How do you know when God is moving you from a church? When should you consider leaving a church? Ernest Lee has six reasons to leave a church:
(1) There is abuse of power in church leadership. That can be anything from lack of collaboration with the congregation to tyrannical, dictatorial behavior. Abuse of power is often demonstrated in degrees and involves ‘change for change’ sake. Ernest Lee has seen it dozens of times in churches with an authoritarian, domineering person in charge. It makes a case for the ‘plurality of elders’ form of church government spoken of in scripture. When confronted with the abuse, the leadership ignores other’s concern. A member is either ‘on the team’ or targeted for expulsion.
(2) There is no outreach. The church simply holds worship services and evangelistic outreach becomes non-existent. There is no burden for the lost. There is no caring of the sick, the grieving within the congregation. There is no concern/burden for fellow church members.
(3) There is no COMMUNITY. A church is a called out assembly of believers. That assembly should be united in their passion for the Gospel. They should be committed to caring for one another. They shouldn’t shun those who disagree with them or those who question leadership. They should pray for one another and love one another. They should cultivate a culture of grace.
(4) There is no VISION. Ernest Lee has been a member of churches where there is no vision- no direction- no goal. The vision should always be to spread the Gospel. It should be the main thing- all the time. When a church exists to exist and fails to have a direction or vision, it’s time to hit the door.
(5) The Church can’t be trusted with the tithe. When there is a lack of transparency in the finances or an abuse of the use of God’s money, it’s time for leadership to be confronted. Misuse of God’s money is a fundamental reason to walk away from a church. God will not bless a church or church leadership who abuse His money.
(6) There are theological differences. How can people walk together expect they be agreed? When differences in doctrine exist, it’s next to impossible to co-exist- especially if those differences involve the Gospel.
There are probably other reasons to leave a church, but a believer should never apologize for leaving a church body when led by God to leave. Those who stay may not understand, but that matters little if God is leading.
Ernest Lee Contendin 