(Paid Subscriber Bonus) Yes to Jesus, No to Church?

You hear it more than you used to.

From a friend over coffee, from a sibling who left the fellowship years ago, or from someone in the comments section of an essay about faith. The messages vary, but the sentiment is consistent.

I can’t do the institution anymore.
But Jesus? I’m not ready to let go of Jesus.

It would be easy to dismiss this as a kind of spiritual buffet, picking what you like and leaving the rest. Jesus and the church come together as a package deal, some will say. But a swift and decisive dismissal misses something important. For many people, backing away from the church is not a declaration of rebellion or stubborn independence. It is the sound of someone in real pain trying to hold on to what seems most true, while setting boundaries with what, and who, has hurt them most deeply.

Before we judge a person’s posture, we should try to understand the wound behind it.