WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.200 Chapter 8. 2 00:00:02.200 --> 00:00:05.000 When Church Isn't Working 3 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:09.600 Throughout my life, I've encountered many faces and stories of people struggling and 4 00:00:09.600 --> 00:00:13.440 searching for something more in their faith and relationship to God. 5 00:00:13.440 --> 00:00:19.560 Sheila, Karen, and Thomas, for instance, each have stories that represent a familiar tale 6 00:00:19.560 --> 00:00:24.560 in the tapestry of spiritual seeking that crosses cultural boundaries. 7 00:00:24.560 --> 00:00:29.160 Their experiences reflect wider struggles of finding true solace and meaning in one's 8 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:34.800 spiritual journey, and set against the backdrop of global shifts in religious engagement, 9 00:00:34.800 --> 00:00:40.080 they pave the way for a deeper exploration of what it means to have a personal encounter 10 00:00:40.080 --> 00:00:41.440 with God. 11 00:00:41.440 --> 00:00:43.320 You may be one of them. 12 00:00:43.320 --> 00:00:47.720 Sheila was raised in the warmth of a close-knit church community and had always embraced her 13 00:00:47.720 --> 00:00:50.160 faith as a cornerstone of her identity. 14 00:00:50.160 --> 00:00:55.800 However, as years passed, the rituals and sermons that once gave her a sense of purpose 15 00:00:55.800 --> 00:00:58.760 began to feel mechanical and scripted. 16 00:00:58.760 --> 00:01:03.280 She found herself going through the motions, and she felt her prayers began to reflect 17 00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:07.600 an emptiness of a faith that no longer spoke to her heart. 18 00:01:07.600 --> 00:01:10.320 It wasn't just the repetitiveness of the rituals. 19 00:01:10.320 --> 00:01:16.000 It was the growing realization that her spiritual practice lacked the authenticity and personal 20 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:18.120 connection she craved. 21 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:23.240 Sheila yearned for a faith that resonated not just with her joys, but her life's struggles 22 00:01:23.240 --> 00:01:24.240 as well. 23 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:29.880 Somehow she inherently knew that she needed a faith that was alive and evolving, not static 24 00:01:29.880 --> 00:01:34.400 and confined within the walls of the traditions she'd grown up in. 25 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:39.400 Her journey had begun to feel like a dance, two steps forward, two steps back. 26 00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:43.080 She was raised with the hymns and prayers of a traditional church, clinging to them 27 00:01:43.080 --> 00:01:44.080 like a lifeline. 28 00:01:44.080 --> 00:01:49.880 Yet, as she grew into adulthood, Sheila wrestled with a faith that felt more like a childhood 29 00:01:49.880 --> 00:01:52.800 aspiration than a living reality. 30 00:01:52.800 --> 00:01:57.040 She yearned for more, but the sermons and Bible teachings that were once a source of 31 00:01:57.040 --> 00:01:59.560 comfort now felt hollow. 32 00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:03.120 It's not that she wanted to let go of what she grew up believing. 33 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:07.880 She just couldn't continue to hold on to something that didn't feel real anymore. 34 00:02:07.880 --> 00:02:11.840 Then there's Karen, whose experience in her large suburban church painted a different 35 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:14.160 yet equally troubling picture. 36 00:02:14.160 --> 00:02:18.880 Surrounded by hundreds of fellow believers every Sunday, she nevertheless felt an overwhelming 37 00:02:18.880 --> 00:02:20.800 sense of isolation. 38 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:25.440 The smiles were friendly, the greetings warm, but she couldn't shake the fact that her connections 39 00:02:25.440 --> 00:02:27.920 with fellow members lacked depth. 40 00:02:27.920 --> 00:02:33.760 Karen's church bustled with activities and programs but missed the core of what she sought, 41 00:02:33.760 --> 00:02:38.760 a community where she could feel safe in being and expressing herself and the doubts that 42 00:02:38.760 --> 00:02:40.600 she was having. 43 00:02:40.600 --> 00:02:45.460 Her involvement in various church groups, initially a quest for fellowship, slowly turned 44 00:02:45.460 --> 00:02:51.700 into a realization that true community, one where individuals are seen, heard, and valued, 45 00:02:51.700 --> 00:02:54.460 well, that was missing. 46 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:58.700 Without this real connection, her church began to feel more like a social club than a family 47 00:02:58.700 --> 00:03:00.040 of faith. 