Dear John Pavlovitz and People Leaving Churches:

I read an article from John Pavlovitz which you can read here Dear Church Here's Why People Are Really Leaving You.

John,

I'm going to write to you like my brother, because that is what you are my brother in Christ. First I wanna say thank you. Thank you for recognizing and sharing some of the challenges that the Church is undergoing. Your right. There are many issues. I did a little check on your blog and some of the ones you touch on are big. We have a lot of people walking a lot of different directs and all of them seem to be away instead of walking together.

About 2 years ago I had a similar struggle. I grew up Southern Baptist with a myriad of visits to non-denominational, community, Lutheran, and other churches. I could not understand how Jesus called us to be 1 and yet there were 30,000 denominations of the Christian faith and yet I didn't really know who to ask.  I got tired of your same complaints: the Sundays where "worship" meant music and lights, when some of my greatest moments of worship of God have been in complete silence in the dark. Where truth meant finding someone who had a bigger bible than I did and asking their opinion which may completely contradict with the guy I asked the same question to with an equally big bible. Somehow I found spiritual blindness was so real to me, because just as soon as questions would enter my heart on the history of the church, or what did the church being the foundation and pillar of truth in 1 Timothy 3:15 really look like? They would disappear as if  old Screwtape was helping me remember my hunger and have a bus pass by so I would forget all about it. I came to the place where you are. Frustrated. I  asked God was this what He really wanted? Did He want a rock show, an emotional experience to the tune of whatever artist was  now popular, with the quiet words of a preacher hushed and asking me to come forward and rededicate my life as if I wasn't called to pick up my cross and dedicate my life daily. Don't get me wrong, I love good music and I don't mind lights, but what I wanted was the spotlight on my savior, what I wanted was meat and not milk.

As I talked with friends they would say things like "So you think we need to ask God how we can love Him more each day?" and were bewildered when I said "Yes." I found that the words I read in my bible didn't seem to be taught.  Paul wrote of a desire to finish the race well lest he be disqualified. David wrote of his love and devotion for God that he hoped would carry him all of the days. Ephesians says we are 1 body with 1 baptism, 1 Lord. ONE. Perhaps my math needed some help or perhaps 30,000 didn't equal 1. I learned that when it says we are saved by grace through faith that somehow many dropped the grace claiming we are saved by faith alone... and it's the grace I needed. 

Brother when I got to where you are people said "your just thinking about it too much"  or "God left a spiritual church" as if the Holy Spirit was ever not literal.  There is no harm in looking and questioning and I am praying for you that you will find a home in the body of Christ. I don't want anyone homeless because here's the deal we are all on the same team if Jesus is Lord. You don't need John MacArthur's study notes, or the latest version of the most watered down version of the bible with the most decorated cover. You need Jesus. You need a bible you can read and you need an honest heart and brother I see that heart in you.

So where did I land? The last place I ever wanted to be. I humbly asked God to lead me and help me and I told Him I would go anywhere He led. He took me literally and tested my "anywhere" and called me home to the Catholic Church. It's not what I thought it was in anyway (turns out Catholics are Christians which I didn't know). I found some of the things your looking for: Jesus, love, a reaching hand, acceptance and meat.

I found a people who get on their knees to worship Jesus. I found a church that didn't have a stage but an altar. I found pastors that weren't trying to be bigger than God but rather were trying to magnify God to be bigger for me. They challenged me to be humble, to trust Him, to turn every stone on the path I was on. They weren't afraid of my questions and didn't get impatient. Did I meet sinners in the Church? ABSOLUTELY. People will fail you consistently brother just as Peter, James and John fell asleep when Jesus asked them to pray outside the garden. God was and is faithful and helped me grow in the same love and acceptance I was looking for. The pieces started to fit together and I found that when I striped away what I thought the Catholic Church did and taught I found the Church that I was looking for.

The Church is as big as you want or as shallow as you want. We don't pull out the greek and jump in the depth during the homily (sermon), but rather encourage you to dig as deep as you want when you want. The mass is about Jesus, not about me. It's not about appealing to my feelings or growing my head knowledge or about having the perfect song. We sing the psalms, we read the scripture, we worship Jesus and then we are charge to Go. We are sent on a mission into the world to share Jesus and be His hands and feet. See when we encounter Jesus we might go back to the same place but we don't go back the same way. The Church is open 7 days a week and the encounter with Jesus has been life changing.

What you speak of reaching outside the building: that's Charity and that's what we do. The Catholic church clothes and feeds more than any organization in the world. It's not an option to give but just as the bible says God loves a cheerful giver and we each give as we are able. The two silver coins of the woman are just as beautiful as me giving everything I can. We don't restrict to a percentage but each give as much as we can.

The battles many churches have chosen are just what you said "Lousy," When planned parenthood was opening up an office in my neighborhood we all came together and do you know how many pastors and churches weren't with us because they were afraid standing for the unborn would divide their church? A lot. In fact I was amazed at how many weren't with us, and surprised at the Catholics who agreed to pray around the clock for these babies. We stand for life from conception to natural death and we do our best to defend it. This is one example but I'm with you. Let's stand and fight for the noble causes and if we are the only 2 on the front line I'll be there.

You last point is possibly the most beautiful: "Love seems like a pretty big deal to you but we aren't getting that..." Amen. I can't tell you the number of people I have met that have left the church because they were "voted out" or asked to leave from a particular denomination for whatever reason and I want to scream and ask ARE WE ALL NOT THE WOMAN AT THE WELL? And if we are, and treated others like Jesus treated that woman, wouldn't we do what she did and repent and RUN and tell the whole town about Jesus? We forget that belief comes before behavior but we all belong at the foot of the cross whether we believe or behave. Some forget that though and instead we draw lines of what sins or appearances aren't good enough to sit in the chair next to us. That is why I love my church. We keep the kids in church because everyone is welcome. We keep the elderly and carry them in when can't walk down the isle. We keep the loud and rude and tattooed and various sexual beliefs or marital statuses or social classes. We welcome the homeless in and invite all to the hospital for the broken because brother you and I both know we are all broken and let's just be honest it's  not because of our lack of belief. It's because of my beliefs that I see my brokenness and that I can hold the pieces together, offer my brokenness to our Lord because he can make beauty out of anything, even me.

So John and all who agreed with your words: Brothers, sisters, I'm praying hard for you. I'm praying that you will know you do matter and you are welcome. I am praying that you will know we don't want you walking away but please don't give up the search. We are called as brothers and sisters of Christ to not separate. Please lets stop dividing and start building.

I don't want to tolerate you, I want to love you like Christ would have me love my own hand. I want to encourage you that you aren't alone in your feelings and I'm sure that there are many of us that agree with you. Let me say this YOUR ABSOLUTELY RIGHT TO BE HURT and I am so sorry that you are. We know that our tears are precious as He counts them and collects them in Jars. If God can do that for my tears how much more and I to catch and care for those around me.

I'm reaching out and so is the whole Church with me. I'm happy to help anyway I can and I hope you will take this with the love that it was written with and accept my sincere apology for our brothers and sisters who too are still growing and learning. Be patient with them.

I pray that the peace of Christ would be with you. That God would bless you and keep you and shine His face upon you.