A Churchless Faith by Alan Jamieson

This book makes a significant contribution to the discussion about the malaise of the church. Unlike the host of mostly USA remedies being proclaimed – bigger and better ways of doing church – this New Zealand researcher has done the hard yards of sociological research to find out, and make sense of, the reasons people leave evangelical, pentacostal, charismatic (EPC) churches.

He bears good news, but not to those who are convinced by the myth that the decline in church attendance can be redressed by either becoming ‘more spiritual’ or more conservative (aren’t we told they the growing churches?). Jamieson’s leavers, mostly 30 – 45 year olds, are in fact those who have been leaving such churches, mostly from extended involvement in positions of significant leadership. He finds little evidence to support the ‘backslider’ stereotype, though the process of leaving was often traumatic. Rather, their churches were not able to recognise and cope with the leavers’ need to move on in their faith development.

Jamieson refers to the work of American sociologist Helen Ebaugh who describes a four stage leaving process: first doubts, seeking and weighing alternatives, negotiating turning points, developing a new sense of identity and leans heavily on Fowler’s work on Stages of Faith Development.

Jamieson’s original and most helpful contribution is his identification of four categories of leavers, (while emphasising that the process of leaving is dynamic and fluid and not as ordered and sequential as the categories might suggest).

Disillusioned Followers

They have left because they have specific grumbles about direction, leadership or level of care offered by their church.

A dependent relationship
They may have left a particular church but they continue to be dependent on the wider EPC community (tapes, videos, radio etc) and maintain their personal devotional practices.

A received faith.
The faith they received from their church remains unquestioned. It is a ‘faith-package’ based on a process of conversion, external authorities such as a fairly literalistic interpretation of scripture or the teaching of some respected Christian leader and tending to be dualistic, with clear divisions between what is ‘true’ and ‘untrue’.

An unexamined faith
The taken-for-granteds of the EPC faith remain reinforced through external trusted, unexamined authority.
A bold faith

They remain sure, confident and bold in their explanation of both their faith and their decision to leave the church. In fact, they see themselves as the true believers, not those remaining in the EPC church.

Reflective Exiles

They have left because they have begun to question the core beliefs, values and expected behaviours of their church – a realisation of its inadequacies in the light of their wider experience. They are pursuing a more satisfying sense of ‘truth’ and see themselves as exiles.

Counter-dependent relationship
They push against the previous authority and basis of faith they had held in their EPC church.

A deconstruction of faith
The questioning process becomes a process of deconstructing the faith they had received. It is a destabilising process both for them and those around them.

Ongoing reflection
Each component of their faith is critiqued on the basis of whether the individual will appropriate it as part of their own personal belief or value system or not, or put in the ‘don’t know’ basket. Many mention a new awareness and trust in their own feelings and intuitions.

A hesitant faith
The energy demanded to de-construct what was once taken for granted, and ensuing counter-dependence, lowers self-motivation and urgency to find ‘answers’.

Transitional Explorers

This group have moved through the reflective phase of critical distance to a new engagement with their faith, a re-appropriation of elements they have tested and found to be valid to their own satisfaction. The focus is on beginning to find a new way forward.

Inner-dependency
There is a growing sense of the validity and nurture of one’s own faith and innerself-care.

Reconstruction of faith
While some faith elements from their former EPC church may be re-appropriated, new understandings, values and behaviours are also incorporated which are outside the typical EPC faith-package and therefore act for exclusion from their EPC church.

Emerging self ownership
Transitional Explorers have an emerging sense of what their faith entails, and a new acceptance of this as their own faith system.

A strengthening faith
People are more prepared to give time and energy to exploration of their inner life through courses, reading etc. Many would see themselves involved in a future church, but as independent persons.

At the transitional explorer phase, some make a transition to an alternative faith, representing a move to a new faith basis.

Integrated Wayfinders

While there is a sense in which the integrated faith is open to constant redefinition, their major faith examination is complete and integrated into the whole of life.

An interdependent faith
The integrated faith of Integrated Wayfinders is characterised by a new inter-dependence on both inner nurture for the life of faith and renewed connections with others who also provide the individual with nourishment and support in their faith. The new networks into which they connect represent a wider diversity of belief, values and expectations than the church they left previously. Making renewed connections with other faith groups provides a context for the individual into which to contribute to others’ lives or the life of a community. The desire to contribute, support and give to others is a growing desire among Integrated Wayfinders.

Integrated faith
They have built a coherent faith system which is not reductionist or simplistic but incorporates and is relevant to all aspects of their lives.

An autonomous faith
It is a faith that is self-governed, functional and articulate.

