Why Rachel Should Stay in Church

Lately Amy has been reading the work of author and blogger Rachel Held Evans. In a recent post, she gave the 15 reasons she left the church. I wanted to respond to Rachel -- because there are TOO MANY people who leave for these reasons. And I want to say to you all, -- Oh, "Rachel"... come to PRBC, please! We are NOT the church you left, and we are here just for people like you.

Here are her 15 reasons, and my responses:

1. I left the church because I’m better at planning Bible studies than baby showers...but they only wanted me to plan baby showers.
This IS a temptation of the Church, Rachel, to ask you to be more involved in social events than in actually being the Church -- but to be honest, the Church has often turned to these kinds of tactics, because people say they want to "know the Bible," but they aren't willing to actually READY the Bible (much less study it!) We'd love to have you come start a Bible study for us. We'll leave the baby showers to the experts.

2. I left the church because when we talked about sin, we mostly talked about sex.
I think Amy and I have preached exacly one sermon about sex in 11 years... and the only sin mentioned is that we appreciate sex too little and understand it only as a physical act, and not the spiritual experience it should be. (No, no anti-abortion rallies here, and no anti-gay marriage messages from our pulpit.)

3. I left the church because my questions were seen as liabilities.
Someone once asked a rabbi a deep question of faith, and was impatient when the rabbi didn't give an immediate answer. They pressed him, and he finally responded, "That question is way too good for an answer!" Now that's the Church. Come join us. I promise you, your questions (all of them), will be affirmed. (Though you may not get any answers!)

4. I left the church because sometimes it felt like a cult, or a country club, and I wasn’t sure which was worse.
I'm not sure if PRBC feels like a Country Club or not. Sometimes I do worry that the closeness and fellowship this community feels sends an insider/outsider message... it's worth pondering. But cult... no way.

5. I left the church because I believe the earth is 4.5 billion years old and that humans share a common ancestor with apes, which I was told was incompatible with my faith.
Our sermons on the topic actually affirm a FOURTEEN and a half billion year project, which has randomly produced human beings, who randomly develop self-consciousness, and (maybe not-so-randomly) sense the presence of the Divine. Amazing. And, by the way, thanks be to God for Curious George (what a great first cousin!)

6. I left the church because sometimes I doubt, and church can be the worst place to doubt.
The Roman Catholic theologian, Hans Kung, has said that there is more faith in honest doubt than in any unthinking recital of the creed. Or, as one father said, "Lord, I believe... help thou my unbelief" (Mark 9.24). Welcome home, Rachel!

7. I left the church because I didn’t want to be anyone’s “project.”
I don't quite understand this one, but Park Road Baptist Church affirms the inherent worth of all people, inherently. I guess we're all projects... but God's projects, and in community together.

8. I left the church because it was often assumed that everyone in the congregation voted for Republicans.
This is one of the tragedies of the evangelical church -- the comical belief that the complete will of the God of the Universe could actually be contained in one of America's (so obviously sinful) political parties! Welcome to PRBC... where Democrats and Republicans, Independents and a few Libertarians -- all get to complain from time to time that the sermons are "too political"!

9. I left the church because I felt like I was the only one troubled by stories of violence and misogyny and genocide found in the Bible, and I was tired of people telling me not to worry about it because “God’s ways are higher than our ways.”
God's ways ARE higher than our ways. And this has what to do with being concerned about a text that has become sacred even with its inherent prejudices? The Bible says, "Iron sharpens iron," and Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, but I say to you..." Scripture interprets scripture, and if we keep listening, God will continue to bring "yet more light" to that sacred word.

10. I left the church because of my own selfishness and pride.
Thanks for being honest about your sinfulness. You'd be in good company with us.

11. I left the church because I knew I would never see a woman behind the pulpit, at least not in the congregation in which I grew up.
Rachel, let me introduce you to Rev. Amy Jacks Dean, "Pastor #1"! Like most of the best preachers I know... she's a WOMAN.

12. I left the church because I wanted to help people in my community without feeling pressure to convert them to Christianity.
And let me introduce you to Dr. Maria Hanlin, who directs Mecklenburg Ministries, Charlotte's interfaith organization, whose office is on our campus. Many days, you're as likely to run into a woman in a hijab at PRBC, as a Baptist. (As I said, "Yet more light..." to that sacred word!)

13. I left the church because I had learned more from Oprah about addressing poverty and injustice than I had learned from 25 years of Sunday school.
Yes, the Church has focused entirely too much on "saving souls" -- and though we are hardly doing all we need to be, PRBCs vision focuses our mission as a "social gospel." Did I say we could use someone to spend the night with our homeless guests at our next Family Promise rotation? Call the church office to sign up (704-523-5717).

14. I left the church because there are days when I’m not sure I believe in God, and no one told me that “dark nights of the soul” can be part of the faith experience.
If Mother Teresa can doubt... I think your questions are safe. "Help, thou my unbelief..." Just this past Wednesday night, our discussion centered around Brian McLaren's season of "perplexity" (Nake Spirituality) -- and we spoke specifically, and at length, of that "dark night of the soul." Did I say, welcome home!?

15. I left the church because one day, they put signs out in the church lawn that said “Marriage = 1 Man + 1 Woman: Vote Yes on Prop 1,” and I knew the moment I saw them that I never wanted to come back.Please see my three blog posts just prior to this one, and join us Sunday, as we join with 30 other Charlotte churches in expressing our concern for NC's movement to adopt a so-called "marriage amendment," defining marriage between "one man and one woman" as "the only legally recognized" union in the state.

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If anyone knows Rachel, please send her an email inviting her to Park Road Baptist Church. She may not find it the community of faith she is looking for -- but she won't leave it for the same reasons she left "the church."

And, there are WAY TOO MANY RACHELS in the world. And way too many in Charlotte.

So, to any of you who may be reading... PLEASE give me a call. I'll be glad to give you 15 reasons to stay in the Church! (PRBC is at 3900 Park Road if you just want to see for yourself.)