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It happens all too often.
A pastor commits an egregious sin or a church adopts an unbiblical position…and neither are willing to repent. That sort of unfaithfulness always forces a group of Christians to wrestle with whether or not it’s time to leave the church. Some do, of course; they just bow out and humbly make their exit. Others, on the other hand, dig in their heels and refuse to leave.
“After all,” they say, “it’s my church and I’m not leaving.”
Pondering whether or not to leave a church that has committed some form of apostasy or heresy is an unenviable task. Anyone who has walked through that circumstance knows just how stressful and burdensome that particular decision can be. While it might be noble to “stay and fight,” oftentimes, it’s in a believer’s best interest to simply separate themselves from flagrant sin.
After all, we don’t stick with incompetence or willful indiscretion in any other area of our lives:
“Sure…I caught my investor stealing from me, but I’m not gonna make any changes. We’ve been together too long.”
“My doctor keeps writing me unnecessary prescriptions because of all the kickbacks she gets from the pharmaceutical company. But since she’s been our family physician for two generations, I’m gonna stick with her.”
“My husband is abusive, both verbally and physically. But it’s been that way from the beginning so no need to start complaining now….”
Sounds silly, doesn’t it?
If you can affect positive change at your troubled church, do so for the glory of God. But if you’re just trying to push a rope up a hill, it may be time to prayerfully move on.
