It’s not just Millennials leaving the church …

A couple of weeks ago I had a conversation with a friend and brother in Christ who said he was leaving the church.

Well, at least he and his family are leaving the church they have been members of for more than 20 years, but they will be finding a new church home.

This family is a real loss to this congregation. He has done more to care for the least, needy, hurting, home-bound, and widows than most anyone in that church. Any semblance of a real benevolence ministry in that church has come from his own pocket and his own heart. His family has been just as faithful and lights of Christ shining in a dark world just like this husband and father.

So after more than 20 years of active and committed membership in this church, they’re searching for a new church to join.

Why are they leaving?

They’re tired of this church “playing church.”

For years, this was a traditional, “stuck” church but it had the appearance of what you would traditionally think of as a church.

But with a new, younger pastor taking the lead a few years ago, they are now as trendy as any other church trying too hard in all the wrong ways to be “relevant.”

Gone is the pulpit, replaced with stool and table.

A cafe has been added.

And an “attractional” model to making new disciples is in full swing.

There’s also plenty of feel-good projects to participate in throughout the year.

But are members being equipped to go make disciples?

No.

Is there any serious discipleship happening among the members?

No.

All the traditional things this church has done for many years are still happening with a fresh coat of paint and a trendier look.

My friend longs to reach people for Christ, and to love and serve others in the name of Christ. That just isn’t much of a reality in this congregation. So they have finally made the decision to look for a new church family who really wants to be the sacrificial, serving, loving, new disciple-making body of Christ that we’re called to be.

He wants to be part of a local church family that doesn’t want to play church, but one willing to do whatever it takes to actually be the church.

I’ve heard many such stories of the deeply devoted Christian becoming weary of their local church. For such disciples, playing church just doesn’t cut it any more.

There’s a common, core issue that Millennials exiting the church and the faithful leaving local congregations share: They don’t want the empty, culturally “pretty” church that is a hollow illusion of the body of Christ, they want to be deeply invested in the real, thriving, living body of Christ.

They don’t want concerts and cafes and growth groups that never grow; they want heart-deep worship, authentic discipleship, and even a call to personal sacrifice.

They want a church that challenges them, equips them, and teaches them to be like Christ in every aspect of their lives.

They want Christ’s church.

Don’t you?

Scotty