To Stay at your Church or Leave, Part 2

In my last post I offered a word of caution to those contemplating a permanent exit from their church. I hope you'll look over that post before reading this one.

A few years ago a married couple left our church for another, and I was impressed with their process (though I hated to see them go).

First, they thought and prayed long and hard about such a momentous move. I say momentous because they shared my belief that one's church is actually one's primary family, not just relationally but theologically.

Secondly, they informed people they were leaving. Those of us left behind weren't left guessing over their whereabouts or feeling guilty for failing to properly "miss them" the past two months.

Thirdly, though this couple had deep philosophical differences with the direction the church was going, they shared their concerns quietly and privately with leaders. There was no public confrontation, no nasty emails, no slandering, no poisoning the grapevine or uniting with a disgruntled faction.

Their graceful exit kept their friendships (and influence, I might add) alive in our church, for which I'm grateful to this day.

Next week I'll try to offer some more specific reasons for changing churches.