Why are some Christians not part of a church?

I sometimes sense a Devil, or devils in the church...

God Bless!

I believe we are living in the last days (2 Timothy 3:1-9). So finding that church that truly seeks to help those who attend to try and follow the Lord is becoming non-existent. This does not mean there are not a few small groups out there who are dedicated in following the Lord and in training others, this just means that they are simply harder to find.

The ones who are generally honest, and are not afraid to, and do, admit their own faults and failings and shortcomings to it's own congregation, from the pulpit, are generally not devils though, but I am of the opinion that some others, are...

This is also generally how you can tell, and spot them, or tell them apart also...

The ones that are not afraid to get down in the muck and mire with you, and meet you on your own level, ect...

However, while some pastors/preachers/spiritual leaders with and from a pulpit may be like this, still not everybody in their congregation is, because some of them, regardless of how the pastor is, can still be devils too, or regardless or irregardless...

God Bless!

Hello Red, I'm unable to attend Church due to language issues. The Churches here in town speak a different language. I had attended a few for a while. The Pastor preaches in English/local language followed by a translation. Difficult to follow. Wonderful Christians, though. I attend Church online in English now. Peace in Christ.

redleghunter said:

Survey up and you can multiple selections as there may be multiple reasons. In the Current events section on another thread one poster astutely mentioned some Christians do not attend church with other Christians due to various factors. I would like to record and discuss those factors here. Please no judgmental posts.

Some of the factors mentioned were Christian churches were too politically motivated, judgmental and hypocritical. There are others and I will add to the survey as in medical, mental or social disorders which make attendance at a physical church either impossible or very difficult.

If I miss a category someone else deems important I will add it to the survey.

Thank you all in advance. I would like discussion so if you vote please opine as well.

God Bless!

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There's a few reasons why my wife and I do not go to church. There aren't very many church options in the town or surrounding area we live in (We live in the middle of nowhere and most of the churches around here are Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. My wife and I have no interest in becoming Catholic or Eastern Orthodox), I have schizo-affective disorder bipolar type so it is difficult for me to attend church especially during episodes which I get every 6 months or so and they last for at least a month. We also currently have no car and no funds to be able to get one. People have suggested car pooling to us but nobody really wants to car pool with us. My mom goes to church but she is catholic so we can't go with her. So church is just not a feasible option right now.

And another reason is it isn't really necessary to ones salvation or necessary. I mean, attending a church is probably a great thing and would help us grow as Christians and would help us meet new Christians no doubt. But it isn't a required part of Christianity. Believing in Christ is a required part of Christianity. I mean I guess it's important to take communion but you can take communion from home.

Anyway we watch sermons every Sunday and other days on Youtube as a replacement for church. We like it a lot.

redleghunter said:

Survey up and you can multiple selections as there may be multiple reasons. In the Current events section on another thread one poster astutely mentioned some Christians do not attend church with other Christians due to various factors. I would like to record and discuss those factors here. Please no judgmental posts.

Some of the factors mentioned were Christian churches were too politically motivated, judgmental and hypocritical. There are others and I will add to the survey as in medical, mental or social disorders which make attendance at a physical church either impossible or very difficult.

If I miss a category someone else deems important I will add it to the survey.

Thank you all in advance. I would like discussion so if you vote please opine as well.

God Bless!

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My husband and I have theological differences in what we believe. We do not between ourselves allow this to be an issue. However, to choose a church and regularly attend would be impossible. Also, he has never, since we have been married (over 40 years), shown an interest in attending on a regular basis (just once in a blue moon so to speak), which I have always found somewhat strange as his dad was a baptist minister ... raised in a Christian home. Whereas my upbringing did not.

I attended a bible study with his sister and a couple of her friends for about a year and half ... but when I would bring up questions (biblical ones) about what was being taught ... well after a while the answers were just "thats what we believe" and then I was pretty much silenced (my questions being ignored) ... so I bowed out of that group gracefully.

So after many many years and starving for the word of God, I started independently studying His Word myself. Can't seem to get enough ;o)

So, I study very diligently on my own, enjoy the word of God immensely.

Love God and Love His Word!

section9+1 said:

What I mean is the ultimate benefactor of my church attendance is myself. Which is as it should be for everyone. Why would you go to church if you felt it was of no benefit to you? Seems to me that's the reason why people don't go. I have managed to find benefit in it. My ministry choices are my own.

