Darrow Miller and Friends

Quitting Church

I came across this article, about what I call “de-churching.” It is an interview between John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute and Julia Dunn the author of Quitting Church. It is very thought provoking and good for us to have in mind as we work to contribute to the transformation of the church in the USA.

Hope you find it helpful.

-Darrow L. Miller

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About 
Darrow is co-founder of the Disciple Nations Alliance and a featured author and teacher. For over 30 years, Darrow has been a popular conference speaker on topics that include Christianity and culture, apologetics, worldview, poverty, and the dignity of women. From 1981 to 2007 Darrow served with Food for the Hungry International (now FH association), and from 1994 as Vice President. Before joining FH, Darrow spent three years on staff at L’Abri Fellowship in Switzerland where he was discipled by Francis Schaeffer. He also served as a student pastor at Northern Arizona University and two years as a pastor of Sherman Street Fellowship in urban Denver, CO. In addition to earning his Master’s degree in Adult Education from Arizona State University, Darrow pursued graduate studies in philosophy, theology, Christian apologetics, biblical studies, and missions in the United States, Israel, and Switzerland. Darrow has authored numerous studies, articles, Bible studies and books, including Discipling Nations: The Power of Truth to Transform Culture (YWAM Publishing, 1998), Nurturing the Nations: Reclaiming the Dignity of Women for Building Healthy Cultures (InterVarsity Press, 2008), LifeWork: A Biblical Theology for What You Do Every Day (YWAM, 2009), Rethinking Social Justice: Restoring Biblical Compassion (YWAM, 2015), and more. These resources along with links to free e-books, podcasts, online training programs and more can be found at Disciple Nations Alliance (https://disciplenations.org).

2 Comments

  1. Fernando Guarany Jr

    January 7, 2009 - 11:23 am

    Very useful post, Darrow. Thanks!

    Unfortunately this is exactly what’s going on in Brazil at the moment. I couldn’t agree more with what Duin says about the seeker-sensitive movement. Church should be done for saved people and the unsaved are welcome to attend. The seeker-friendly movement is a clear example of how subtly “humanistic religion puts man, rather than God, at the centre of the universe” [Darrow Miller]. The challenge in the contemporary world is not so much discerning right from wrong as telling the difference between right and almost right.

    “Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right.” [Charles Spurgeon]

    Also, I like some of the pointers Duin offers to counter the problem of people quitting church. They’re straightforward and practical, but not pragmatic. Nevertheless, I’d say the problem goes much deeper than that. Perhaps, something to consider as well, is that a number of people sitting in our churches today have never been saved by Christ. And the reason is because they’ve never heard the True Gospel.

    Finally, I don’t think I really understand what she says about Joel Osteen and his theology, which I simply abhor! Well, I guess I’ll just have to buy the book and read it….

    Thanks again, Darrow.

    Fernando Guarany Jr

  2. darrow miller

    January 8, 2009 - 8:02 am

    Fernando

    Thanks for your response. The quote from Spurgeon says it very well.

    Considering Spurgeon, his church, the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London was, in my mind, a model church. It was a light house and preaching point for the gospel. Tens-of-thousands came to Christ through Spurgeons preaching. And the church was “a church without walls” actively engaging in the needs of the greater London community. The people of Metropolitan Tabernacle were involve in over 50 ministries in there parish from soup kitchens, to skills training programs, to care for widows and orphans to literacy programs. This church understood and practiced Biblical wholism. If more churches were functioning from a Biblical model and principle then fewer people would be “de-churching,” the body of Christ would be growing, the Kingdom would be advancing and communities and nations would be transformed.

    I agree with your comment that many who sit in church pews today have not heard the whole gospel and would add that they may not have seen a Kingdom oriented church. They are experiencing “meeting Christianity” not a Christianity that transforms communities and lives.

    darrow

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