Blog

Posted on

A Response to Back To Church

Back To Church has been available since September 15th. It only took one day to see the entire reason for this book played out over social media.

The day after the book launched with the title Back To Church the
keyboard warriors started responding according to what they thought the book
would be about.

People who have left the church left messages like “Why?” and
encouragements to consider pantheism and atheism. And those who are in the
church responded with messages to remind the people who disagreed with
Christianity that they “will be judged.”

One warrior must have actually read the back cover of the book because he
made the statement that “exvangelicals” and those who are
“deconstructing” are doing so because of the Church’s position on
many issues. Maybe if he would have read the book he would have a better idea
of what it says.

But the one heartbreak, and the one that we need to listen to, is the one
that said, “You might try acting like Christians for a change.”

And this is where we pause. The church is being called into account by the
people who are walking away. Are we going to listen? Or will we decide to
simply preach to the choir until there is no one left?

It’s time to question our habits. It’s time to come back to being the Church.

Click here to READ the first two chapters

Posted on

Why I Wrote BACK to CHURCH

Before becoming a pastor, I worked in business and education. While I had volunteered in churches for most of my adult life, it wasn’t until the last few years that I made that service my vocation.

So when I entered ministry, I did so after having developed many valuable relationships outside of the Church with people who have vastly different views on any number of issues. These people, I consider my friends. But I quickly realized that a large number of people in our churches do not share friendships with people who hold views that are significantly different than their own.

Then, just a little over a year into my pastoral role, COVID emerged, along with a cascade of other issues, and the disconnects I had been noticing about the Church and how the Church interacts with the outside world became hard to ignore.

A multitude of ideological camps emerged, and church leaders were thrown into a quagmire of anger, fear, and confusion.

Then people left. Many didn’t return. And through podcasts, videos, articles, and social media, they started telling those of us who remained in the Church why.

They were merciless in their criticism. But instead of the Church listening with humility and love, many Christians, and even our church leaders, fell to the temptation to argue their point of view and defend their own stance. In short, many of us chose ideology over the mission of the Church.

It doesn’t have to be like this. There is another way.

Speaking both to those who have left and those who have remained, Back to Church is an alternate response to the us v. them mindset that is devastating the witness of the Church.

It’s time to come Back to Church.

Now Available!