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You know, the primary reason for attending is worship. Worship! Yes, the instruction received is important. Luther argued that it should be restored to the service at a time in church history when worship was almost the whole reason for being there. But he did not say that worship and the reception of the sacrament should go!

So also is the fellowship and mutual assistance important. But the primary reason for church attendance is to worship our God. At the least, don't write that aspect of churchgoing out altogether.

Albion said:

You know, the primary reason for attending is worship. Worship! Yes, the instruction received is important. Luther argued that it should be restored to the service at a time in church history when worship was almost the whole reason for being there. But he did not say that worship and the reception of the sacrament should go!

So also is the fellowship and mutual assistance important. But the primary reason for church attendance is to worship our God. At the least, don't write that aspect of churchgoing out altogether.

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I have no quarrel with worship. I didn't think I was writing it out. Reasons people avoid church are almost always personal. Something about it makes it not worth the effort for personal reasons. I'm just saying that personally, I find it to be worth the effort. You can worship at home in bed, too. The real reason for me is to be in the presence of other people who think similar to me regarding God. Fellowship is #1. Worshipping together with others is an enrichment of worship and everything else. God doesn't need my worship. If I ceased to exist God would be in no way impacted. Church is for us. Church exists for us. Church serves us. We are encouraged to attend because it is for our own good. Not because God is so insecure he needs people to flatter him. God wants worship and recognition because that is instrumental in building our relationship with him and is part of his plan for our well being and our futures within his kingdom. Our participation is voluntary, but it does impact our walk and in the long run we can become handicapped if we go it alone too much.

Albion said:

You know, the primary reason for attending is worship. Worship! Yes, the instruction received is important. Luther argued that it should be restored to the service at a time in church history when worship was almost the whole reason for being there. But he did not say that worship and the reception of the sacrament should go!

So also is the fellowship and mutual assistance important. But the primary reason for church attendance is to worship our God. At the least, don't write that aspect of churchgoing out altogether.

Click to expand...

I have no quarrel with worship. I didn't think I was writing it out. Reasons people avoid church are almost always personal. Something about it makes it not worth the effort for personal reasons. I'm just saying that personally, I find it to be worth the effort. You can worship at home in bed, too. The real reason for me is to be in the presence of other people who think similar to me regarding God. Fellowship is #1. Worshipping together with others is an enrichment of worship and everything else. God doesn't need my worship. If I ceased to exist God would be in no way impacted. Church is for us. Church exists for us. Church serves us. We are encouraged to attend because it is for our own good. Not because God is so insecure he needs people to flatter him. God wants worship and recognition because that is instrumental in building our relationship with him and is part of his plan for our well being and our futures within his kingdom. Our participation is voluntary, but it does impact our walk and in the long run we can become handicapped if we go it alone too
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redleghunter said:

Survey up and you can multiple selections as there may be multiple reasons. In the Current events section on another thread one poster astutely mentioned some Christians do not attend church with other Christians due to various factors. I would like to record and discuss those factors here. Please no judgmental posts.

Some of the factors mentioned were Christian churches were too politically motivated, judgmental and hypocritical. There are others and I will add to the survey as in medical, mental or social disorders which make attendance at a physical church either impossible or very difficult.

If I miss a category someone else deems important I will add it to the survey.

Thank you all in advance. I would like discussion so if you vote please opine as well.

God Bless!

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Check out what's happening in Switzerland.

At my local church about 20 to 30 very old people go each week. Kids do not attend on Sunday. The German is difficult so I can't always understand very well. The Swiss can't understand very well either. German is a second language for them too. They speak Swiss-German which is another language.

What do you think the church income is in a year?

Last year that church brought in Fr. 1.8 million which is close to $1.8 million. That's all thanks to the community church tax which is paid with the income tax. Most of the community pays it but rarely goes.

The problem with this church and even other English speaking churches is that everybody is on autopilot and fast asleep. Christianity is dying and nobody cares. Vast Muslim immigration into Europe is ignored. The religion of equality is growing inside and outside the church, and many people are for it. I want to address these issues but nobody else wants to. So I watch YouTube instead: John Haller Prophecy Update. I watch other religious shows too on YouTube.

redleghunter said:

Survey up and you can multiple selections as there may be multiple reasons. In the Current events section on another thread one poster astutely mentioned some Christians do not attend church with other Christians due to various factors. I would like to record and discuss those factors here. Please no judgmental posts.

Some of the factors mentioned were Christian churches were too politically motivated, judgmental and hypocritical. There are others and I will add to the survey as in medical, mental or social disorders which make attendance at a physical church either impossible or very difficult.

