Have you ever been stuck in your faith? Questioning everything and suddenly when things aren't going well or we get disappointed in the outcome of a prayer that we think God ignored, we struggle. I think sometimes, we face this doubt on our own because we don't want anyone to know what we are going through. We think that others will think less of us or think we didn't have enough faith to begin with and therefore we hide out. It is as those times we run from what will help us. Paul wrote in Romans 14:1, “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.” In doing some research on why people leave church, I came across a list of several items from a survey. The things most noted were:
Burn out - These people came out of the gate too strong in the church. They showed up, got excited, and signed up for everything. They got so busy doing church they failed to enjoy being the church.
Injury - People inside the church can be cruel. I hate when that happens, but it’s true. These people experienced some of those people, and they couldn’t move past it.
Distractions - These people got distracted by seemingly good things. They were playing travel ball, loving the fast life, traveling every weekend. Over time, their lifestyle of attending becomes the habit of not attending.
Life change – These people had a lifestyle change, such as divorce or re-marriage—or they move to a new community—and never re-connect with a church.
Mistakes - These people messed up! They made a mistake that may be public—or at least they feel that it will be known—and the place that should dispense grace appears either refuses it or they feel that it would. Many times when a person feels that way it is more perception than reality, but the way a person feels about themselves may determine whether they remain committed to church.
Lack of connection – These people never connected with others on a deeper level. As a result, they never felt really a “part” of the church.
We, the church, need to do better. We need to encourage during times of doubt rather than judge. We need to love during times of doubt rather than criticize. We need to be open to discussing the hurt caused without trying to "protect" the faith by arguing. People should come to churches when in doubt rather than run from churches when in doubt. Just like this passage shows, it was the faith of friends that brought the man to Jesus for healing and it was Jesus alone who healed the man with grace. Research shows the number one reason a person comes to church is: Someone invites them. Let's do better.
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