48 00:03:00.040 --> 00:03:04.460 What she found herself craving was a community where her doubts and her fears could surface 49 00:03:04.460 --> 00:03:10.140 without judgment and where she could find support and kinship on a deeper level. 50 00:03:10.140 --> 00:03:15.020 On the surface, Karen was the very picture of a devoted church member, always there, 51 00:03:15.020 --> 00:03:20.980 always involved, but inside, she was adrift in a sea of faces, completely surrounded yet 52 00:03:20.980 --> 00:03:22.900 soulfully alone. 53 00:03:22.900 --> 00:03:27.620 In the bustle of church activities, she searched for a connection that went deeper than polite 54 00:03:27.620 --> 00:03:30.940 smiles and small talk after service. 55 00:03:30.940 --> 00:03:36.860 She had a hunger for a genuine relationship, not just to people, but with God. 56 00:03:36.860 --> 00:03:39.540 The whole situation kept her awake at night. 57 00:03:39.540 --> 00:03:44.860 Thomas, on the other hand, represented a different kind of struggle, a young professional and 58 00:03:44.860 --> 00:03:45.860 a large city. 59 00:03:45.860 --> 00:03:50.660 He found the teachings of his church increasingly out of sync with his reality. 60 00:03:50.660 --> 00:03:56.380 His denominations, doctoral tenants, seemed disconnected from modern life's complexities. 61 00:03:56.380 --> 00:04:01.120 He struggled to apply the biblical principles taught on Sundays to his challenges throughout 62 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:02.540 the week. 63 00:04:02.540 --> 00:04:08.540 Simply put, the messages, steeped in tradition, didn't address the difficulties he faced daily 64 00:04:08.540 --> 00:04:14.620 and lacked the practical guidance that he needed for navigating his career, his relationships, 65 00:04:14.620 --> 00:04:16.760 and his personal growth. 66 00:04:16.760 --> 00:04:21.500 This disconnect led to a sense of disillusionment, and he began to view his church experience 67 00:04:21.500 --> 00:04:25.820 as an obligation rather than a source of spiritual nourishment. 68 00:04:25.820 --> 00:04:32.420 Where did his faith fit in a world of rapid change of moral complexities and digital landscapes? 69 00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:37.540 Thomas' story is a quest for relevance, for a faith that speaks to the here and now and 70 00:04:37.540 --> 00:04:40.980 pertinence of our everyday lives. 71 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:46.380 As I said previously, Sheila, Karen, and Thomas' experiences are not isolated and not mere 72 00:04:46.380 --> 00:04:47.380 anecdotes. 73 00:04:47.380 --> 00:04:52.060 They represent a growing trend of disillusionment and disconnection with traditional religious 74 00:04:52.060 --> 00:04:53.060 practices. 75 00:04:53.060 --> 00:04:58.340 Statistics, over the past four decades, paint a very telling picture of this shift. 76 00:04:58.340 --> 00:04:59.940 According to a 2021 Gallup survey, 77 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:08.320 poll, church membership in the United States, which stood at 70% in 1999, saw a decline to 47% 78 00:05:08.960 --> 00:05:15.440 by 2020. This decline is not just a number. It's a significant shift away from traditional church 79 00:05:15.440 --> 00:05:20.080 involvement and represents millions of individuals, each with their own story of faith and 80 00:05:20.080 --> 00:05:26.080 struggle. It's a profound narrative of spiritual seeking and shifting perspectives in our country. 81 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:31.680 Millions are leaving the church, but you might be surprised to learn that they are not abandoning 82 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:38.480 their faith. They consider themselves Christians who simply don't go to church. By conservative 83 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:43.920 estimates, there are now over 30 million people who identify as such in the United States alone. 84 00:05:44.640 --> 00:05:50.240 To put that in perspective, that is nearly 1 in every 10 people you pass on the street. 85 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:58.240 Not 1 in every 10 believers, but almost 1 in every 10 people. These are seeking individuals in every 86 00:05:58.240 --> 00:06:04.000 church, temple, synagogue, mosque, or whatever they call their house of worship. People in every 87 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:09.360 denomination, in every religion, who have come to realize that the path that they are following 88 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:15.200 or what they are doing is not fulfilling. It's not meeting the need within them that cries out to God. 89 00:06:16.080 --> 00:06:21.040 Something has been missing in their lives and they have a longing for more than man-made tradition, 90 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:28.880 doctrine, or theology. Something deep within them is calling out for God. And God is answering. 