If I miss a category someone else deems important I will add it to the survey.

Thank you all in advance. I would like discussion so if you vote please opine as well.

God Bless!

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redleghunter said:

An interesting observation. It would be interesting with regards to those studies to delve into the examples given for hypocrisy and judgmental attitudes.

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Among those who say church is not important, most are split between two reasons: two in five say church is not important because they can find God elsewhere (39%), and one-third say it’s because church is not personally relevant to them (35%). One in three simply find church boring (31%) and one in five say it feels like God is missing from church (20%). Only 8% say they don’t attend because church is “out of date,” undercutting the notion that all churches need to do for Millennials is to make worship “cooler.”

A significant number of young adults have deeper complaints about church. More than one-third say their negative perceptions are a result of moral failures in church leadership (35%). And substantial majorities of Millennials who don’t go to church say they see Christians as judgmental (87%), hypocritical (85%), anti-homosexual (91%) and insensitive to others (70%).
https://www.barna.com/research/what-millennials-want-when-they-visit-church/

Overall, the 2nd paragraph is saying they don't want to be with those who hypocritically judge the sins of others instead of working on searching for the logs in their own eyes.

They may want a church of authentic believers that actually are humble (fear God), and seek salvation, striving to make it themselves, like Paul himself in Philippians chapter 3.

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

I end up watching a service usually because I’m exhausted from work and tend to be unsociable if im overtired .

redleghunter said:

Thank you for posting the survey. I remember this survey from 2015. I went to the link again to check out the sample data. I believe this is among millennials of Christian and other faith or no faith backgrounds.

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The next paragraph contributes more on those reasons:

"During a national, multi-phase research program among Millennials, conducted in partnership with Cornerstone Knowledge Network, participants were asked to rate how well each statement in a series describes the Christian community in America. Fewer than half of Millennials agree that the statement “The people at church are tolerant of those with different beliefs” describes the church (a lot + somewhat = 46%). About the same proportion say “The church seems too much like an exclusive club” is an accurate description (44%). Taken together, a significant number of young adults perceive a lack of relational generosity within the U.S. Christian community. Perhaps more concerning are the two-thirds of Millennials who believe that American churchgoers are a lot or somewhat hypocritical (66%). To a generation that prides itself on the ability to smell a fake at ten paces, hypocrisy is a worrisome indictment."
https://www.barna.com/research/what-millennials-want-when-they-visit-church/

It's not only the main reason for millions in the U.S. (and for those churchs' decline), but also tells us the very sore need in such churches (most even), to learn from Christ that they must:
welcome the stranger (to avoid the second death),
and love all,
and not be judgmental/condemning (again, to avoid the second death).

I also think some might look at that Pastor as... hes no better then me. Why should I listen to him? Or they read where some preacher fell.. and apply that to the rest? Many more reasons I think

redleghunter said:

Frankly the churches which decline are the ones which preach a different God and Gospel than contained in Holy Scriptures.

Yes we are to welcome the stranger, but not accept the strangers ways if different from the teachings of Christ and His apostles in the name of love. That would be error and promoting a false gospel.

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It might turn out we agree perfectly on everything about that.

We are to welcome everyone to church, not abandon God's word.

The problem above is the very common problem of disobeying Christ, and judging others as persons -- the kind of judging we are expressly commanded not to do, and which is always hypocritical for all 100% of us to do, every one of us, every time.

It's not the correct saying that a certain action is wrong, it's the rejecting/condemning of a person as a person.

Matthew 7:1-2, Luke 6:37. That kind. His words are always true. We are to judge actions, carefully (not on appearances, john 7:24), but never persons as persons.

redleghunter said:

This portion can go either way. Does exclusive mean "Only Christians can be a part vs. other faiths?" Does "tolerant" mean inclusive of what society has defined as not sin but the Scriptures do?

Hypocrisy is a worrisome indictment. I guess the question is what did the respondents base this on? I know it could be anything from preaching giving to the poor and a pastor having a private jet, to why homosexuals cannot be clergy but divorced can, to the rejection of same-sex marriage vs. the preacher is openly sleeping with the women's choir gets a free pass.

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In actual situations that have been very common, a stranger or young person is judged in a condemning/rejecting way for things like clothing or having a child without a spouse (rejected as a person for being a sinner in need of Christ....) to take very common examples, from so many churches.

Even if yours does not. Even if it's less common finally today. People remember.