

The first question to ask is are you a part of your church or just warming a pew? If it is part of your family you should have a say in what they do. Paul and Barnabus split over personal issues after being sent out together by the laying on of hands, yes even Paul had issues. I have left churches that had no room for me and treated me as an outsider. The building you meet in is meaningless if it is not your family and you have no say there.

[pompernikkle]

Leaving a church can be pretty tough..
I kind of ended up leaving the church I went to for most of my childhood life.. It was a good, Biblical church. The senior pastor was a good guy, the youth pastor was also great. But the church was so boring! I had a hard time focusing on God at that church.
Mind you, a lot of the congregation were seniors, and liked it how they liked it. Any change was tough to handle. There were especially some older ladies there who were so outspoken and stubborn.

However, they did have a somewhat decent balance. They were lenient enough with the youth that we could do various events. Although, if it interferred with the Sunday Service, chances were nil that it wouldn't happen.

Anyway, when I was in high school/college, I tried to bring up my issues with the church, guided by the youth pastor, but nothing came of it. So I don't consider myself a member of that church any more. Leaving has been easy because of going to college far away, my family moving away from the town, and living in Japan!

When I go back, it'll be more like a nostalgic visit!

[OiBoyz]

Originally Posted by Sean

Where else would you want the church to publish their doctrine? How did you ask the elders about the churches doctrine?

It seems entirely reasonable to me that in this day and age the only place a church would have a published doctrinal statement is on the webpage. I work at a church, and as far as I know our only doctrinal statement is on the webpage. It's the only place I've ever looked for a churches doctrinal statement.

Ok, I'm all for technology (I'm posting this on an internet forum after all) but what about having it available as a flyer in the main lobby? You remember real paper, right? It does have a place.

Unless you're walking away from the Lord himself, you can never "leave the church." It's unfortunate that we use the same word to describe very different things. There are good reasons to leave a particular congregation. I'm not a fan of hopping for trivial reasons, but if you're not getting fed the Word, or if there are major doctrinal issues it is ok to leave and find another fellowship. But if you're just picking up on things that "bug" you, it's best to stick around and work through it. Especially if you've been committed as a member. You don't get to walk away from a relationship with your little brother just because he annoys you. And it's the same in a fellowship.

I have never felt that I was in a position to judge my church and its leaders, but I can not help but notice the air of selfishness that surrounds the congregation at my church and the "feel-good, self-help" type sermons that are preached week in and week out.

You can be a fruit inspector. If you aren't seeing fruit, or if the fruit you see is bad, you have two options as I see it. Leave, find greener pastures; or stay and try to change things.

[5th Stage]

Originally Posted by falconplayer11

If my church instituted anything like this, I guarantee you that half of the congregation would no longer come.

You are probably right. When I found one of the 2 current churches that I attend, it has no 'qualifications' other than accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If it required classes, as a seeker, I would not have stayed at that church, at that time of my life. I applaud this approach as it brings in many who have turned away, many who never found the path and keeps them on it.
No two snowflakes are alike, as are the different needs of your fellow Christians. Some need a gentler path (back) into his grace.

Do I have a right to leave my church? I have an idea of a church I would like to visit (I was invited to visit by the pastor). The last thing I want to do, though, is subject a church to my standards and pick and choose them based on my feelings towards them.

A church is just a building. What is important is your relationship with God. If your church is not or cannot facilitate growth in your relationship with God, you should find one that can.