CHURCH APATHY: Why People Are Leaving Church
"You can't love Jesus Christ and hate his Bride"
This is one statement that those who seek to guilty trip those who left church use. And I will tell you why I think this is a wrong statement both Pastorally and theologically. What is important to you pastor between church attendance and creating an atmosphere for genuine authentic connection in godly fellowship?
I am not a 'prophet' neither do I say "thus saith the Lord" But this I can prophesy that we are reaching the end of megachurches and these church empires we have seen going up for self-glory like the tower of babel are coming down.
To address church apathy, instead of condemning those who are walking away from our buildings, we should listen to the reasons why people are opting out of the traditional way of doing Church. They have not left Church, they have left your little empire because they know Church is bigger than you.
We should not dismiss them and hold those inside the building hostage by fear and curses, instead address those very pressing reasons & questions raised by those who are walking away.
Arrogance, spiritual superiority, misquoting of scriptures, and manipulation will not cut it. The solution is to begin to address the reasons the people are leaving & begin to reform to end church apathy.
Two things you ought to define well are;
1. What is Church
2. What is Christian Fellowship?
In most of the conversations on church absenteeism (and I use the church as commonly used) we confuse Christian fellowship with the Church which is the Body of Christ Universally. I was speaking to a Woman of God on these issues this morning. She narrated how in her previous church Christians were at war with each other. Coming to church but don't talk to each other. A divided assembly of believers whose only meeting place is 'the pastor'. The goal of our gathering together as Christians is FELLOWSHIP. Now if we meet on Sundays to listen only to the celebrity pastor, and after that, we go our various ways there is no fellowship. When last did you invite someone from church for a meal at your house? Does your church leadership know where you stay? Does anyone in your church know you are battling depression? Do you know anyone in that church on a more deeper level than the small shallow talk after service? Class-ism, favoritism & superior spirituality kills fellowship. Christian fellowship happens when believers can be open & vulnerable to each other and the connection happening beyond Sunday services. Christian fellowship can't happen for two hours on Sundays, it is when sister Prudence and sister Bridget can meet outside the church programs for baking, encouraging, and praying for each other.
It is when Brother Chibwe can meet with brother Thabo for coffee and open up about issues of manhood outside the church program. Because our church leaders have adopted a celebrity cult-like approach to ministry, the desire to CONTROL everyone causes them to divide & rule.
When the Pastor controls who you talk to among church folks, and seeking permission to hook up with someone for coffee kills fellowship. It's not submission, you are under heavy shepherding.
In this post, I have not mentioned reasons for church apathy that range from immorality, manipulations, and lack of accountability and transparency to church bullying and exploitation, to heretical teachings.
If a person is still lonely and lost at church. If a person has no meaningful relationships with people inside the church. If the real friends are not part of this church, probably this is not a place for this individual to 'fellowship' because there is no fellow-ship if you got no FELLOW on board the ship. You are on your own! You must as well read the Bible, pray, listen to a sermon on TV in your own house than to pretend to be in a fellow-ship alone without a fellow.
How many people are warned not to associate with certain people in the FELLOW-SHIP? Even on these social media streets you are warned never to like, repost or share Lawrence's post.
Now, that's what happens daily in these buildings, and we then act shocked when those we avoid to connect with stop coming.
Bashing them with scriptures and guilty tripping them won't help. If you aren't ready for CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, you aren't ready to reach out to those leaving. I wish we can genuinely begin to address these issues even if they are raised by someone you don't like. Most of what I say come to pass or eventually gets exposed.
Today you can choose between church attendance (numbers) or building an environment where genuine fellowship inside and outside the building happens without fear that my pastor will be angry with me when he finds out we went fishing with Lawrence.
Today we can choose connection over control.
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