I’m not sure why you would post such a negative response. Why would you say that God would condemn Foothills? The people here – including me, Jesse, John Morgan, Pat Smith, and many, many others – have been nothing but good to you. To say that you hate every inch of the church is sad and disappointing. If you’re going to get married, you need to be leading your fiance in positive thinking and activities. To be so negative about the church that has loved you and cared for you and your family all these years is not leading her well. Please rethink your position on this.

Mike

Why would someone in their mid to late twenties leave the church after years of faithful attendance?

When me and my spouse left the church (we are in our mid to late twenties), it was the hypocrisy of the Church and damage done by other Christians. It was the sin others committed against us, the wrongs that were never righted, hateful words spoken to us, and the blatant hypocrisy and poor leadership of the pastor in dealing with these things. We still believe in the God of the Bible and Jesus Christ. But we will never go to another church again because we have seen far too few Christians who actually think and act like Christ. The most outrageous part of it to us is that most of these people will never see that they are so unlike Christ. They will read comments like this and shake their heads at “those fake hypocritical Christians” but never look at themselves. Or worse, they will say there was something wrong with the person who was hurt, and not with the Church. They have no idea how much damage they do to God’s name and His universal Church.

To us our church was our home, and we have left wounded and hurt and angry and bitter. There was no real love, no compassion or understanding, no relationship or friendship.

What the previous comment says is so true: “It is when we compartmentalize our faith that children see our inconsistencies. It is when we require more from them than we do from ourselves that they see our hypocrisies. It is when we fail to repent of our sins against our children that they become discouraged and provoked. It is when we are not daily committed to the hard work of reconciliation in the home and in the Church that bitterness takes root.” This doesn’t just apply to our children. It applies to every Church member.

Parents are to study and know that answers to the meanings behind the liturgical acts in which we participate as worshipers. “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you are to say…” Teaching is not to be left up to the Church alone. Children from Christian families should arrive at church with hearts prepared to learn. This can begin at very young ages and take place right in the main worship service. Children from Christian families should arrive at church ready to serve, seeing themselves as integral participating members of the community of believers. This,too, can begin very young as children are instructed to be friendly, kind, reverent and generous.

Just imagine how effective, authentic, and deep our communities would be if we were to truly explore the depth of the Deuteronomy passage. Just imagine how deep and how wide we could reach and how enabled our elders would be to teach if we came from the place in which Deuteronomy instructs us to live. Just imagine how far our church could reach into the lives of the lost ,the poor, and the broken if our community was charged with the authenticity birthed in vibrant Christian homes.