How to Help Those Who Consider Themselves “Done” with Church
The Purpose and Necessity of the Church
Some of the fastest growing groups of people in our culture today are the nons and the nones. That’s just a reality that the church has to face. While I don’t think I could give an answer to that question that biblically gives warrant to being “done with the church,” I want to just stop as a Christian and as a pastor and say I can imagine, because of experience, that that’s possible.
We have to admit that as much as the church is not a human project, there has been human involvement in the church that has not honored or followed God’s will in ways that have injured and wounded people. I’ve seen that in my own context in the Midwest and the greater Chicago area. We’ve tasted that.
The Local Church
Edward W. Klink III
In today’s hyperindividualized culture, Edward Klink III not only demonstrates why it’s vital for individuals to connect to a local church, but also reveals why it’s vital to God’s work in the world.
Beyond any experience that makes them want to be done with church, people must commit to honoring God’s will revealed in his Word about the purpose of the church and the necessity of the church. They should seek to find a church that is healthy and gospel-centered that allows them not just to participate well, but to heal.
People must commit to honoring God’s will revealed in his Word about the purpose of the church and the necessity of the church.
The church should be a place where the wounded can come and gather, where we should be seeking forgiveness and encouraging one another. I would hope that experience would be trumped by Scripture so that the essential nature of the church could be the primary guide or mandate that guides how an individual Christian engages with the people of God, the body of Christ, to the glory of the King.
Edward W. Klink III is the author of The Local Church: What It Is and Why It Matters for Every Christian.
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