'Lost'
Christians Greatest Crisis in American Church,
says Author
The inability
of the church to discuss a topic that has become taboo among many
Christians is one of the root causes why millions of Americans are
leaving the church and never to return, says one author. There are
"Christians who have experientially lost their faith" but have no one
to turn to since church culture shuns the topic, Dave Samford said
Thursday. It's not that these Christians lost their salvation, but that
they have lost their faith in the Bible, the church and Christian
beliefs, said the author, who was addressing attendants at the annual
convention of the Evangelical Press Association in Portland, Ore.
ver 31 million Americans are part of this exodus from the church, Samford said, citing a Barna Group study.
"Any business that is losing 31 million customers is going out of
business," he told a room of Christian journalists and editors. "[It]
is the greatest crisis among Christians today in the U.S., Canada and
some parts of Europe…We must break the silence in our
publications.”
In his upcoming book, If God Disappears: 9 Faith Wreckers and What to Do About Them,
Samford details nine reasons he uncovered through listening to stories
of those who exited the church on why Christians abandon faith.
Most of the time, Christians leave because of a "wounded" experience.
They either deliberately walk away due to questions and doubts that go
unanswered or they feel that God has walked away or "disappeared,"
observed Samford.
The author noted that he too "experientially" lost his faith a few
years back when he encountered a series of unfortunate news, including
his daughter being diagnosed with endometriosis – a condition
that affects the womb.
"I felt God was pounding and pounding and pounding on me," he said.
Although Samford at the time was serving in multiple Christian
positions – vice president of Publishing and Internet Ministries
for the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association and a member of Evangelical
Press Association – he said his faith was discouraged to a point
where he couldn't even say a prayer before a meal.
But looking back at his situation, Samford said he realized that God
used the crisis in his faith as a "hinge" to re-work his wrong theology
and allowed his faith to be more vibrant than before.
He has since applied his experience to his ministry where he comes
alongside those who have experientially lost their faith and walks
beside them in their journey.
Speaking from experience, he believes Christians who return back to the
faith can become a phenomenal force to revitalize churches.
"When you come back, you come back for good. You come back with a
passion" and reach out to others who have left the church, he said.
In an effort to raise awareness on why many leave the Christian faith,
Samford called on the Christian media to help put this understated
issue before churches.
"Otherwise at EPA in three or four more years, it's going to be 37 million."
If God Disappears is slated for release in the fall.
Christian Post
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