First, be sure you should. One of the reasons the church is so weak in our day is we have subtly adopted a consumerist mentality. We are the consumer and we shop for the church that best suits us. When it no longer does so, we simply start “shopping” somewhere else.
Church, however, is not a consumer good. It is not a club we join or quit. It is a body, in covenant together. We are in relationship with both a local church and the universal church. The two are tightly bound together.
Which is why the most important part of the answer is that we don’t leave a local church. Instead we transfer to a different church. We move from being under the authority of one set of under-shepherds to being under the authority of another set of under-shepherds. We never wander out of the fold on our own.
To start then, first you find the church you want to move to. You then go to leadership at the church you currently belong to and ask them to transfer you to the new body. If that transfer is to a body within the pale of evangelicalism, or historical, orthodox Protestantism, it is almost certain that the leadership will do as you ask.
If they do not do so, you’ll need to do a great deal more prayer and thinking. It could well be that they have a good reason that you are not aware of. They may see something in you that needs to be dealt with. They may see a glaring weakness in the church you’ve chosen that you’re not aware of.
Or, they could be wrong. They might have an over-estimation of the purity of their own body and an insufficient understanding of the scope of the universal church. They could mistakenly believe that wisdom begins and ends with them, and that outside their fold is only death and danger. Which would mean that you are in a dangerous place.
At this point my counsel would be to hand the matter over to the church you’d like to join, and its leadership. Let the under-shepherds talk it through. Such not only keeps you safe in that you remain under authority, but it demonstrates to those whose authority you are under that you acknowledge that authority.
Finally, a few things not to do. Don’t air your grievances either to the flock you are leaving behind or to the flock you are joining. Everyone on all sides already knows they are less than perfect. There’s no need to send mass emails to the congregation, nor even to satisfy the curiosity of those in either church. Direct questions to those in authority.
Do not forget that your new church will also one day disappoint you. And you will disappoint them. The church is a body of sinners whose distinguishing mark is repentance and forgiveness. You’re going to need to do both, whatever church you are a member of. And so will everyone else there.
You are not stuck in a terrible, awful, no good church. Neither are you free to take off just because you are annoyed or have made a doctrinal mountain out of a doctrinal mole-hill. Show some wisdom, some humility, and some trust in both the under-shepherds over you and the Shepherd over us all.
This is the forty-sixth installment of an ongoing series of pieces here on the nature and calling of the church. Stay tuned for more. Remember also that we at Sovereign Grace Fellowship meet this Sunday June 1 at 10:30 AM at our new location, our beautiful farm at 11281 Garman Road, Spencerville, IN. Please come join us.