EXIT STAGE LEFT
Part 1 – Where have all the followers gone?

Do you remember that little church rhyme that you did with your hands that went like this. Here is the church and here’s the steeple, open the doors and see all the people. Today, you would not need to use as many fingers.

Some Christians are exiting the church. Their premise: I can be an effective Christ-follower without the church.

Five years ago, George Barna wrote a book entitled Revolution claiming that 30 percent of those who would describe themselves as “followers of Jesus Christ” no longer attend traditional church services on Sunday. His research and experience indicate that people are leaving the institutional church, but they continue to gather informally and regularly with other believers, and seek to share the good news with their neighbors, co-workers, family, and friends.

Barna says, “There is a new breed of Christ-follower in America today. These are people who are more interested in being the Church than in going to church.

Reggie McNeal makes the following statement in his book, The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church. “A growing number of people are leaving the institutional church because the church no longer contributes to their spiritual development. In fact, they say, quite the opposite is true.”

So what does that mean for the church today and for Northstar? Why do people leave the church? I have given that very question a considerable amount of thought over the years. I have come to conclusion that there are many possible reasons. It may be the Christian life is not what they expected.

Here’s an example of what I mean. The biblical picture of a “wonderful life” looks dramatically different than the average person’s definition of a “wonderful life.” If this picture is never explained effectively, a person may hear “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” only to find that God doesn’t respond to every call for help as we would like. Nor does He always prosper us or eliminate all the hurts, habits and hangups that plague our lives. Some people believe that if they just follow God’s rules that He will bless their lives. When things fail to work out as promised, some become disillusioned and leave the church. Certainly that is not the only reason.

There are many other reasons. Some may be legitimate concerns. Others just may be trivial in the total scheme of things. The fact is, no matter what you do and how well you built the environments in the church you cannot please everyone. The surest road to disaster in virtually every undertaking in life is trying to make everyone happy. Because what happens at the end of the day, is nobody is happy. The bottom line is that people will leave the church. But why and what people do next is what is important.

This comment on a blog sums up how many people feel. “I am currently rediscovering the Creator and removing the chains of religion in my own life. I must admit also that my experience outside of the Institutional Church walls has been life changing.”

Over the next few weeks, I will discuss why, in virtually every case, it is better for Christians to be connected to a community of believers. Until then, let me lead you with a few verses that address the subject.

““Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” – Matthew 18:18-20. Jesus is saying that there is a connection from heaven to earth, and that connection is found where two or three (at least, that is) come together, Jesus, will be there. Those are not part of a Christian community can read about Him, study and pray, but if you want to really want to transformed, you have to gather with other believers.

In Ephesians 5:32, The apostle Paul writes about the church as a profound mystery. In 1 Corinthians 12, he describes us as a body in which every part—small or large, seemingly important or apparently insignificant—every part is of great value and to be considered necessary in the body.

Part 2 – Why can’t I be home-churched?