Evangelical Pastor Dave Gass Quits Job, Quits Faith, Vents

essentialsaltes said:

Christian Post has a fascinating article on what he had to say after 20 years in the ministry and 40 years of faith. It looks like he could no longer keep up the façade of 'faking it until making it'.

“To those who have been in my congregations or under my teaching/preaching I sincerely apologize. I thought I was right. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I could fake it until I made it. I was wrong. I’m sorry. I love you,” he added.

“This massive cognitive dissonance - my beliefs not matching with reality - created a separation between my head and my heart. I was gas lighting myself to stay in the faith. Eventually I could not maintain the facade anymore, I started to have mental and emotional breaks. My internal stress started to show in physical symptoms. Being a pastor - a professional Christian - was killing me,” Gass revealed.

This next quote is one of his more interesting observations. Do other people feel the same or differently?

“An inescapable reality that I came to was that the people who benefited the most from organized religion were the fringe attenders who didn’t take it too seriously. The people who were devout were the most miserable, but just kept trying harder,” he said.

His leaving his position was possibly ushered along by the apparent exposure of an adulterous affair he had, but I don't see how that would be connected to some of these other observations.

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I read the link. He admits he was "faking it" in the hope of "making it". The making it part seems to be having a good life with lots of benefits and no troubles. He admits that he had doubts about his faith since 8th grade.

This guy should never have become a pastor. He learned how to fake it in the ministry and in his marriage. I would hope he repents but some people fall away and never return.

Very sad news. I imagine that you may see more "job stuff" and people in positions of power without really having faith when you're in his position. That's a shame.

This is not just one man's failure.

This event is also a judgment on all the ministers who allowed him to lead. Either they all failed to discern his heart, or the did know he was faking it and covered up for him.

essentialsaltes said:

Christian Post has a fascinating article on what he had to say after 20 years in the ministry and 40 years of faith. It looks like he could no longer keep up the façade of 'faking it until making it'.

“To those who have been in my congregations or under my teaching/preaching I sincerely apologize. I thought I was right. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I could fake it until I made it. I was wrong. I’m sorry. I love you,” he added.

“This massive cognitive dissonance - my beliefs not matching with reality - created a separation between my head and my heart. I was gas lighting myself to stay in the faith. Eventually I could not maintain the facade anymore, I started to have mental and emotional breaks. My internal stress started to show in physical symptoms. Being a pastor - a professional Christian - was killing me,” Gass revealed.

This next quote is one of his more interesting observations. Do other people feel the same or differently?

“An inescapable reality that I came to was that the people who benefited the most from organized religion were the fringe attenders who didn’t take it too seriously. The people who were devout were the most miserable, but just kept trying harder,” he said.

His leaving his position was possibly ushered along by the apparent exposure of an adulterous affair he had, but I don't see how that would be connected to some of these other observations.

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Is that a Christian website? Just asking btw. The comments on that article are entirely negative towards Christianity.

Aspzan said:

Is that a Christian website? Just asking btw. The comments on that article are entirely negative towards Christianity.

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I realised I didn't load all of the comments but most seem very negative

I've heard it before, Howard J. Van Till after thirty years at a Calvinist college left under a cloud of accusations that he was in fact a naturalist. Like all theistic evolutionists you will find very little discussion of theology and almost nothing about miracles, Francis Collins being a notable exception. There are a lot of variations on the story and frankly, a lot of naturalistic philosophy passing itself off as Christian theology, especially in the Seminaries. I looked around and noticed how many church goers we effectively atheists in the church and got very selective where I would attend. I left Bible College over liberal theology and this whole exercise in unbelief that passes itself off as textual criticism.

Aspzan said:

Is that a Christian website? Just asking btw. The comments on that article are entirely negative towards Christianity.

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According to Wikipedia:
"The Christian Post is an American nondenominational, Evangelical Christiannewspaper. Based in Washington, D.C., it was founded in March 2004.[2]

Contents include Churchnews, ministries news, mission news, education news, Christian entertainment news, health-related news, opinions, U.S. news, and international news. Also featured are devotionals, cartoons, and videos."

Peter J Barban said:

According to Wikipedia:
"The Christian Post is an American nondenominational, Evangelical Christiannewspaper. Based in Washington, D.C., it was founded in March 2004.[2]

Contents include Churchnews, ministries news, mission news, education news, Christian entertainment news, health-related news, opinions, U.S. news, and international news. Also featured are devotionals, cartoons, and videos."

