Life After Church (by Brian Sanders)

(Amazon UK link)

I had a US Amazon gift voucher to use, and was browsing my recommendations. One of the suggestions had the intriguing title of ‘Life after church’. I had not heard of the author, Brian Sanders, but the reviews were mostly positive, and the blurb made it sound as though it could be an interesting read.

I ordered it nearly a year ago but didn’t start reading it until December. It’s subtitled ‘God’s call to disillusioned Christians’, and in the first section examines some of the reasons why people are leaving churches, in the US (and elsewhere) in such large numbers. They are not people who have lost their faith, or become cynical about God. Instead, they are people who have strong beliefs, yet do not feel right or comfortable in standard church contexts.

As one who currently has only tenuous links with two local congregations currently, despite a strong faith, much of what was written in this book resonated with me. The author begins by suggesting that this mass exodus of church (in the sense of Sunday morning meetings in a building) may be something the Holy Spirit is calling people to.

He points out later in the book that each generation has its radicals - as far back as Luther at least - rejecting the church they grew up in, moving on to something new. The author sees this, in general, as right - meaning that we’re not stuck in the rut of tradition, but can build on the best of what went before while exploring new or alternative options.

There’s a chapter giving the three most important factors of what the author considers ‘church’ to be: worship, community and mission, in a nutshell. He points out that there are many great organisations, including some Christian meetings, which focus on one or two of these, and that there’s nothing wrong with them. But ‘church’, in the sense of the Body of Christ, must include all three. He also makes the point that worship does not just mean group singing, and that mission doesn’t just refer to travelling abroad to unreached people.

He then writes about the five broad reasons why so many Christians leave congregations, and this is not including those who move to a different town, or decide to join their friends elsewhere. This is about deliberate leaving, with at least a short period of not belonging to any recognised church. I thought this a particularly interesting chapter, which summed up the reasons well. Growing out of the message is something I have tried to explain myself; when a sermon is geared to new believers, or is evangelistic, week after week, there is nothing in it for those who have been believers or church members for decades.

This chapter also refers to being unable to ask questions - so common in Christian circles, sadly, unless one is prepared to accept standard, often cliched answers. It looks at irrelevance, or boredom; at use of money; and at not finding anywhere to serve or fit in. I found all these - which are discussed in some detail - to be interesting and thought-provoking too, neatly summarising reasons why many people I know have either left a church or would like to do so.

To provide some balance, there’s also a section about choosing to stay despite problems if called to, and the importance of doing so in a positive way. Staying in a church for the wrong reasons can lead to criticism and the undermining of leaders who are often trying to do their best in difficult circumstances. The author makes the point, more than once, that each individual should either stay and be involved, or leave and move on - that it’s not right or helpful to be on the boundary. And he gives some pointers for leaving well. So that gave me a lot to think about.

The last part of the book is about what people who have left can do - the author contends that it is important to be part of some kind of church, according to his three stated principles. He acknowledges that we are all part of the worldwide Body of Christ, and of the subset found in a particular town. But it’s harder to focus on God without a weekly or bi-weekly meeting, and while one can worship and do ‘mission’ in the basic sense outside of any kind of congregation, it’s also important to belong to a loving community of people.

I didn’t agree with everything in the book, but overall thought it was well-written and thoughtful, and would recommend it to anyone feeling frustrated by their church, wondering whether they should move on.

Recommended.

Review by Sue F copyright 2019 Sue's Book Reviews