Written by David and Aimee Hanson
Have you ever thought you were right and passionately so, but weren't? How long did it take before God sanctified you in that area? Should we be patient with fellow Christians? What about the elders who care for your souls? Recently we have seen blog and social media posts recommending people who believe we should worship God as God prescribes to leave their state church for the open churches. The posts focus on leaving a church that is abiding by the mandates. These are now lifting throughout Canada. Should we return to these churches that enforced them? Though this is a big issue in many churches, it's not the only one. So, we want to approach this in a more general way. There's an underlining assumption – there is a proper time to leave a church. We have a question: "When is that time, and do we have to leave?" To be straightforward from the beginning, we don't necessarily have answers. Each situation is different, and therefore, each response may also differ. Perhaps in some cases, the advice to leave a church for another may be appropriate; but in other times, it may not. By making blanket statements and telling people they must leave a church for another – could we perhaps be binding the conscience of some people? This article is not about what you should do, but instead, some thoughts and questions that may be necessary to consider. These thoughts and questions come from our personal consideration of this matter. We have made mistakes. We have left churches perhaps pre-emptively and are growing and learning in this area. By no means are we writing this as authorities on this matter; we just want to show that perhaps there's more to consider. Also, for clarification, we have in our mind serious doctrinal matters that impact and distort who Jesus is and what the gospel is. This is not about leaving the church because of preferences. So, where do we start? Well, let's consider why someone may want to stay. Staying is by far the hardest choice because, naturally, our pull is to leave. However, if God is sovereign and brought someone to the specific church they are at, could it be that they are there for a reason? Could you be there for a reason? Could it be that God wants to use you as an instrument to bring correction to the church? After all, aren't Christians to be people who speak into all areas of life, even into churches that have gone wayward? Consider this. God at times encourages some to stay in some oppression. Hagar was told to go back under Sarah's authority when Sarah was unpleasant. In the New Testament, wives married to unbelieving spouses were to stay and win them to Christ with their submission. On the flip side, God also takes us out of slavery or oppression. Israel was taken out of Egypt after over 400 years of oppression. God frees us from the slavery of sin. I see often we need to have patience with fellow believers in our church. Some may ask, how long should we be patient, 1-2 years? Perhaps in our culture of everything being so fast, we aren't patiently waiting for God to sanctify people. If you are in a rocky stage of marriage or in your church, do you give it a year? Or do we make it that divorce is never on the table, and we work at peacemaking, drawing the unrepentant who thinks they are right to God? Does God call some to be like Jeremiah and stay as watchmen calling their elders to repentance? Even if they never listen? My wife and I have discussed staying in Canada despite increasing authoritarian oppression. We believe we should re-build, yet we also think there is a time to leave a church. All things that are of God will last. Why should we have more of a heavenly mind about our country than our church? Now let's consider another aspect of this. If we believe that God is calling us to stay, what should our approach be towards those in the church? We should consider them not as enemies but as brothers (2 Thess. 3:15). And as family members, we should approach them lovingly and persistently, calling them back to what God has instructed. I believe some refer to this as causing a "holy ruckus." Now, of course, there's more to consider by staying. For instance, what would be the spiritual impact if you stayed? Would it do greater harm to you and your family if you stayed? Do you have young impressionable children who would be influenced negatively by the church's choices and leadership? Is there a potential for change, or are they set in their ways? If you think the leaders are open to obeying God, are you prepared to instruct them what God says? If you believe the leaders aren't open to correction, at what point would it be "casting pearls before swine"? When would it be better to wipe the dust off our feet and leave? I guess what we are saying is this – if the church is open to correction, how long are you willing to endure to teach them? If we default to leaving instead of staying to teach God's Word, what attitude does that show? If we run when things are bad, who is there to stand up for what is right? Now, we aren't advocating that you must stay. We are simply giving you more to consider as you make your decision. Here's another layer. What impact would staying in the church have on your testimony? Would your association cause others to think that the activity or teaching demonstrated in the church is appropriate? 1 Corinthians 5 and Ephesians 5 warns about associating with those who are engaged in grievous sins that even pagans do not tolerate. To add to this, would staying in a church that does not worship God as prescribed cause you to be complicit in sin? God judged those who did not worship as prescribed. See Cain, Aaron's sons and the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 15. In Galatians 4:29-30, it says those who bind the conscience to their own desires in a church instead of the word of God act like Ishmael to Isaac. Abraham removed Ishmael, and we are told to remove those persecuting the church in this way. What happens when the pastor and the denomination are okay with persecuting the church? What happens when all the authorities God has put in place for accountability neglect their role? Okay, so let's say we worked through all of this and considered that the best action is for us to move. Here's something to consider. What issues are we trading off? No church is perfect. What problems can we live with, and which ones can't we? If the church embraces a different gospel and a different Jesus, I would say that it is high time to find another place to worship – especially if they are unwilling to change. There are such things as primary, secondary and tertiary issues. Primary issues are those which distort who Jesus is and what the gospel is. Secondary and tertiary matters are a matter of conscience that we can have Christian liberty on and agree to disagree with. That's probably a whole new post if you're interested. Here's something else to consider. When you read the bible, when did different people leave to go to other churches? There seems to be a few various reasons. First, when Christians could not stay in their city due to persecution, they spread out and joined other churches (1 Pet. 1:1). Could a determined unfaithful pastor who forces his church to follow unbiblical rules be a valid reason for moving to another area to join a church? I would agree that this could be a justifiable reason to relocate to another church. Second, throughout the New Testament, Christians were sent to other churches for a specific task by their elders in building the church in a different town. We don't hear of too many people being sent from one church to another these days. Why is that? Perhaps it is because Christians have believed the lies of individualism. We live in such an individualized society that it has crept into the church. Why don't we join with other like-minded churches, find out their needs and send a person who is gifted in a way that will bless their church? Finally, in the New Testament, we see people leaving a church due to church discipline through ex-communication. In North America, many ex-communicate themselves. Why are we judging ourselves? That's not our role, is it? Here's one of our pressing concerns in this matter. Today many tend to come into churches freely and just as freely leave the church. We don't see too many who stay in a church for hard times. Both my wife and I have moved many times and attended many churches. At times we have been jealous of other churches because of the ministry happening there or because they don't have x or y issues that we had in ours. This jealousy is a sin. We have learned that we need to repent of this and commit to the church that we are placed in. Depending on your situation, leaving may not always be the right thing to do. Sometimes you need to stay, commit to the church, exhaustively pray for the many members there, and cause a holy ruckus pointing them to the bible. Before you decide to head off to a new church where the grass is greener, you should first attempt to water the grass where you are. And if this is what you choose to do, keep watch that you do not disqualify yourself while calling them to repentance. Don't be a hypocrite who is pointing at the speck in your brother's eye when you have a two-by-four in your own. Yet, after you have attempted to patiently correct and teach those who are erring from sound doctrine, and they are still unwilling to change, then perhaps its time to move on to another gathering. We have the freedom to stay and the freedom to move, but we don't have the option not to warn others of their sin and its consequence.
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3/22/2022 08:21:30 pm
Thanks for the thoughts and questions on this topic. Especially given the mandates etc. this is an area many are dealing with. Perhaps more than we think...
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Thanks James. I'm glad that this article was helpful.
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AuthorHello! I'm glad you found my blog. My name is David Hanson, and I am a concerned Christian who desires for the church of North America to become aware and begin to think biblically of what is happening around them in society. It's time for the church to awake and speak into the current events of the day. We alone have the truth to navigate life effectively. That truth is the Word of God. Archives
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