Yes! Same. And we need to acknowledge the role of dwindling church attendance. Traditional church isn’t the only way to find community, of course, but for centuries it’s been an important one. That’s a huge cultural shift that we wave off at our own expense.
This is not to say everyone needs to “go to church.” It’s not to dismiss pervasive injustices & painful stories of exclusion that explain why so many leave. I just think this is an unspoken, unexplored reality about leaving church that a lot of us post-evangelicals don’t name...
...For many of us, it takes years to work up the courage to leave unhealthy churches & to disentangle ourselves from bad theology. But how many of you have found that the resulting liberation is accompanied by profound loneliness?...
...Online connections are amazing and often life-giving, but I think most people still need consistent, incarnated community. But sometimes we’re afraid to face that reality...
I’ve just been thinking about this a lot lately. It’s common to commiserate in certain circles about the very real failures of church & the wounds it can leave. But we don’t want to get so cynical that we can’t see the value - for others & for ourselves - of faith communities.
(Not to mention the fact that many churches, especially those from marginalized communities, have been doing justice work for centuries. So choosing church doesn’t have to mean choosing white nationalism, homophobia, etc.)
I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all solution. Many find community outside institutional forms of church, and church leaders should adapt to that reality. But you’re not conceding anything to fundamentalism by naming your loneliness & working to address it.
Data people: Every study under the sun shows that feeling connected to a community decreases depression & anxiety and increases well being. Christians: I don’t like it either, but discipleship can’t be done alone.
We may not need traditional institutions, but we need each other.
We may not need traditional institutions, but we need each other.
