Dear Church

You are a body of Believers, of flawed humans who serve the same God. You are NOT a building. Not a specific location with a specific pastor. Your identity is in Christ, not in a Church Building.

Just like a family can outgrow a house, it’s possible to outgrow a church. We would probably never ask someone, “Ohmygosh, what’s wrong with THAT house???” Maybe it doesn’t meet our family’s needs anymore. Just like that there’s nothing “wrong” with your first house, it’s likely there’s nothing “wrong” with that church. We should be HAPPY to see our friends actively growing their faith, pursuing a deeper connection with Jesus.

A LONG time ago, I went to a traditional church with some Camp Friends. Without thinking, I lamented at the “boring”, uninspiring worship music. My tell-it-like-it-is friend said, “Jessica, some people are really fed by that music.” As simple as it sounds, that thought NEVER occurred to me. We’re not all fed the same way. Huh.

We identify with One Savior, not a specific church building. A few years back, we made the very difficult decision to make a different geographical church our new church home. It never occurred to us to write a manifesto as to why we were leaving, we just started attending elsewhere. I have fantastic friendships & memories in our first home church, I learned many valuable lessons from that church. I still feel welcome there. Who knows? We may even return someday.

Please don’t misunderstand me: I know VERY well churches can get things horribly wrong, they can hurt people DEEPLY. Because those churches are run by humans, who are also imperfect. It’s crucial to separate our ideas about God, Jesus, & Salvation from our experiences at one church (or denomination).

Satan wins when: 1.) The body of Christ is divided, & argues amongst themselves, and 2.) God’s people remain inactive. (note: the fight/flight/freeze response has immobilized too many whose Faith Story needs to be shared.) In the great Commission, Jesus said “GO”.