Is It OK To Switch Churches?

"Christianity Questions and Answers" podcast CQA 050

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I remember years ago the great struggle it was for my parents to switch churches. They wanted to be loyal. They had served in leadership positions for years in that church. They had great friends there they didn’t want to dessert.

But at the same time, they were miserable at their church for good reason. The pastor was legalistic and judgmental. The church was continuing a long decline. They felt they were floundering spiritually.

Although I was myself a pastor and hated to see people leave my church, my heart was breaking for them.

In this week’s podcast, my own pastor and I tackle this question in a live Question and Answer session at our church: Is it OK to switch churches?

It was recorded live at New Song Community Church in Oceanside, CA. Pastor Hal Seed and I were answering questions posed to us live that day.

In addition to answering if it’s OK to switch churches, we also tackled two others:

1. Do parables have multiple meanings? 
   

2. What do I say to a friend who has been misguided in understanding the Bible and salvation? 

Here’s one of the great descriptions of the local church in the Bible:

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47 ESV) 

To listen to this podcast just hit the play button above.

For more help with the church and our commitments to a local church see these resources on my website:

• How to Get More Out of a Church Service Even if you Don’t Enjoy Going

• How to face Church Conflicts with Confidence

• The Top Ten Reasons to Plant New Churches Now

• What is the Church Supposed to Be?

• Vlog: God Loves All Kinds of Churches

• Vlog: Abandoned Churches aren’t necessarily a bad thing.

• Podcast: Which denomination is right?

For more help with the 3rd question about people who are misguided about the Bible and salvation, check out these resources from my site:

• 4 Reasons You Can Love and Trust the Bible Today

• How Digging in the Dirt Proves the Bible is Reliable

• Beware of Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

• Podcast: How do we know we have the right books in the Bible?

• Podcast: Why do some Bible versions omit certain verses?

• Podcast: Isn’t Christianity arrogant to claim to be the only way to heaven?

• Podcast: Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?

• Podcast: Is salvation found in various religious traditions? (Pluralism)

• Video vlog: Self Realization Fellowship

• Video vlog: Twisting Scripture

To learn more about this “Christianity Questions and Answers” podcast and how to submit your questions, click HERE. 

To receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord click HERE.

To develop your relationship with God, get my free eBook “10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth” click HERE.

You can leave a comment below.

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Our Declaration Of Independence Is A Lie!

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In the USA, we have a strong independence mindset. It’s the idea that we can act independently of others without impact. We like to think that we don’t need others, that you can “do your own thing.” We have heroes like The Lone Ranger and the independent Marlboro Man. We pretend that this mindset is honorable, even heroic. (Perhaps this culture comes from gaining our independence from Britain and the pioneer conquest of the western frontier.) But our independence is a lie.

The problem with our thinking is that we are in reality interdependent.

Even the Lone Ranger had his sidekick TontoAt least four men who represented the Marlboro Man have died of lung cancer!

Other societies have a much better understanding of how we are interdependent.

This independence is a lie also concerning faith. 

Here are two reasons our declaration of independence is a lie:

01. Everybody came from somewhere. 

Trying to pretend that we are independent of God is like trying to say that we never needed our mother.

Where would we be without our mother? Nowhere obviously. 

So far, no one has been born in a test tube—we all came from a mother’s womb. And even if someday people are born outside of a mother’s womb, the point is the same: we come from the fertilized egg of our mother.

Everybody comes from somewhere.

Likewise, everything that is in this universe came from somewhere. That somewhere is God. He is the uncaused cause of all that is.

Genesis 1:1 says “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Similarly, John 1:1 says about Jesus “In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (ESV)

The Bible describes a triune God, a God in three persons; Father, Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit.

Any declaration of independence is a lie for without Jesus, we would not exist.

“For in him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28a NIV)

02. We all influence others.

Recently I talked with a friend who said he is “neutral” toward Jesus Christ. He thought his faith is his own personal decision and that it didn’t impact others.

The problem is that everyone impacts others, and no one is really independent. We all influence those around us.

Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Matthew 12:30 ESV) 

Jesus laid it on the line, you’re either his follower and friend, or His foe. There is no middle ground. There is no neutral. There is no independence.

You might argue that this position is divisive. Why pick fights like this? Why didn’t Jesus welcome those who felt warmly but did not embrace Him as Savior and Lord?

The answer I believe is that our attitude toward Him impacts so many others. No matter the size of our circle of influence, by our response to him, we tell others they need or don’t need Jesus. This is true even if we don’t say a word about Him:

• The father or mother who is “neutral” toward Jesus says to their children “you don’t really need this Jesus stuff.”

• A child or teen by neutrality says to friends, “I don’t think that what Jesus claimed is really true.”

• A boss, by example, tells others Jesus is important or not important.

• An employee, by his or her actions, tells others that Jesus is who He said He was, or not.

A few days ago I led a graveside memorial service at the Miramar National Cemetery. The man who died didn’t have a large circle of social influence—he was quiet and introverted.

Yet about 30 people attended that memorial service; family, friends, and coworkers. They got to hear me declare the Good News of hope after we die because Francis was a Christ-follower. His faith witnessed to them even after he had died! His faith said to them “this is important.” His sudden death proved how quickly it can become important.

Here’s the bottom line: We can embrace our dependence on Jesus or we can reject it. But if we try to reject it, our declaration of independence is a lie—the truth is that we are dependent on Jesus.

So why not embrace it? To embrace salvation through Christ, click HERE! 

If we embrace it the Bible promises this: “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18 ESV)

And if it’s freedom you’re looking for, remember this: “If the Son [Jesus]sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36 ESV)

For more on why our declaration of independence is a lie see these resources on my website:

• Who Needs Jesus, I’m a Good Person

• Have You Written Your Own Bible?

• Submit to Get What You Want

• Why Your Sincerity Can be Deadly

• 3 Motives for Rejecting Jesus

• What Does God Owe Me?

• Podcast: Isn’t Christianity arrogant to claim to be the only way to heaven?

There Is No Failure In God’s Will,

…and no success outside of God’s will.

Do you feel like a failure? Pastor George Truett made a wonderful observation in this quote. If we are in God’s will, we are never a failure.

Conversely, if we are outside of God’s will, we are not successful.

There were so many days when as a church planter I felt like an utter failure. My church was small, I couldn’t seem to get it to grow, people questioned my leadership. I wanted to feel successful, but my viewpoint was off balance.

The Apostle Paul was probably the greatest church planter that ever lived. Yet he did not succeed in making disciples and planting a church in every town he visited. 

In fact, sometimes he was physically abused and thrown in jail for sharing the Gospel!

Did that make Paul a failure? Hardly! He was a success as long as he was in God’s will!

That’s why he was able to say toward the end of his life,

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:6-7 ESV)

A poor question to ask ourselves is, “Am I a success or a failure?”A great question to ask is, “Am I doing God’s will?”

If we’re doing God’s will, we’re no failure! 

To learn more about God’s perspective on failure, success and winning see these resources from this website:

• How to be Smarter About Failure in Life

• How to Be Successful in Life When You Have Failed

• 5 Reasons God’s Definition of Success is Wonderful

• 5 Simple Techniques to Become an Extraordinary Achiever

• How to Medal in Every Event in Life

• Video vlog: Feeling Low?

To learn how to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and be saved for all eternity click HERE. 

To develop your relationship with God, get my free eBook “10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth” click HERE.