I also have heard from many Christians who for various reasons tell me they are quitting church or cannot find a church. This article gets into some of the reasons why. There is a whole book written on the subject for those who want more detail.
Ingrid Schlueter thinks the Church needs another Reformation and that make sense to me. In these last days we need a Restoration Reformation that is based on absolute truths of the Bible rather than the more modern popular subjective doctrines of unstable men.
I know of no such man like Luther on the horizon today that could lead this final restoration of the true Church. But, who knows who God will raise up for this generation? I assure you the leadership will not come out of the problem churches unless there is repentance. Nevertheless, God can raise up leaders to unite this new Restoration Reformation of churches that returns true Christians back to sound doctrine and instill discipleship and accountability in the Church. God raised up men in the past when the Church got so corrupted that it was led by blinded men and their blind doctrines. So a last days Restoration Reformation of the true Church is more likely than not.
A new Restoration Reformation might come as a result of persecution of true Bible believers in Christianity. I guess we must assume that there are still enough true Christians for this separation and Reformation to take place. However, if it happens it will not be without great pain but the end result of the Restoration Reformation will be great purification.
Maybe one day not to far in the future true Christians will just call themselves Bible believing Christians instead of identifying themselves by scores of denominational handles and latest fads and whims.
The Church needs a “Restoration Reformation”. The Reformation would birth a body of believers that is doing the Great Commission and actually watching and waiting for the Lord’s return. It would carry out real discipleship and hold believers accountable. This new Reformed Church would do the works of the Sprint on earth, in these last days just before the Lord’s return and He takes us away.
Quitting Church: Why the Faithful Are Fleeing
Quitting Church: Why the Faithful Are Fleeing
Feb 16 by Ingrid Schlueter
There is a fascinating book out by Washington Times religion reporter Julia Duin called Quitting Church: Why the Faithful are Fleeing and What to Do About It. In the last five years or so, I have heard from countless Christians who are fed up with their choices when it comes to attending “church.” The choices a friend of mine faces in her area are these: an apostate mainline church with a lesbian pastor, a go-go evangelical circus church featuring everything but a trapeze apparatus in the ceiling, (the pastor has a ring in his nose), a stone dead Reformed church comprised of the 24 original founders in various stages of spiritual dessication, a German Lutheran ethnic club along the lines of the Reformed church, a oneness Pentecostal church that gets so wild the police are occasionally called for noise ordinance violations, an IFB (independent, fundamental baptist) church where the women are required to have their hair below their shoulders and where they market their own church-sewn culottes, and a Roman Catholic outpost named after someone called St. Veronica.
My friends dilemma is not unique. Even in major metropolitan areas, I have heard the same complaint again and again. “We don’t know what to do. We haven’t changed-the churches have changed. We don’t want our kids growing up thinking these churches are biblically on track, but our other option is to stay home and worship as a family. That gets lonely after a while.”
Quitting Church is interesting in that many of the complaints I have heard and have actually voiced myself are cited in the book.
I would like to see a book written that addresses the problem of Bible-believing Christians specifically and their difficulty in finding like-minded congregations that are holding fast to the Word of God. There has been a huge sea change that I myself have witnessed in the last 20 years. Churches that two decades ago were preaching the Word, evangelizing and making an impact for Christ in the community are now featuring Elvis impersonators, car shows and the like. These are the churches that bought into the Purpose-Driven mentality that the church must change to be like the culture. This thinking has wrought unbelievable carnage that leaves many Bible-believing Christians standing on the outside with few options for a church left.
What is really needed is another Reformation. Nearly 500 years after Luther pounded in his 95 Theses at Wittenberg, things are grim. The doctrinal chaos and confusion, the inroads of eastern pagan spirituality, the grossly compromised circus churches, the shortage of biblical churches, the apostasizing of once solid seminaries-all of it points to carnal and wayward Christianity. Only a sovereign move of God can change the way things are. In the meantime, believers are findings spiritual food where they can in the middle of the local church famine, and are finding fellowship with other believers who are also well aware of the spiritual state of things. That is all that can be done. We need to watch and pray, because the times are truly dark.
I do not see a revival happening before the rapture. There are too many people in churches today that will not leave their sinful lifestyles. I do see many people getting saved during the tribulation.
I Agree, I was not implying there would be a revival in the world or in what some call Christianity or not even in the majority of churches. I was really saying that I think we need a restoration movement that will bring the coming together of all true believers in these end times based on absolutes truths taught in the Bible. Persecution of true believers helps achieve that.
I agree. I do think that churches need to interpret the Bible as a literal Book. Today many churches take heed of the teachings of St. Augustine who was a heretic. I do believe that’s why some Christians do not take heed to God’s Word because they were taught that the Book is allegorical, spiritual you name it. So when they have been taught this nonsense they start having doubts about God’s Word. I do know that the Bible does contain some metaphorical statements but these statements gives a literal meaning. It is amazing how Satan can use false teachings from the past today to deceive people.
I also believe we are at that point. In these particular times, the Lord does appear to be separating the wheat from the tares. The Holy Spirit is calling the true Church, the born-again believers, away from their attachments to this world and away from these false messages, in some cases because of persecution, or in most cases, because of the grief this world should be causing.
While a leader hasn’t appeared at this point, when the Hebrews were called out of Egypt, God did raise up Moses to lead them. Perhaps there will be a leader or leaders to help the flock when the going gets tougher. I also believe that the separation between the apostate church and true Church will become even clearer when some “Christians” join the world in persecuting Bible-believing Christians.
We are not far from that time.
It breaks my heart that churches in my area (Georgia, the alleged “Bible Belt”), are following the pattern shown in this article. The evangelical churches do not teach the “meat” of the Word or anything about prophecy, and the Emerging Church is becoming more evident. The pentecostals are all about hoopla and sexual sin in the pulpit is common. God help us!
it’s weird to think that the holy spirit could call someone AWAY from their “church.” But it makes sense b/c so many “churches” today are just buildings to house the spiritual illiterate according to God’s standard.
We left our church b/c of an unresolved issue—seems the pastor was more concerned with band-aids than actually disinfecting the wound. But it’s almost inevitable with the church today, as they get more and more dependent on memberships and tithes to feed them, they will concern themselves with popular messages that won’t confront or drive their dollars away.
Since we broke from them, we now tithe to various missionaries, groups or people in impoverished areas, or those on the actual front lines truly sacrificing themselves for the Great Commission, and it feels awesome. The “church” is no more than a body of believers who believe and act this way, and I believe that God is calling true Christians to live this way. It’s going to be interesting how God brings these people together, as they DO EXIST among our churches today—they are just getting fewer and further between. Godspeed to us all!