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Thanks. It's a bit strange that there's so many similar comments with lots of "likes" on there

The US has a lot of online trolls who just harass others and make everything political. Some are even paid to do so.

essentialsaltes said:

Christian Post has a fascinating article on what he had to say after 20 years in the ministry and 40 years of faith. It looks like he could no longer keep up the façade of 'faking it until making it'.

“To those who have been in my congregations or under my teaching/preaching I sincerely apologize. I thought I was right. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I could fake it until I made it. I was wrong. I’m sorry. I love you,” he added.

“This massive cognitive dissonance - my beliefs not matching with reality - created a separation between my head and my heart. I was gas lighting myself to stay in the faith. Eventually I could not maintain the facade anymore, I started to have mental and emotional breaks. My internal stress started to show in physical symptoms. Being a pastor - a professional Christian - was killing me,” Gass revealed.

This next quote is one of his more interesting observations. Do other people feel the same or differently?

“An inescapable reality that I came to was that the people who benefited the most from organized religion were the fringe attenders who didn’t take it too seriously. The people who were devout were the most miserable, but just kept trying harder,” he said.

His leaving his position was possibly ushered along by the apparent exposure of an adulterous affair he had, but I don't see how that would be connected to some of these other observations.

Click to expand...

Too bad he had to fake it.

Kenny'sID said:

Too bad he had to fake it.

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Yes, it is too bad, but he did not have to do it. He chose to fake it and hide it from others. He's only quitting because he was exposed and (probably) faced discipline.

As it is, the weaker brothers and sisters of his congregation will be hurt the worst.

Peter J Barban said:

Yes, it is too bad, but he did not have to do it. He chose to fake it and hide it from others. He's only quitting because he was exposed and (probably) faced discipline.

As it is, the weaker brothers and sisters of his congregation will be hurt the worst.

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Ahh, I see, thanks, I didn't read that part of the OP. Was the fact he was exposed for something mentioned in the OP?

Never mind, i see it there at the end of the post.

Looking at the Reddit thread that the article linked:

I was raised in a hyper-fundamentalist family, and it felt good to be in a system that promised all the answer and solutions to life. The problem is, the system didn’t work. The promises were empty. The answers were lies

As an adult my marriage was a sham and a constant source of pain for me. I did everything I was supposed to - marriage workshops, counseling, bible reading together, date nights every week, marriage books - but my marriage never became what I was promised it would be

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I honestly wonder what unmet expectations he had.

essentialsaltes said:

This next quote is one of his more interesting observations. Do other people feel the same or differently?

“An inescapable reality that I came to was that the people who benefited the most from organized religion were the fringe attenders who didn’t take it too seriously. The people who were devout were the most miserable, but just kept trying harder,” he said.

Click to expand...

At my church, we have devout converts who have been devoted for years. They were fringe, and were drawn in.

essentialsaltes said:

His leaving his position was possibly ushered along by the apparent exposure of an adulterous affair he had, but I don't see how that would be connected to some of these other observations.

Click to expand...

More from the Reddit thread, I consider this telling:

During this time I also found something amazing: I found a handful of people who were more Christian than any Christian I had ever met - and they weren’t Christian. I found love in places where love wasn’t supposed to exist. I found acceptance among people who were godless.

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So it's possible that his affair exposed him to this, and the way sin works, it can amplify doubts and problems. If it's an affair, he's getting his thrills when told to not worry about things that he has spent years worrying about. Of course that's going to be attractive. Furthermore, if he's been in ministry circles his whole adult life, he's not going to be exposed to "sinners" in the same way the rest of us are. He built his life around the rigidity that comes with professional ministry, maybe he was attracted to how they weren't as rigid. And if the affair had introduced him to this, then he's not trying to process the good that he saw while at the same time reconciling what he was seeing with the Biblical claims of the Christian faith, he's running away for a little while instead. Contrast this with a faithful Christian who works full-time in a non-Christian environment, who isn't running away from his faith to get that exposure, and who works through what he sees to reinforce and retain his identity.

essentialsaltes said:

Christian Post has a fascinating article on what he had to say after 20 years in the ministry and 40 years of faith. It looks like he could no longer keep up the façade of 'faking it until making it'.

“To those who have been in my congregations or under my teaching/preaching I sincerely apologize. I thought I was right. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I could fake it until I made it. I was wrong. I’m sorry. I love you,” he added.

“This massive cognitive dissonance - my beliefs not matching with reality - created a separation between my head and my heart. I was gas lighting myself to stay in the faith. Eventually I could not maintain the facade anymore, I started to have mental and emotional breaks. My internal stress started to show in physical symptoms. Being a pastor - a professional Christian - was killing me,” Gass revealed.

