I just left a church after four years. It was a country club - nor a church. A nice place to make friends, eat lunch together and use the church gym together for basketball and badminton.
I have been in church all my life and will eventually find another church.
It was all about checking the boxes in regard to behavior, but totally ignoring the condition of the heart.
The church I just left has been dwindling in size due to conflict after conflict.
The members wonder why their teenage kids won’t attend the church - but never do any self examination.
Within the church, there are threats of lawsuits if certain people are selected for leadership roles.
I sat in a meeting of the leadership board - it was as if I were matching Matthew 23 (Jesus criticizes the Pharisees) unfold in front of me. Some of the board members were the biggest Pharisees you could imagine. They criticized people for not volunteering to serve with children so that a vacation Bible school could be held. Yet they themselves were unwilling to serve in VBS (they are retired - they have time). The board wanted to be standing in the pulpit any time communion was taken so that they could be publicly recognized. The board members wanted to be the ones standing in the pulpit to pray and have their name printed in the church bulletin.
There is a 3-year still-unresolved major fight over allowing a start up church (of the same denomination) use the building on Saturdays - because they were a different ethnicity (FYI - the ethnicity of the main church is only 2-3% Caucasian; the start-up church was Syrian Christians; I was one of only 5 caucasians in the church). Four board members have left the church, the missions director left the church and three pastors left the church because this request was refused and they themselves were attacked and slandered.
Board members made room deals made with the previous pastor - “I will support your budget request if you endorse me becoming an elder in the church.”
Contentious church meetings where disagreement results in some people standing up and calling other members evil. I have been called evil by multiple people, including the board members I exposed.
Some wealthy people did not like the pastor and offered him a substantial amount of money if he would resign from his position.
The denomination has finally stepped in and taken over governance of this church. Of course, this has brought threats of more lawsuits.
In case you are wondering what the primary ethnicity of the church - it is a Chinese Christian church. Just not very Christian.
Are people wonder why churches are dying. And they wonder why their kids are leaving the church.
