Good Reasons to Leave a Church

Last week, we looked at bad reasons to leave a church. This week, we will consider good reasons to leave a church. 

When should you leave your church? Not every doctrinal disagreement or relational difficulty justifies leaving a church: Scripture calls us to careful discernment and forbearance. Nevertheless, here are three legitimate reasons to consider leaving a church...

Doctrine 

The first legitimate reason to leave a church is when a church deviates from God's Word in its doctrine, whether in official or functional theology. 

When a church no longer teaches sound doctrine, Christians have a duty to either correct and remove false teachers or, if that is not possible, to separate from them (2 Tim 4:1-5). Christians are forbidden from condoning or supporting deviation from the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 John 10-11). We are to "mark and avoid" those who teach contrary to the apostolic message (Romans 16:17-18). Because believers are forbidden from spiritual cooperation with unbelievers and idolatry (2 Cor 6:14-7:1), remaining in a false church is contrary to Scripture.  

We can think of doctrine in three categories: first-order doctrines that define the gospel itself, second-order doctrines that shape how a church functions, and third-order doctrines on which faithful Christians may disagree. 

When evaluating doctrine, there are several levels of priority. 1 Corinthians 15:3 regards the gospel as a matter of "first importance," while Jesus regarded some aspects of the law to be "weightier." In other words, a church's position on, say, the resurrection, is not as crucial as its position on the timing of the rapture. 

First Order Issues: Defining the Gospel

There are some doctrines on which the Bible is quite clear and uncompromising: the truthfulness of Scripture, the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the hypostatic union, substitutionary atonement, justification by faith alone in Christ alone, sexuality, marriage, abortion, the bodily resurrection, and the like. 

Because these doctrines strike at the heart of the Christian message or have strong implications related to the heart of the Christian message, deviation on these points typically means departure from the true gospel. If someone wants to justify homosexuality, they must also redefine and reduce biblical authority--and with it, the sole infallible standard of truth. Compromise on key issues of the day usually signals that a church is following the voice of culture rather than Scripture.

Second Order Issues: Shaping the Church

These are second-order doctrines—issues that do not determine whether someone is a Christian, but do determine how a church is ordered and how its members live together. Will a church baptize believers only, or also baptize infants? Will the church's membership be limited to believers, or will it include unbelievers? Will a church allow women to serve as pastors, or will it limit this office to men? Will a church practice in accordance with charismatic doctrine or not? Does a church believe that a person can lose their salvation or not? 

To be clear, a person can be wrong on any of these issues and still be a Christian. In my own convictions, I would not be able to join or remain in a church that practices infant baptism or affirms women in pastoral authority, because I believe Scripture speaks clearly to these matters. Everything the Bible teaches is authoritative and important (though not everything is as clear as we would like it to be). While these issues are not the basis of eternal salvation, they can determine local church unity. 

That said, as a pastor, I would happily welcome someone into the membership of my church who disagrees with me on these issues, provided they understand the church’s teaching and agree not to cause divisions on these secondary, but important matters.

Third Order Issues: Possible Disagreements 

There’s a final class of doctrines on which Christians can have freedom to disagree and yet still have unity within the same church. We might include here issues like the timing of the rapture, the exact sequence of end-times events, the identity of the Nephilim, or the relationship between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. As a Calvinist, I have no issue fellowshipping with an Arminian in the same church. We believe the same gospel. As a pre-millennialist, I believe I can have unity with an a-millennialist and remain in the same church. 

I would not regard leaving a church over one of these kinds of issues on its own as a good reason for leaving. They could become a matter of ungodly division, and they could become a serious matter if a church elevates to first-order issues, but by themselves, rightly handled, they don't necessarily require separation from a local church.

At this point, it is important to distinguish between a false church and an imperfect church. A false church denies the gospel itself; an imperfect church may have weaknesses, inconsistencies, or areas of poor teaching while still holding to the truth. Not every weakness requires departure, but denial of the gospel does.  

Preaching: Doctrine Proclaimed

A corollary of this point is that sound preaching may be a sound reason for choosing or leaving a church (2 Timothy 4). Even if a church’s doctrine is sound on paper, if the weekly preaching or teaching is shallow, non-biblical (not the same as un-biblical), or generally devoid of biblical content, it could be appropriate to  find a church where the Bible is believed both in theory (doctrinal statement) and practice (preaching and philosophy of ministry). Many churches affirm the truth in theory while denying it in practice. What is affirmed in the confession is ignored in the pulpit, counseling room, or youth ministry. 

