You can't be close to God & Distant from the Church
The odds are, you’ve left a church because you’ve moved, were hurt by people in church, disagreed with how something was handled, didn’t like one of the pastors, heard some disturbing rumors, or the coffee was just bad. Anytime you leave a church, it complicates your relationship with the church as a whole. You become a little more guarded, maybe a little more distant, more cautious, you just need time to heal, or you leave for good and just have a personal faith detached from the church.
Obviously, it’s not all bad though. You’ve also watched people give their lives to Christ, get baptized, and repair their marriages with the help of others. You’ve been cared for and invested in by people in the church. You’ve deepened your faith because of some great messages, intentional discipleship, a great small group or just wonderful people who had the courage to point you back to God when you were walking away.
You’ve probably experienced both the good and bad in church — which is why our relationship with church is so complicated — so where does that leave your relationship with the church? Or maybe we should say, where does that leave your relationship with God? Let me try to say it as clearly as I can:
Your relationship with the church is a reflection of your relationship with God.