Hello, friends. I'm Aaron, a common pastor, church planter, and sometimes author. My greatest joy is co-creating with the King in his ongoing, unfolding Kingdom work. This is where I process some of what I’m learning, unlearning and relearning. Welcome.
There is a special place in my heart for skeptics. You know who they are, right? Skeptics are the ones who are always questioning things. They are always asking questions like, Is this really true? Is that really what happened? Can that leader or organization really be trusted? Are their motives really what they say? Where is the fine print? When is the bait and switch coming, really?
For as long as I can remember I’ve loved the work of Vincent Van Gogh. In college I had a couple of his paintings hung in my cramped little freshman dwelling – his Cafe Terrace at Night displayed prominently between Pearl Jam and Dave Matthews posters. There is just something about the rich color and deep emotive quality of his work that has always struck a deep chord in me. It wasn’t until fairly recently, however, that I learned about Vincent Van Gogh, the man. What I learned was shocking.
When I wrote “5 Really Bad Reasons To Leave Your Church” I had no idea the article would reach as far as it did. It was originally written to the relatively small contingent of people who read my still very new personal site. I was more than a little unprepared for what was to come when Relevant Magazine, On Faith and numerous smaller sites picked up the article.
Let’s be honest, while there are some good reasons for leaving a church, there are a lot more bad ones. As a pastor, I hear some of them every now and then as people walk out the door. As a church planter, I hear them constantly as people walk in the door. If you’re thinking about looking for a new church home, please don’t use one of these five reasons to make the jump:
I have a confession to make: I am a pastor and until now I have largely avoided the topic of homosexuality. I have avoided writing about it. I have largely avoided talking about it. And until a couple weeks ago, I have avoided preaching about it...
