Should you leave your church?

Some thoughts for congregants and pastors asking the question.

A note on paywalls on these posts.

***If you’re new here, I want to say a huge ‘welcome’! In addition to being a global health epidemiologist, I am also a pastor’s wife of 21 years (and counting!). Sometimes I write more of a faith-based post from my Christian perspective. Not at all to proselytize or to ‘center’ Christianity, but just because it’s my vantage point. I do think many/most of the overarching themes I talk about transcend any religion and simply become about neighboring one another. I hope you see that common theme today, regardless if you’re a person of any faith or not.***

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Phew, neighbors. This one is tender for me. I’ve actually been working on this post for over a year and haven’t been able to press ‘send’. Many of you know that we left a church where my pastor-husband served on staff during the pandemic. If you’ve read my book, you know how devastating that was because it also represented leaving behind what we had been building for 40 years individually and 20 years as a couple. Over the past few months, the number of you emailing me and asking if you should leave your church has increased. Dramatically. So, I wanted to finally push ‘send’ and tell you a little more of my story. This small, tender story of how we decided what to do - in hopes it can help you decide yourself. I love the Church. I always have. Thankfully, I still do. Let me tell you why.