Reviews, Interviews, News, Commentaries, Excerpts, My Top 5 Books, Wilson's Bookmarks, Book AwardsThe Leavers: Young Doubters Exit the Church
The answer, of course, lies in more than offering another program. Nor should we overestimate the efficacy of slicker services or edgy outreach. Only with prayer and thoughtful engagement will at least some of the current exodus be stemmed.
One place to begin is by rethinking how we minister to those from youth to old age. There's nothing wrong with pizza and video games, nor with seeker-sensitive services, nor with low-commitment small groups that introduce people to the Christian faith. But these cannot replace serious programs of discipleship and catechism. The temptation to wander from the faith is not a new one. The apostle Paul exhorted the church at Ephesus to strive to mature every believer, so that "we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes" (Eph. 4:14, ESV).
Ultimately we will have to undertake the slow but fruitful work of building relationships with those who have left the faith. This means viewing their skepticism for what it often is: the tortured language of spiritual longing. And once we've listened long and hard to their stories, and built bridges of trust, we will be ready to light the way back home.
Drew Dyck is a manager in the Church Ministry Media Group at Christianity Today International, and author of Generation Ex-Christian (Moody).
Go to ChristianBibleStudies.com for "The New Apostates," a Bible study based on this article.
Copyright © 2010 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Drew Dyck's book, Generation Ex-Christian: Why Young Adults Are Leaving the Faith and How to Bring Them Back, is available from ChristianBook.com and other retailers.
Go to ChristianBibleStudies.com for "The New Apostates," a Bible study based on this article.
Read an interview with Drew Dyck in The Birmingham News.
Recent Christianity Today articles dealing with people who say they have left the Christian faith include:
'I Never Wanted a Hard Heart' | Indie rocker David Bazan talks about his loss of faith, his music, and how he sometimes fears he's going to hell. (February 2, 2010)
Q & A: Anne Rice on Following Christ Without Christianity | The tipping points behind the novelist's departure from the institutional church, and why she still reads D.A. Carson, Craig Keener, and N.T. Wright instead of 'Twilight.' (August 17, 2010)
La complejidad hispana: Todo cambió en el 2012
The Latest in Movie News, May 20, 2013
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Mickey Fernandez
This is an interesting article and from my experiences the latter (individuals leaving the church due to unattended doubt) has been the most popular reason for leaving the church. I agree that this is in large part due to a shallow relationship built within the church through dramatic worship, encouragement filled sermons, and non-committed small groups. It's great to talk about all this but I want to hear what individual church bodies are doing about it. What are individual Christians doing about it? Are pastors challenging their church body to challenge each other and providing a setting where this is played out? That, is whats most important to me.
Dan H
Paul the Apostle held churches accountable for their doctrine and their practice. But he never let leavers and doubters off the hook, either. Neither did the prophets nor did Jesus nor the other writers of Scripture. And notice too, Paul didn't write just one epistle and send it to all of the churches; he wrote letters to individual churches and/or groups of churches in similar circumstances (like the churches in Galatia). Why do leavers and doubters leave and doubt? I John 2:15, 16 says this: 15Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world."
Pastor G
. . . “In what ways do I need to change to correct this?” Thus, I’m in agreement with those who suggest that we Christians examine ourselves to see whether we are indeed at the root of the problem.