The other day a fellow left this question in the private message area of the UC Facebook page:
I am recently in the process of leaving an evangelical church. Any pointers? Any resources regarding being a Christian without a church would be great.
Christy Caine, UC’s director of social media, wrote him an answer. First she recommended a few books for him to read (Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor; Too Soon Old Too Late Smart, by Gordon Livingston; Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott; and The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg).
Then she wrote him this:
Others in similar situations have found “Christian community” outside of church by practicing service as worship, by getting involved with community programs that serve the poor or the needy in some way. This might be building houses with Habitat for Humanity, or serving meals and talking with men at the homeless shelter, or working in another area of interest in your community where you can “do church” with others who have a similar interest and a serving spirit.
This creates opportunity for connection—which is really a way of allowing the spirit to move us.
One thing I learned along the way after leaving my conservative denomination was a new way of worship and prayer. I understood it no longer as a “special thing” I needed to set aside a specific time to do, in a certain prescribed way. Instead, I found that in my everyday searching for God, the world opened up: Walking with… [Read more…] about Church Beyond Church
