A CNN belief blog post today got me  thinking, “why am I committed to the church?” I’m playing Mr. Mom this morning, and I’m reminded of the amount of work and emotonal duress my dear wife has to endure every Sunday morning to get our three warrior sons ready for civilized church.

Why do so many people put aside all their weekend plans to join together every Sunday? To come together to sit, sing, and listen to someone talk about the Scriptures? Why and how do some people come to the decision they just don’t want to do it anymore?

In seminary, we were told that there were two classes of people that we needed to think about in terms of ministry – churched and unchurched. I think there’s a third – dechurched. These are folks who grew up in the church, but for one reason or another, left the church. Church growth specialists have called it a “silent exodus” among several groups. I think this is an ever-growing group, and I’m a bit curious. For those like the blogger who weren’t traumatized or gravely hurt by the church, why do they leave? What about the weekly routine of being in a congregation is unsatisfying?

Leave a thought.