To be clear, there is a difference between a false church (one that no longer preaches the gospel) and an unhealthy church (one that preaches the gospel poorly). A Christian should not stay in a false church; a Christian might choose to stay in an unhealthy church with the goal of helping it become more healthy (see the church at Sardis, for example; Rev 3). 

A church’s view of Scripture will inevitably shape its preaching: a high view of Scripture produces preaching that explains and applies the text, while a low view of Scripture leads to preaching shaped more by opinion, culture, or felt needs.

A belief in the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture naturally leads to a practice of expositional preaching. If every Word and part of Scripture is inspired and necessary, then preaching should consider every word and part of Scripture. The Bible, not the newspaper or the preacher’s week, determines the agenda. 

Distance 

A second legitimate reason for leaving a church is geographical distance. You move an hour away or a church plant has to relocate to another part of town, and suddenly, your ability to participate meaningfully in the life of the church has disappeared. It makes little sense to be members of a church you cannot attend. 

After all, the New Testament envisions church life that is deeply relational, committed, and embodied (e.g. Hebrews 10:24-25). It is better to faithfully commit to a faithful church nearby than to join a “perfect” church an hour away. Being part of a church is much more than attending once a week. It’s about relationships, service, and involvement--features that are far more accessible if you commit to a church close to where you live.

By the same token, if you are moving, considering the closeness of a good church should be a key factor. Moving to a better job that lacks a healthy church may not be a wise decision. Better to have a biblical church and a shabbier house than an unbiblical church and a bigger house.

Discipline 

A final legitimate reason to leave a church is a church's refusal to practice church discipline and/or its insistence on tolerating sin in its midst. A church that turns a blind eye to its pastor's affair or uses an NDA to silence a victim of abuse is a church that has deviated wildly from Scripture. 

Historically, Protestants have regarded the right preaching of the Word and the right administration of the sacraments (or "ordinances" if you are a Baptist like me) as essential marks of a true church. 

For me as a Baptist, a right understanding of the ordinances includes baptizing credibly converted individuals (not infants) and linking baptism to church membership and the Lord’s Supper. 

Who receives baptism and with it, recognition that they belong to the church? Those who are credibly converted. Who is admitted to the table? Those who are credibly converted and united to the church. 

Church membership and discipline is simply a recognition that genuine conversion evidences itself in a changed life. They are the outworking of the biblical teaching that the church is made up of professing believers. 

A church that refuses to deal with unrepentant sin in its membership (1 Corinthians 5) or its leadership (1 Timothy 5:19-25) is a church that is unfaithful to Scripture. At that point, the church is no longer functioning as Christ intends His church to function, because it refuses to uphold holiness among His people. Paul states that sin that is not dealt with is like yeast that permeates the whole loaf. Christians who remain in a church that persistently covers up sin or refuses to deal with it become culpable of and/or influenced by that sin. 

If a church persistently tolerates open and unrepentant sin—especially after it has been lovingly confronted and clearly exposed—there comes a point when leaving is not only wise but necessary. Join a church that takes seriously the call to holiness, and join a church that loves you enough to hold you accountable, call out your sin, and insist that you walk in repentance.

Conclusion: 

If you leave a church, be sure to be prayerful, careful, and deliberate. Ask yourself: 

• Have I addressed my concerns humbly and directly with the appropriate leaders?
• Have I followed Matthew 18 in addressing interpersonal challenges and doctrinal concerns? 
• Is this a preference or a conviction? 
• Am I leaving for sound biblical reasons, or simply because of unresolved relational difficulties? 
• Am I seeking the health and unity of God's church, or am I creating division unwisely? 
• Is this a pattern or a one-time issue?
• Have I sought counsel from mature believers?

Leaving a church should never be hasty or impulsive; it should be a prayerful, deliberate decision made to honor Christ.

When is it right to leave a church? When it departs from biblical doctrine, when distance prevents meaningful participation, and when it refuses to pursue holiness through biblical discipline.