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Quitting church

Lazy pastors, entertainment churches

QUITTING CHURCH
Why the faithful are fleeing and what to do about it
By Julia Duin
Baker Books. 186 pages
ISBN 978-0-8010-6823-2 (h/b)

Quitting Church tries to uncover the various reasons why faithful Christians are disillusioned to the point of leaving church. The book describes the evangelical church scene in America, from the perspective of religious editor Julia Duin. She gives various reasons to explain this mass exodus, from wanting to take the kids to football on a Sunday morning, to people settling for Christian chat rooms and Bible teaching on the internet.

Julia Duin, a single lady, has a particular issue with the way the church handles singles and women, and describes the exit of both groups. Although she recognises the immensely valuable role played by singles within the church, she seems to want to marry them all off and suggests that singles are leaving because the church isn’t playing enough of a role in matchmaking. The question is asked: ‘Would Jesus approve of how so many churches have become singles warehouses instead of wedding makers?’ When it comes to the issue of women leaving church, the reason stated is that women feel they don’t have a significant role as all the leadership roles are given to men and women are expected to settle for teaching Sunday school. The author lacks real insight into just how valuable women can be within the church. Is teaching Sunday school, serving coffee, administration, teaching other women to be despised? Women who are only interested in leadership seek to serve themselves and will be of little use to the body of Christ.

Perhaps one of the more poignant reasons cited is that, in our desperation to make them stay, the church is becoming too worldly by trying to reach the culture. In a superficial and entertainments-driven culture, the church has become precisely this, and perhaps at the expense of good solid Bible teaching. ‘Often pastors are intellectually lazy, and not men of the Scriptures, they are more into marketing models for growth’. Sadly, the church no longer seems to really believe that it is the power of God’s word that will grow and transform the church and not marketing, entertainment or growth strategies. Surely faithful Christians are leaving church because there is a lack of solid Bible teaching that grounds them in their faith, and helps them to live the Christian life. It was recommended that pastors should spend more time in the Scriptures and less time on strategies to keep their own lives on track, and preach more solid sermons.

Although this book does have much to say that needs to be heard, she recommends little in terms of what can be done about the problem. There is also an unhelpful sentiment that permeates the whole book that the faithful Christian goes to church to be served and not to serve. If church is not sensitive to my needs and my wants then that gives me good reason to leave. Of course, it is wonderful to belong to a loving community of Christ that recognises individual needs, but churches like this are rare and often church life is hard, costly and requires faithful pilgrims who will persevere to the end and give of themselves at great cost and not leave at the first hurdle.

Nancy Lambrechts
South African Evangelical Church (Co-mission Initiative), Raynes Park, London