Normally I don’t use my online column to conduct a poll, but today I am in the mood for some feedback. I’d sincerely like to know if you’ve given up on the church.

 

You probably know that American Christians are dropping out of churches at an alarming rate. Many just don’t have time in their hectic schedules for a Sunday service when the laundry is piled high and the e-mail inbox is full. Others have been wounded or ripped off by church leaders who imposed their personal agendas on entire congregations. Still others just got bored with fluffy sermons or the seemingly endless cycle of fruitless religious activity.

 

It is called religious burnout. And there is no question that it has become a widespread plague in our post-modern society.

 

In the midst of this epidemic, a growing group of Christian trend-watchers have decided that the dropout crisis is actually a move of God. They claim that the Holy Spirit is reordering the church and bringing us back to more of a New Testament model, recalling a simpler era when Christians met “house to house” (see Acts 2:46) and did not waste time or money on religious buildings or nonessential church programs.

 

So now we have a touchy debate brewing. The proponents of house churches have positioned themselves against the “traditionalists,” a category that includes pastors of megachurches, leaders of media ministries, anyone who is a member of a denomination and anyone who attends a congregation that is too big to fit into a coffee shop or a living room.

 

I got involved in the debate two months ago when I wrote a not-so-flattering review of George Barna’s book Revolution—which encourages Christians to leave churches and discover the pastor-your-own-church-in-a-coffee-bar version of Christianity. I stepped into the fray and said what I still believe today: Barna has made a dangerous proposal. He says we need innovation, but what he is advocating is spiritual anarchy.

 

As soon as that column was posted on our Web site the hate mail began to pour in. These “revolutionaries,” a lot of whom are grinding heavy axes because they were mistreated in churches five years ago, began swinging their blades in my direction. One guy even predicted that Charisma will soon shut down (leaving me without a job) because everyone will be in house churches and won’t need a Christian magazine.

 

At the risk of sounding like a rigid traditionalist, I beg to differ with Barna even though I agree with many of his conclusions. Of course Christians do not have to meet in religious buildings on Sunday mornings to “have church.” Of course most ministry should happen outside the church walls. I’ve been saying that for years, and a lot of the congregations I preach to assemble in civic buildings, office parks and hotels.

 

I am 100 percent in favor of innovation, and I believe we must constantly employ creative strategies to reach our generation for Christ. But I do not agree that innovation requires us to discard the need for godly, New Testament authority.

 

Many of the people who want to see traditional churches closed down and padlocked are the ones who tend to flit from one church to another, sowing discord and speaking against appointed servant-leaders. When these mavericks’ pride or false doctrines are challenged, they move to another church. Are these the kind of people we want to lead a new grassroots movement?

 

No thanks. Regardless of where my church meets, I intend to hold on to the New Testament principles of healthy, accountable leadership.

 

What about you? I’d love to hear what you think about the house-church debate. Do you believe traditional churches should disband? Have you left your church to join an “organic” church that meets in a home? If so, what was it about your traditional church that triggered your departure? I hope to share some of our readers’ responses in a future column.

 

You can send your replies to charisma@strang.com. Please keep your comments brief. (And no ax swinging, please.) 

J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma and an award-winning journalist. To read his first column on George Barna’s book Revolution, go to www.fireinmybones.com/01-17-06/