Church Refugees: Leaving Church to Serve God and Humanity

One of the reasons people leave church (myself included) is because their assets aren't being recognized or utilized.

Why?

I think a lot of it has to do with a lack of personal development on behalf of leadership. There are so many people leading in church that have no business teaching anyone because they can't even teach themselves! It's truly discouraging to see people in leadership roles who haven't done the work of personal development and it shows when they are teaching. It's all surface level, shallow, and devoid of any substance.

It seems that in church these people are allowed to flourish and it's usually because they're related to a family that's in charge or because they're the only people left since the talented people get fed up and leave or decide to devote themselves to outside projects.

This has happened at every church I've attended. The more talented and gifted people end up leaving and the people left are mediocre (if that) I tend to think leadership is comfortable with these mediocre people because they don't challenge them to study more or be more. The status quo is perfectly acceptable as long as they have a position.

In church refugees they stress the point that collective viewpoints will provide more understanding of an issue and expand their perspectives. In church I've noticed that different perspectives and viewpoints aren't really tolerated. Most churches have made up their minds that they have all the answers and they aren't really interested in listening to anyone else's viewpoints or even what people need

They have all of the answers so they don't listen to people's concerns or other viewpoints nor do they set goals that stretch and make them uncomfortable.

Leaving Church is not Leaving God

Many people think when you leave church you're leaving God. In my own experience and some of the other people interviewed for Church Refugees says that could not be further from the truth.

Since leaving Sundays I feel that my faith is more authentically mine.

Church refugees says this about those they've interviewed who have left church

[The Dechurched] share a reliance on God and trust that God is intimately involved and in looking out for them. This stands in contrast to their church lives which were more typically marked by a reliance on people and trust in the institution of church to guide their spiritual lives.

After my experience with the church of legalism I don't trust any church to tell me what to think and I reject all forms of authoritarianism when it comes to spirituality so to have a faith that's authentically mine and that I can live out is crucial for my life.

Dechurched people are leaving to do more and not less

Dechurched people leaving to serve God and Humanity

The researchers for church refugees started out thinking that the people who left would be burned out from church work and leaving because they had enough

They were shocked to find that people were leaving church to do more and not less.  People were leaving to do more meaningful work:

The Dechurched are leaving to do more, not less. The church isn't asking too Much of people; it's asking the wrong things of them.
The dones are done doing things they find to be unconnected with God.- Church Refugees

This sums it up for me in a nutshell. I would love to be part of a church that's serious about preaching to this generation of women and raising up women leaders to speak to our young women who are being poisoned by reality tv and social media. I would be on the front lines for that but I haven't found there to be an avenue for that.

I get it: Churches need to keep their doors open but they won't be open for much longer if nobody's coming!