Church Refugees: The Morality Police but not the Social Conscience

They were moral police: drugs and sex, drugs and sex, drugs and sex. That's it. I wanted to deal with poverty. They just wanted to police me - Aaron

The religious right is loud about bathrooms, same sex marriage, and abortion but is quiet about poverty and other social injustices. Jesus talked a lot about the poor and other social issues but in church the most you hear about the poor is about mission trips overseas or feeding the homeless.

what about actively petitioning the government regarding poverty the same way they petition the government about all the hot button issues regarding sexuality?

In 2016 our presidential election is centered around economics. People are being left behind economically and candidates are pouncing upon people's fears but where are the churches in this conversation

In church refugees the done with church crowd does not believe church leaders have their best interest at heart.

I can concur with this belief. I quit showing up at my first charismatic church about 2 years ago. I haven't received a letter stating where are you? I haven't even received a letter in regards to my Giving which is telling.

If you cannot show concern for people in the walls of the church how will you show concern for those outside? Maybe you aren't concerned. Maybe you just want to control people and support them as long as they fall in line.

Church refugees makes this connection

“In the minds of Aaron and other Dechurched people, then, a lack of action outside of the walls of a church is mostly interested in controlling people rather than helping them.”

Not leaving to sin

I think one big lie that happens when people leave church is that they are doing so because they want to live a life of sin. That's not true.

In church refugees they say that none of their respondents left the church because they wanted to drink alcohol, live with their partners without being married, or were gay.

They were driven away because they thought the church focused too much on personal morality while ignoring bigger issues.

This is true in my own case. I lead a pretty vanilla life. Only drink when on vacation and I believe in a disciplined life of abstinence and holiness. I didn't leave church because I wanted to sin. I left church because there didn't seem to be much purpose in it.

When I was growing up I was always astounded that there were more sermons about instruments, clapping, and baptists than racism, personal ethics, and current affairs.

Confronting Current Events

As you will recall on this blog I started to lose my enthusiasm for church when all of the unrest started happening nationwide. As followers of Christ (who was pretty darn revolutionary) what was the message? I will give it to Shiloh church: they did speak out about it and I liked that.

A respondent in church refugees Diane echoed my same sentiments

“I'm very interested in how the faith community is or isn't actively contributing -other than Yackety yak from the pulpit to the conversation about racism and police brutality right now”

She's totally and right and the unrest has only gotten worse since Ferguson!

Another pastor in a mega church left after their small group discussed how to respond to a group member who was dating two women at the same time.

“I left my job and the church when I realized that we as evangelicals were doing lots of lifestyle indoctrination and very little soul transformation”

It sounds stupid but That's the sort of trivial nonsense that happens in churches. I remember someone complaining that their bible study dissolved into why people were allowed to clap during the church announcements but not during the singing! He said people argued for an hour about this and he was disgusted!

Rather than discuss poverty, violence, and racism churches focus on these types of nonsensical topics

“Why do we get so hung up on just a few things? Like, tell me how ignoring the poor is not s moral failure. Why don't pastors ever have to resign for that? - Mary

Good question Mary! I don't know. Churches crow about being relevant but how is ignoring what's going on around them. I'm sorry but the fact that evangelical christians are proudly endorsing someone like Donald trump is baffling!

To me though it's all so fitting. Church has spent all of this time indoctrinating people with rules that they have no clue about the actual gospel and what Jesus stood for. After actually studying the gospel I was floored about how much I didn't know about jesus. All that time in church and I did not know him.

Action

People want action. I feel that I am better utilized in the real world and not in a church. Besides in most churches they already have their cliques chosen and new people don't have w chance unless they marry in or play Politics

I see people in the church world doing the same thing that happens in the fitness world. Everyone in the fitness world is opening their own facilities and the obesity rates are not changing. Everyone in the church world is opening up their own churches and people seek more lost than ever.

We don't need more churches. We need churches that are effective and about action.

Sometimes I miss the worship and prophetic messages  in church but it makes me tired to think of going back. Why?? I may go again during the holidays but I don't know. I really like Shiloh church but I'm tired.

Church refugees made a point that resonated with me

People opt out of organized religion altogether because they think the structure is fundamentally flawed.

It is for me...It just doesn't seem conducive for really wanting to make a significant IMPACT