Over the months, we've had a steady stream of emails, probably over 50 by now, all on the

question of discerning when it's time to leave a certain church.

So many scenarios factor into a decision like this, and it makes it really hard, I know

to answer the question with much specificity in a podcast like this, but maybe you can

put some categories out there, Pastor John, for listeners, what are some general guidelines

or broad categories you would introduce for someone who is asking whether it's time

to leave a local church?

One of the reasons that it's difficult is because we don't find explicit instances of

this in the New Testament, and the reason we don't is because the letters of the New Testament

are written to one church in a city, not several churches in the city, among which Christians

are circulating.

It treats the church in Corinth, or Thessalonica, or Philippians, as one church in the city,

and the letters that are written to several churches, those churches are in different cities.

And so it's not about people moving from one to the other unless they're moving in the

city.

So that's the reason the Bible is so silent.

The development of the church hasn't gotten to the point yet where there is unbelievable

multiplicity of local churches to choose from in any locale.

So the way I think we go about answering the question is by asking what the church

is so that you can test, is the church being the church here, or is it defective to

a degree that I should go to another one?

And the four things that I would mark as defining what the church is, number one, it's

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