91 00:06:28.880 --> 00:06:34.960 He is showing up personally and lives are being transformed by direct, unmediated interaction with 92 00:06:34.960 --> 00:06:42.960 him. My personal experiences, along with those of Sheila, Karen, and Thomas, underscore a fundamental 93 00:06:42.960 --> 00:06:49.680 truth I've long believed. It's a personal encounter with God that truly transforms one's faith and 94 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:56.800 life. While our stories illustrate the spiritual challenges many believers face within institutionalized 95 00:06:56.800 --> 00:07:04.320 religion, they also expose a deeper issue inherent in many modern faith practices. Human efforts to 96 00:07:04.320 --> 00:07:09.360 reach God through rituals, traditions, and institutions are falling short of cultivating 97 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:15.360 the intimacy with God that we are designed to experience. As well-intentioned as these structures 98 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:21.040 might be, they aren't meeting the need that we were designed for or the capacity that we have within. 99 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:28.000 Sheila's longing for authenticity, Karen's yearning for true community, and Thomas's desire for 100 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:33.600 relevance are not isolated struggles. Their experiences resonate with countless believers 101 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:38.720 who find themselves caught in the rhythms of religious routines that fail to speak to the 102 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:45.680 depths of their hearts. Rituals, traditions, and institutions can inadvertently create distance 103 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:51.920 rather than draw individuals closer to the divine. While not inherently wrong, they easily become 104 00:07:51.920 --> 00:08:00.640 barriers rather than bridges to intimacy with God. A failing framework. Many church practices create 105 00:08:00.640 --> 00:08:06.720 a framework for their faith but fail to provide the dynamic relationship with God that so many need 106 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:12.000 and desperately crave. Rituals can become mechanical, leaving believers wondering why 107 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:16.800 their faith no longer stirs their souls. Institutional structures can lack the depth 108 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:22.000 of connection needed to foster genuine spiritual growth, and traditions can feel outdated and 109 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:28.000 irrelevant. The heart of the issue is that these systems often focus on external practices. 110 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:34.880 Attending services, participating in programs, adhering to rules, all the while neglecting the 111 00:08:34.880 --> 00:08:41.200 internal transformation that comes through a direct personal communion with God. When faith 112 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:48.000 becomes more about doing than being, it loses its vitality and power. The danger lies in mistaking 113 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:53.600 the structure for the substance. Attending church, singing hymns, or following denominational 114 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:59.360 traditions can be meaningful, but they are not the ultimate goal. These practices are meant to point 115 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:06.640 us towards God, not replace a direct relationship with Him. When the focus shifts from God Himself 116 00:09:06.640 --> 00:09:12.640 to the framework that has been built around Him, the inevitable result is disillusionment, burnout, 117 00:09:12.640 --> 00:09:19.040 spiritual stagnation, and worse. For many, the realization of this disconnect leads to a painful 118 00:09:19.040 --> 00:09:23.760 reckoning. It's not that they've lost their faith, rather they've come to see that the path they've 119 00:09:23.760 --> 00:09:29.120 been following isn't changing anything. It's not leading them to true transformation or the 120 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:34.640 deeper relationship with God they desire. They aren't experiencing the real lasting change in 121 00:09:34.640 --> 00:09:39.840 themselves that they've longed for, the kind of transformation that reshapes the heart, 122 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:46.320 renews the mind, and revitalizes the spirit. Instead, people often feel stuck as though 123 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:51.040 their spiritual growth has plateaued