Is Church Ever an Unsafe Place to be?

Is church ever an unsafe place to be? 

Most of us Evangelicals were taught very early in life that to doubt one’s faith or inherited belief system was like playing with fire. 

If you should question your church’s beliefs you may suffer alienation from your faith community, a loss of respect from your fellow Christians, damage to your reputation as a faithful Christian, and may become a permanent magnet for suspicion among the other faithful members of the congregation. You may even be psychologically shunned or rejected by your family or friends.

So what happens when a pastor can no longer recite the Apostle’s Creed with conviction? What happens when an elder or a deacon or a Sunday school teacher can no longer believe all the teachings of their church? 

For example, what happens to the pastor who realizes that the creation stories in Genesis (yes there are two stories) are not to be understood literally; that God did not create the world six or even ten thousand years ago and no amount of theological pretzel twisting can convince him or her of this (like God can create a 12 billion year old rock). 

Or what happens when the pastor can no longer affirm a literal Virgin Birth of Jesus? Does he go underground or hide in the closet? 

What happens when the elder can no longer believe that God hates homosexuals? Or what happens when a deacon or any member of a congregation no longer believes that only males can be leaders in the church?

What would happen if a pastor no longer believed in a literal hell of everlasting torture? Once again does he go back into the closet?

What would happen to the young person who can no longer harmonize a first century cosmology with what we know scientifically today (thank you Copernicus)? For example: Did Jesus really float up into the heavens and will he literally return in like manner to snatch away believers just before the world ends? 

What if this young person tells his congregation: “I don’t believe this anymore?” 

What would happen to the church member who concludes that the Bible is not inerrant? What would happen to such an individual in a Bible believing church?

Would such a person be banned from the life of the church? Would such a pastor be fired rather than be given space to work out his crisis? Would such an elder or deacon be asked to resign in the face of such ambiguity or uncertainty? 

More people than you think are experiencing shifts in their belief systems and are rejecting archaic ways of understanding God and faith.

Many aren’t waiting around for the wrath of the so-called church lady. Pews are emptying and budgets are shrinking while churches refuse to adjust and realign its core beliefs in light of what we know in our 21st century world.

But what if the church became a safe space for doubters and skeptics and seekers to ask hard questions and explore optional ways of believing? Why is the church afraid of such people?

What if the church were to create small groups for such people to explore their doubts and to ask hard questions? What would that look like? How effective might such an endeavor be in helping people wrestle with their doubts and their questions as they search for better answers.

What if the church said to its congregants: 

“We’ve none arrived. Let’s grow and learn together and search for a faith that is informed by our own place and time. Let’s doubt together. Let’s grow together. Let’s ask hard questions together and not be fearful of what answers we might discover.”

This is faith. Real faith. Genuine faith. The kind of faith that led Thomas to doubt. Notice that Jesus never rebuked Thomas, rather he showed him his wounds in order for Thomas to make up his own mind about something that he couldn’t get his brain around: Jesus’ resurrection!

How do we reclaim all those young people we are losing today? It will not be by rearranging the furniture in the sanctuary, or singing hip songs, or having flashing lights and smoke machines, or wearing jeans in church, or even proudly serving Starbucks in the narthex. Young people are not that naïve today; and they definitely are not that shallow.

But what if pastors, elders, deacons, and church members all agreed to offer safe zones within the church for any and all doubters, skeptics, or seekers?

What if pastors could find the courage to say to their congregations: 

“Look, I struggle with doubt and skepticism just as much as you do, so let’s deal with it together.”

What kind of message would that send to those searching for a more meaningful life narrative than what many churches are offering today.

Don’t be afraid of asking hard questions. God doesn’t mind at all. 

Keep searching. Keep asking questions. There's light at the end of that dark tunnel!