I have been thinking about the fact that most of the time people express their displeasure when something goes wrong. In the academic world, college students complain because graduation tickets are limited and their family and friends won’t be able to attend and see them graduate; students let the administration know how they feel about tuition hikes; faculty make sure the administration knows when they see academic freedom at risk. In the business world, workers go on strike; firms are boycotted. You can think of many other situations in which people express their dislike for what is going on.
The one thing we are not willing to do in the face of problems is just walk away. We don’t walk away because we are involved, we are invested, we have something at stake. We’ve paid our tuition and have the right to graduate with pomp. We’ve completed three years of college and transferring now is out of the question, despite the steep tuition hike. We’re tenured and walking away from our jobs in the university is not an option. We have retirement pensions with this company and so we go on strike.
Contrast that with the experience in most churches. Although there are exceptions from time to time, down at the churchhouse, we don’t do uprisings. Why not? Why do people just drop out, leave, quit? Why do people choose to walk away rather than working to fix the problems? Perhaps part of it has to do with the fact that the church is a volunteer organization vs. one where folks are paying for something or earning a wage. Some of it has to do with our (mis)understandings.
Why don’t we do uprisings down at the churchhouse? I have come up with a partial list of answers–
- We don’t do uprisings because of how we understand (misunderstand?) the role and nature of church leadership.
- We don’t do uprisings because it may be inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus on meekness and Christian attitude.
- We don’t do uprisings because we know that most of the items of disagreement are in the realm of preference or option.
- We don’t do uprisings because we don’t think it would do any good.
- We don’t do uprisings because we are not heavily enough invested and committed to the local work.
- We don’t do uprisings because it is easier to withdraw.
Let me outline the process that leads people to walk away…..
Something happens that we disagree with, we stay.
Something else happens, we stay.
Eventually we reach “the straw that breaks the camel’s back” and we walk away.
We don’t find church meaningful in meeting our needs, and we walk away.
We don’t find friends and fellowship, and we walk away.
We don’t find meaningful involvement, and we walk away.
Some of the most faithful Christians among us have just walked away. Some have “walked” to other congregations of our faith; some have gone to denominational or community churches where they can find involvement and meaning and friendships.
What are your observations and experiences? In your experience, how often have you seen church members stand up and try to change things and stay. How do Christians in your church express displeasure? Why do people walk away? Why do people stay?