It’s been over a decade since I joined Grace Assembly and never once did I consider leaving church for greener pastures or stiller waters. Grace, like ACS, has played a big part in making me who I am today and there is little possibility that I’d want to leave. Of course in the last 13 years, I’ve seen countless people – both pew-warmers and high-profile leaders alike – leave church. Some exit for legitimate reasons and some do not; I’m not in the place to judge. I’ve never been one to hold people back should they opt to venture elsewhere – I’ve always seen it as a personal choice.

This “Top Ten” list looks like it’s going to be a weekly release (you can read the previous list on the desired ingredients of a worship leader here). For this week, if I may, I’ll muse about the top ten church-exiting justifications I’ve gathered over the years. I won’t elaborate on each point because I want to leave its details to your interpretation and imagination. My adapted observations are based on an official research conducted. If people do leave church, this is what they might say:

1. “The church doesn’t seem to be growing spiritually.”
2. “There’s little significance in my meaningless ministry.”
3. “My church friends are so judgmental and critical.”
4. “The preacher is weak, non-expository and not engaging.”
5. “There are too many changes – no stability, no consistency.”
6. “The environment is so superficial and artificial – a bunch of hypocrites.”
7. “I don’t even know if my church is doing God’s work.”
8. “Socially, it’s such an elitist and exclusive culture – not my cup of tea.”
9. “There’s no grace when I share my problems with my pastors and leaders.”
10. “My pastor doesn’t walk his talk – he’s just another hypocrite.”

You can find other variations and a more methodical breakdown here, here, here, here or here. However, allow me to turn the tables a little – here are the top ten reasons why you should stick around in your church:

1. “The church doesn’t seem to be growing spiritually.”
2. “There’s little significance in my meaningless ministry.”
3. “My church friends are so judgmental and critical.”
4. “The preacher is weak, non-expository and not engaging.”
5. “There are too many changes – no stability, no consistency.”
6. “The environment is so superficial and artificial – a bunch of hypocrites.”
7. “I don’t even know if my church is doing God’s work.”
8. “Socially, it’s such an elitist and exclusive culture – not my cup of tea.”
9. “There’s no grace when I share my problems with my pastors and leaders.”
10. “My pastor doesn’t walk his talk – he’s just another hypocrite.”

Believe it or not, should you choose to go, you will always be able to identify another problem with your new church. At the end of the day, there is no perfect church; but if there was one, you wouldn’t be in it. So, be loyal, be patient, stick around and be the difference in your church (but if God tells you to leave, do it quietly and quickly). Don’t jump ship on a sinking boat; there’s no pluck in that. (But maybe, just maybe – no offence here – when you do jump ship, the original boat may actually start to float! Then maybe we’d say, “Good riddance to bad rubbish”.)

I’ll conclude this post with something I found on the net – “Note to pastors and youth ministers who choose to live in denial: this list does not apply to YOU and YOUR church, only to other churches and other youth groups that are not as spiritual, strategic, relevant, cool, committed or emerging as you are.”

I hope my second top ten list was helpful in expanding your perspective of being in your church.