This next quote is one of his more interesting observations. Do other people feel the same or differently?

“An inescapable reality that I came to was that the people who benefited the most from organized religion were the fringe attenders who didn’t take it too seriously. The people who were devout were the most miserable, but just kept trying harder,” he said.

His leaving his position was possibly ushered along by the apparent exposure of an adulterous affair he had, but I don't see how that would be connected to some of these other observations.

Click to expand...

I see a poor guy, rather a poor evangelical who had no grounding as many do not.

There is still hope for this brother.He may have been in doubt about his salvation, but he is not above the word of God.
Isaiah 55:11
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

I trust the word will rescue him. It sounds like he is coming to the end of his own self righteousness. He has never met Lord Jesus, and he is admitting it. But he is looking for a way to be justified in his exposure He will repent I believe. Let us pray for him.

essentialsaltes said:

Christian Post has a fascinating article on what he had to say after 20 years in the ministry and 40 years of faith. It looks like he could no longer keep up the façade of 'faking it until making it'.

“
“This massive cognitive dissonance - my beliefs not matching with reality - created a separation between my head and my heart. I was gas lighting myself to stay in the faith. Eventually I could not maintain the facade anymore, I started to have mental and emotional breaks. My internal stress started to show in physical symptoms. Being a pastor - a professional Christian - was killing me,” Gass revealed.

This next quote is one of his more interesting observations. Do other people feel the same or differently?

“An inescapable reality that I came to was that the people who benefited the most from organized religion were the fringe attenders who didn’t take it too seriously. The people who were devout were the most miserable, but just kept trying harder,” he said.

His leaving his position was possibly ushered along by the apparent exposure of an adulterous affair he had, but I don't see how that would be connected to some of these other observations.

Click to expand...

He absolutely should step down if that is where he is. His relationship to Jesus wasn't real to him. And he was playing with fire and thinking he was smart enough to "pass", if he was having an affair.

It's not over until its over.

He's really got that message backwards, if he thinks fringe attenders benefited more, or else it speaks to his disconnected state of mind. As the head goes, so goes the body. The form of religion without the power is meaningless.

Peter J Barban said:

I read the link. He admits he was "faking it" in the hope of "making it". The making it part seems to be having a good life with lots of benefits and no troubles. He admits that he had doubts about his faith since 8th grade.

This guy should never have become a pastor. He learned how to fake it in the ministry and in his marriage. I would hope he repents but some people fall away and never return.

Click to expand...

This! Honesty takes the day any time. It's much more respectable to simply say that you are in trouble and ask for some help, rather than faking it until you make it.

Hmm... Quasi-Christian who cheats on his wife and can't take responsibility for his own actions, and is looking for work?

I gotta imagine something's open here:
Employment | The White House

I have to sympathize with the man's anguish in his crisis of faith and his admire his honesty and courage in making the break. This is far a more common problem in ministry than most realize. A few hundred years ago such an admission might have cost him his life. As it stands it has cost him the respect and admiration of both his congregants and his colleagues. I wish him well in the future --- he is a quality human being.

I am reminded of another very similar case that most here might not remember. During the late 1940's and well into the 1950's Charles Templeton was one of the two leading evangelists in North America. He was a contemporary and close friend of Billy Graham and even travelled and roomed with him on joint crusades. Some, at the time, regarded him as a greater evangelist than Graham himself. In 1957, just following his greatest crusade ever, and after a long period of soul searching, he turned his back on his ministry and walked away from it. He said to himself, in effect, “how can I stand here and preach passionately to these people when I know that I am not preaching the truth.”

Charles Templeton wrote in “Farewell to God” --- “According to Christian theology, God is omniscient and exists apart from time. Being omniscient he knows the end from the beginning. But if true, would this not mean that all temporal life is predetermined? If God knows the end from the beginning then nothing is subject to change --- otherwise it would not have been known from the beginning. This being so, prayer cannot possibly change anything and there is no point to it. Apart from its function as worship, prayer is based on the premise that God can be talked into running the universe according to the wishes of a devout person on his knees. But, again, try to imagine the chaos if every devout person's prayers were answered! Belief in the efficacy of prayer is a form of self-delusion. Our real prayers are not what we say while on our knees --- the facile words whispered during a prayer. They are the aspirations, attitudes, and desires that motivate our daily lives. It is easy to prime the pump and have the words gush forth in a torrent of pious phrases but the proof of what we really want, regardless of what we say we want, is evident in the way we live. “