A strong faith
They have a renewed willingness to use their time, energy, skills and resources in pursuit of their faith, in service, theological study etc.

For them church would be welcoming, more egalitarian and free of authoriarian power structures, allowing freedom of thought and conscience and freedom to disagree without penalty.

Jamieson then relates his categories to Fowler’s Stages of Faith Development, which he sees as a map to bring the discussion of the faith journey together. The summary of Fowler’s work is excellent.

Likewise the next chapter on “jumping ship” contains some useful insights, for example, in Church isn’t changing – I am!:

People often try to reduce these feelings of dissatisfaction by changing either themselves or some aspect of the church so it better suits their perceived needs. Either they try to wake themselves up and find more enthusiasm and zeal for their faith or they try to change the church. Both inevitably fail to solve the problem. When you’re tired of life on board the liner and no longer find it enjoyable, no end of pepping yourself up or trying to convince yourself that it is where you should be can change the underlying feelings of disgust, boredom and irrelevance. Yet, equally, trying to change some of life on the cruise ship will not satisfy your growing need to sail your own vessel. You can change the menu, alter the daily onboard newspaper, rearrange the entertainment, even work to alter the itinerary but in the end you are still not sailing yourself. And ultimately you won’t be satisfied until you do…. Now isn’t the time for you to change the church. It is time for deep personal change. Even if you are successful in changing the worship or some other aspect of church, in the long term it will not change the internal feeling of deep soul unease. In time similar feelings of unease will move to some other aspect of the church or the faith package of the church. Your time of helping to bring change within the life of a church may come later.

What the leaver needs now is time, space, resources, understanding, validation and support for their own inner journey.

The most helpful thing anyone can give a person experiencing this phase of the Christian journey is to tell them it is normal. What they are experiencing doesn’t mean that they are losing their faith. It doesn’t mean at they are backsliding. What it does mean is that they are coming to a new refining and defining of their relationship with God, themselves and the world. The work that needs to be done at this point is internal work rather than trying to give energy to changing the structures of the Christian community to which they belong.

People seriously thinking about leaving the church need to know that for many Christians, part of their faith journey is travelled in small yachts rather than big cruise ships.

A reference to Job provides some hopeful insights into the journey from apparent certainty of creed and doctrine through despair, darkness and silence towards a transformation that embraces the two.

As Jamieson moves toward some conclusion, he makes a very useful distinction between marginal groups (defining themselves in relation to someone else’s centre and therefore focussed more on dealing with the past, what one is leaving) and liminal groups (signifying an in-between, ambiguous nature and focussed more on the future, looking to build and nurture an ongoing faith). He suggests that a fruitful conversation might be had between EPC churches and liminal groups based on what he perceives to be the strengths of each.

Liminal groups:

• have an inherent connection with the emerging postmodern culture
• have given prioiry to the questions of a new age
• have learnt from the journey of exile
• indicate other ways of structuring Christian community
• have an openness to people who think differently
• have a broad eclectic approach to liturgy and worship
• point to a difficult journey ahead for the EPA churches

EPC churches:

• perceive a priority to mission
• perceive a priority for evangelism and conversion
• perceive the need for investment in the faith of the next generation
• perceive a need of somewhere to belong
• have a preparedness to learn from the classics of the faith
• perceive the need to maintain connections with other larger conglomerations of people
• perceive the need for energy and risk taking in the name of faith

As one who has been involved in providing “touching place(s) for those who find mainstream church alienating or inaccessible” these last six years, I would suggest that the future for Christian community is far more pluralistic than Jamieson suggests.  I think we need such a variety of worshipping styles and cultures as there are stages of faith journey and modes of expression. The major issue is therefore not so much dialogue between liminal groups (why “groups” and not “churches”?) and institutionalised churches, which may easily fall foul of the modernist temptation of the ‘big fix’ to ‘solve these problems’, but in promoting a theology that accepts diversity as the norm and an attitude to others that is less judgemental. It is to take whole congregations on the journey of faith from Fowler’s Stage 3 to 4 and beyond.

In that Jamieson’s work is framed within the EPC ethos, his book will be a source of hope and direction for many Protestants. It would be interesting to see how his findings might stack up against similar research among Catholics and Orthodox. I suspect it would be enriched rather than modified, though perhaps these more sacramental traditions might understand and allow for a freer movement in faith development. I happen to think that in fact those ancient traditions may hold more clues than either liminal or EPC churches might realise.

Review Written by Geoff Boyce
December 2001

Book Information:
Title: A Churchless Faith
Author: Alan Jamieson
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Spck (July 1, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0281054657
ISBN-13: 978-0281054657

My Rating: