There are good Christian churches, and there are bad Christian churches. But what would be sufficient reasons to leave one Church to attend another? Aside from issues like location, pews or chairs, hymns or praise songs, etc., there are valid reasons to leave. I’ve listed many of them here, arranged by topic. But remember, you need to attend Church (Heb. 10:25). I am not recommending that you stop attending Church. It would be best to have the fellowship and the grounding that good churches provide. Check out the article What things should we look for in a church? Nevertheless, here is a list of reasons to leave a church with commentary.
Here is an outline of some basic reasons to leave a church.
- God’s word
- Abandoning the authority of God’s word
- Affirming additional books of the Bible, such as the Apocrypha
- Not preaching the word faithfully
- Salvation
- Teaching that salvation is maintained by our goodness and not doing certain things.
- Aberrations
- Abuse of the congregation
- Attacking fellow Christians on debatable issues
- Causing division in the body of Christ
- Legalism
- KJV only
- Legalistic attitudes
- Requiring a unified dress code among its members.
- Equipping
- The leadership does not affirm evangelism and discipleship
- Leadership
- Someone in church leadership commits a grievous sin and is retained
- Submitting to government pressure more than the word of God.
- Woke – Affirming homosexuality, transgenderism, etc.
- Women pastors
Abandon the authority of God’s word.
It should go without saying that a true Christian church ought to submit itself to the authority of the Bible. If it does not, it is not operating as a true church. So, you have to determine whether or not the particular Church is elevating the Scriptures as the final authority or if they are relying on personal opinions and social pressure.
Affirming additional books of the Bible, such as the Apocrypha
There are only 66 books in the Bible. Thirty-nine are in the Old Testament, and 27 are in the New Testament. If any church starts to preach and teach from the Apocrypha or the book of Enoch and regards them as authoritative, then you should leave that Church.
Not preaching the word faithfully.
This is a bit subjective. How do you know if a particular church (i.e., eldership) faithfully preaches the word of God? After all, don’t you go to Church to hear preaching so you can learn and grow in Christ? Generally speaking, you want to ensure that the sermons actually teach what the scriptures are saying when they reference them. You don’t need a seminary degree for this. You can just read the context. If there’s a problem, you need to go to the elders and ask them about it. It would be a good reason to leave if they refuse to listen. Also, if the sermons seem only to use the Scriptures as a launching point to teach something else that the Scriptures don’t say, that’s a bad sign, too. Generally speaking, if a church is not faithful to God’s word, you should leave it.
Teaching that salvation is maintained by our goodness.
Unfortunately, many false churches teach you to maintain your position with God by doing good and not doing bad. We are not saying it’s okay to do bad things and still be saved. I don’t believe you can lose your salvation. But when people teach that salvation is maintained by your goodness, faithfulness, and obedience to whatever rules they sat down, then that is salvation by works and a false gospel. But, of course, some churches teach it’s possible to lose your salvation (i.e., Lutheran Church Missouri Synod). They are within orthodoxy, and though they teach it’s possible to lose salvation, they say it’s difficult. Nevertheless, this paragraph is not intended to deal with this topic exhaustively. It is intended to make you aware of hidden false teachings that produce legalistic and self-righteous attitudes, especially when a church teaches that one’s faithfulness and goodness maintain salvation to God.
Abuse of the congregation
I’ve heard and spoken with members of a particular congregation where the pastor encouraged the church members to clean his house, take care of his yard, run errands for him, etc. He said it was a way for them to serve God. This is an abuse of his position. If anything, pastors are to serve our congregation members. Now, of course, if members of the congregation freely offered to help him and other church members, that’s fine. But it should not be manipulative or a requirement for acceptance and status within a church.
Attacking fellow Christians on debatable issues
Many doctrines in the Christian Church are debatable. We call these adiaphora. For example, under the New Covenant of the New Testament, we are free to worship any day of the week (Rom. 4:5; Col. 2:16). Then there’s the rapture. Some people believe it is before the tribulation. Others believe it is in the middle of the tribulation. And yet, some think it’s at the end of the tribulation. There’s also Calvinism and Arminianism. There are different views on the millennium. No church should attack individuals over such debatable issues. They can certainly disagree with different positions, but they should not attack other Christians specifically on these issues. So, watch out for this because it can inadvertently produce an attitude of self-righteousness and superiority toward others.
Causing division in the body of Christ
This is similar to the topic above. We don’t want to attack fellow Christians on debatable issues or cause division in the body of Christ when we disagree with certain theological perspectives. Of course, it is okay for the teaching eldership to bring out positive and negative points regarding certain theological perspectives like pre-trib rapture versus post-trib rapture. But it should be done humbly and bring unity to the body of Christ. Remember, we will all be corrected when we get to heaven.
KJV only
Now, this topic is a little sensitive for a lot of people. Some believe that the King James is the best Bible ever produced in English. I disagree with that, but I don’t condemn the King James Bible or those who use it. But, if there is a church that says the King James is the only true Bible and that all other Bibles are corrupted, then that is a serious warning flag. The King James is a good Bible. But it is not the only good Bible out there. So, watch out for King James-onlyism, which is often accompanied by legalism. That’s the next topic.
Legalistic attitudes
Legalism requires oneself and others to act and behave in certain ways to demonstrate your proper position with God. It is often a set of subjective rules accompanied by a judgmental attitude toward others who do not adhere to those subjective rules and practices. Of course, we are not to deny the basics of the Christian faith, such as the Trinity, the deity of Christ, or salvation by grace alone through faith alone. But some people get legalistic and say that a woman must wear a dress to church and not pants; otherwise, she isn’t acting properly, and she might be shunned. Or someone might say you can’t go to the movies. Others might teach that men can’t grow beards. There are many things like this that some people in churches use as a litmus test to judge the spirituality of others. This is legalism and is dangerous because it can lead to a condemning attitude and self-righteousness.
Requiring a unified dress code among its members.
Now, this is touchy because there is subjectivity involved. We certainly don’t want to advocate that women can dress seductively in Church nor that men can dress themselves as slobs. In Church, we should dress appropriately so as not to distract people. But that can be different for different cultures and times. In many churches near the beach in Southern California, showing up in flip-flops, shorts, and a tank top is perfectly acceptable. But there might be churches in the Midwest where people would not accept such things. They might require a shirt and tie. The issue isn’t so much about how one dresses. It’s about the attitude of respect and adherence to social norms that are acceptable in that cultural context. Again, this is subjective, but we want not to require a legalistic attitude, as mentioned in the previous paragraph.
The leadership does not affirm evangelism and discipleship.
In the Great Commission, Jesus told us to go out and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20). If a church is not doing this, you might consider leaving it. But then again, there are always circumstances to look at. There could be a church situation like being in the Middle East among Muslims, where evangelism can get you killed. At that point, you must think about your actions and how to do what you want to do, namely, evangelize. Also, what if there was a retirement home with a functioning church service? How would that affect evangelism and discipleship in an environment that may not allow it due to policy or it is difficult due to circumstances? Nevertheless, typically speaking, the eldership of any church should promote evangelism and discipleship. How they implement this will vary between churches and situations.
Someone in church leadership commits a grievous sin and is retained
1 Tim. 3:2, 7 says that the overseer must be above reproach and have a good reputation. In 1 Tim. 5:17, preachers are called elders. In Titus 1:6, elders are also to be above reproach. Reproach is defined as having a bad reputation or actions that justify a negative assessment of that person. So, people in church leadership should not be adulterers, fornicators, liars, quick-tempered, addicted to alcohol, etc. For example, for a pastor or an elder work to commit adultery would mean he has forfeited his position and is no longer qualified to be in that position. So, if the church retains him in that position, then that is grounds to leave. Now, of course, we teach forgiveness and reconciliation. However, the teaching position in the Church is held in high regard. It is above the position of those who attend a church. Therefore, there should be no grounds for reproach against anyone in church leadership. If the church leadership compromises on this, what else will they compromise on?
Submit to governmental pressure more than the word of God.
Some churches will close their doors when the government tells them to. They will force people in the congregation to wear masks if the government tells them to. They might submit to the unbiblical position of not preaching about politics from the pulpit. A true Christian church with good preaching and teaching leadership will not submit to the whims of the government and its liberal and ungodly practices. Of course, we must all take precautions if there is a legitimate pandemic. But the point is not to roll over and play dead regarding government pressures. If a church does that, I’d leave.
Woke – Affirming homosexuality, transgenderism, etc.
Our society is full of evil. It promotes homosexuality, abortion, sexual promiscuity, transgenderism, moral relativism, and so much more. We ought not to follow its ungodly lead. For Christians, the word of God is the final authority, not woke ideology. If any church starts bowing to the whims of the world and supports any of the above-mentioned things, then leave it immediately.
Women pastors
The Bible teaches that women are not to be pastors or elders. I’ve written extensively on this here. A pastor is an elder (1 Tim. 5:17). Elders are to be husbands of one wife (Titus 1:6). Furthermore, in my research, 80% of denominations that adopt women pastors also adopt homosexuality within two generations. So, if the Church has women pastors and elders, you should leave. After all, if they can’t get the basics right on issues that Paul is directly teaching to the Christian Church (1 Tim. 3:15), how can you trust him to get other stuff right?