despite their best efforts to stay engaged in church 124 00:09:51.040 --> 00:09:57.600 activities and in rituals. This growing awareness is one of the reasons so many believers are leaving 125 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:00.080 institutionalized religion, not because 126 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:04.000 they've abandoned God, but because they're actually searching for something more. 127 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:10.240 Unfortunately, many don't know what more is. But I can tell you that most are seeking a faith that 128 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:15.840 breathes life into their everyday existence, a relationship that moves them beyond mere 129 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:20.720 religious routine and into the profound, life-changing presence of God Himself. 130 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:27.280 As bleak as the picture that I've painted may seem, it is in this very longing, this hunger 131 00:10:27.280 --> 00:10:34.320 for something more, that the seeds of transformation are being sown. The stories of Sheila, Karen, 132 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:38.800 and Thomas, as well as the growing numbers of believers stepping away from religion, 133 00:10:38.800 --> 00:10:45.120 reveal an underlying reality. Humanity's deepest need is not for more rituals or traditions, 134 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:52.080 but for a personal, intimate relationship with God. This longing is not new. It's woven into 135 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:57.440 the very fabric of who we are, a reflection of the original design God intended for humanity. 136 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:03.840 From the very beginning, God's desire has been for intimacy with His creation. He didn't create 137 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:10.320 us to follow lifeless rituals or to rely on intermediaries to connect with Him. He created 138 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:15.840 us to walk and talk with Him, to know Him personally, and to experience His love firsthand. 139 00:11:16.800 --> 00:11:22.320 Humanity's attempts to bridge the gap have fallen short. Religious systems, for any value they might 140 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:29.360 have, can never restore the intimacy with God we were created for. This is why personal encounters 141 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:34.240 with God are so important. They bypass the limitations of human understanding and go 142 00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:40.160 straight to the heart. When God shows up in a person's life, as He is doing for many today, 143 00:11:40.800 --> 00:11:46.640 the impact is undeniable. Lives are changed, not through programs or traditions, but through the 144 00:11:46.640 --> 00:11:53.200 power of a direct connection with the Creator. This is a truth that millions around the world 145 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:58.240 are discovering, and it's a truth that has the power to reignite faith, heal wounds, 146 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:04.480 and lead believers into a vibrant, dynamic bond with God. The call isn't to abandon all forms of 147 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:10.480 organized worship, but to put them in their proper place, as tools that support your faith, 148 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:14.800 not as substitutes for the intimate divine connection you were created to have. 149 00:12:15.920 --> 00:12:20.640 If you're feeling lost, disillusioned, or disconnected, the answer isn't found in doing 150 00:12:20.640 --> 00:12:26.400 more of the same. It's found in stepping away from the noise, the routines, and the expectations, 151 00:12:26.400 --> 00:12:31.680 and seeking God directly. It's about stripping away the layers of man-made religion and 152 00:12:31.680 --> 00:12:37.360 rediscovering the simplicity and beauty of walking with God in a personal, transformative way. 153 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:42.480 This kind of relationship is possible even in the midst of spiritual struggles. 154 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:47.120 God is waiting to meet you where you are, to heal your wounds, to speak to your heart, 155 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:53.040 and to lead you into an abundant life. The question is, are you willing to let go of 156 00:12:53.040 --> 00:12:58.640 whatever's been holding you back and step into the freedom and intimacy of a direct relationship 157 00:12:58.640 --> 00:13:04.240 with Him? The answer to that question could change everything.