Not "when" but "how" to leave a church

In Acts 15:36-41 Paul and Barnabas have a “sharp disagreement” (vs. 39) and separate. (If you missed last weekend’s message, you can listen to it here.) Doctrinal heresy, mission strategy, or ethical behavior may be reasons to separate from a church or denomination. However, “how” Christians go about moving from one fellowship to another may be just as important as knowing "when" it is okay. 

First, disaffiliating from one Christian fellowship to join another needs rigorous self-examination. It’s easier to point out something lacking in our church or denomination than it is to face what is lacking in ourselves. As I said this weekend, let us first “take our motives, our doctrinal convictions, our moral precepts, our heartaches, disappointments, and disagreements to the cross and earnestly ask Jesus, what of this is really about me?” 

Second, leaving a church fellowship must be done in reverent humility. No matter the failings or shortcomings of a particular fellowship, there is no room in the Christian’s vocabulary for church or denominational name-calling. We will keep in mind that the church (even in its broken and imperfect expressions) is the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-27). 

Lastly, let’s make communal conversation part of our discerning process. For the most part, we assume that leaving a particular church is ultimately a personal decision. The contemporary view is that individual identity trumps communal belonging in the body of Christ. And so for instance, when we receive a job promotion in another city, or plan for retirement near the grandchildren, we assume our Christian fellowship has no say in the matter. Rather than discerning in community whether or not God is sending us to a new place, we simply assume we will leave our current church and find another one. We wouldn’t think of sacrificing career advancement for the sake of Christian fellowship. The New Testament, however, presents a picture of the church where joy-filled communal belonging trumps individual rights. The world may see the church differently if they witnessed more of us sacrificing personal comfort and career advancement for the sake of belonging to Christian community.