I Quit

As a child growing up my father told me to finish what I start. “Don’t quit” he said. “Winners never quit and quitters never win.” I have tried to consistently follow that advice. It has been a rare occasion that I have quit something. Thus, many times, I have been badly battered but I have also generally felt pretty good about myself.

Hearing, “I quit,” is seldom a pleasant experience. Though there have been times I have had an employee say it to me and it was a relief. It saved me having to say, “You’re fired.” More than once I have been confronted with the unpleasant possibility of firing someone, prayed about it and had them quit before I could fire them.

People quit things all the time. Sometimes they quit forever and sometimes for just a period of time. During my years in ministry I have seen many people quit many things.

Some people have quit relationships. Some have quit families. Some have quit jobs. Some have quit ministries and many have quit the church. I am always fascinated by the reasoning given for quitting. My favorite is “God is telling me to quit.” Really? Aren’t you the same person who told me just a few months ago that God was telling you to: start this ministry; marry that person; join this church; take on this task, and the list could continue? Is God fickle or just confused? Could it be that there are other reasons for you quitting?

We Christians do love to make up our minds to do something and then decide God told us to do it. Like a friend once said, “I don’t find God to be all that chatty.” Instead of believing that God directs each and every step I take and guides me in every decision I make, I believe God leads me generally in life. It is like a parent who is charged with caring for a child. I give my children general direction in life but I don’t dictate every move they make. It is much like when I send the children into the backyard to play. I try to make sure they don’t do any great harm to themselves or their playmates and try to keep them from sneaking out the gate. But, other than that, they are free to decide what they do. They make up their own games and make their own decisions.

But I have tired of people quitting the church for shallow and emotional reasons. They quit because someone has disappointed them. They quit because they don’t like the sermons. They quit because the church asks for too much commitment. They quit because the church asked for money. They quit because they got their feelings hurt. I could just scream. Those are good reasons to quit a club or a game. But the church is much more and much deeper than that. The church is not a club or a game. The church is the physical representation of Christ here on earth for this generation. The church is how those we live with are going to come to know God. What are they going to learn about God if we get in a huff and quit? Nothing good.

If you feel the need to quit your church here are some good reasons to quit: The church no longer follows and serves Christ; the church has lost its desire to speak the Good News to those who do not yet know God; the church has lost its courage to be a prophetic voice to the world around us – the church is no longer salt, leaven and light; the church has lost its moral compass; the preaching is designed to sooth tickling ears; the message of the church has become the latest political agenda. It your church does those things, don’t just quit. Run!

But if you are quitting because you had your feelings hurt or because something didn’t go your way, you don’t need to quit. You need to repent.

Copyright © 2014, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved