John Eldredge: Quit Church Because Sick of Pretending
Admittedly, I don’t know much about John Eldredge except that he was written some popular books and many people I know have said he is their favourite author. I have read Epic: The Story God Is Telling
and enjoyed it, though. I found out from Julia Duin’s book (Quitting Church: Why The Faithful Are Fleeing And What To Do About It
“I don’t think we’ve come to appreciate how utterly numbing most church experience is. Most people’s church experience amounts to about an hour a week. It’s the Sunday service. They are passive participants for the most part. They listen to a message, they hear some songs, some music, all in an attempt to sort of inspire and courage. It is mind-numbing, most of it.
So yes, I took a year off of church. Just because I was so sick of pretending. I was faking it; that was the problem. I was faking a holiness I didn’t have, I was faking an enthusiasm that frankly wasn’t there, and I said, “I can’t do that. It’s dishonest.” (These interviews can be found here.)
(This last comment reminds of two songs which talk about talking one way and acting another way: The Pretender by the Foo Fighters and Acrobat by U2)
According to Julia, John Eldredge and his family left the established church a decade ago and “never looked back.” He told Julia that it is good to take time off church “to find the real thing”. He went on to tell her that church does meet the need of newer Christians but for the most part “they are not bringing people into a genuine encounter with God.”
Finally, John Eldredge says, “The accusation is that we are backsliding, but the fact is, we are living a richer Christian experience than ever. It’s mature Christians who have opted out of church.”
. . . WOW! . . .
So, my question today is . . . for those who have opted out of church, do you feel you are living a richer Christian experience than ever (as John Eldredge) or have you had a different experience? Leave your comments below.
Comments
Yes. I have found it more challenging because we have had to take ownership of our journey. We could no longer go on sunday morning and get our fix of religious fervor. We needed to start thinking about what our children are learning and not learning. We are also more concious of our need for community. Something that has been taken for granted for many years.
In saying that, we have also been challenged to keep attending and work with the system and not to give up hope. We are holding to our specific period of time that we agreed not to attend. After Christmas, we will re-evaluate things and see what happens.
Unfortunately the sad reality is church goers *for the most part* have been dogmatically trained to tithe but have failed to surrender their whole hearts.
When I go to *church* I specifically listen for the *Jesus Content*. I do not blame ppl for not going, nor do I INSIST ppl that do not go need to attend for the *lack of* the above mentioned.
I do however appreciate the Meeting House. The message objective is simple; How does this *bible story* lead me to living a spiritfilled life like Jesus taught. It is hard for some to find that mental image in Noah’s Ark but I am sure Bruxy could.
What I appreciate most about the MH is whatever the story, you know the end point destination and how to get there> Jesus. This is discipling you don’t find behind many church doors, sad to say.
[...] Apparently, Julia writes about “a best-selling evangelical author quitting his church and arguing that leaving the institutional church is something that “mature Christians” should do.” Who is that? Does anyone know? I really want to know who this “best-selling evangelical author” who quit his church was. If you know, tell me. (Of course, I can always wait to read the book but if you tell me that I don’t have to wait.) (OK, since posting this originally, I believe I have found the answer to that question. See here.) [...]
I’m not surprised he left after just finished reading his book,”Wild at Heart”. He seems more interested in quoting movies than Scripture. Maybe if he would follow Scripture closer he would have read the following verse:
Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
I’ve heard about that book often but have not read it yet. From what I have read of Eldredge, he has not given up “meeting together” as per the Hebrews passage you quoted but has only given up attending an institutional church.
Re. Irreligious life
Lets hope so. It would be better if that was clear. Maybe it was but I just missed it. Leaving an institutional ‘church’ is good but being without Bible teaching in the church setting is not. We need to be accountable. We also need the Christian fellowship. Too many ‘churches’ have gone away from Biblical teaching. Unfortunately in his book, I believe he has also gone away from Biblical teaching.
[...] http://www.irreligiouscanuck.com [...]