This text is based on research with those who have left churches but are nethertheless pursuing a journey of faith. Most of the church leavers interviewed for this text had been in their churches for over 15 years; most had held key leadership positions, and 40 per cent had been in full time theological study of church work. The text outlines how churches can help leavers and suggests a conversion between post-church groups and churches.
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Editorial Reviews
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'This is a lively and topical book... it is written very fluently, it is based upon genuine research and it tackles an issue that is extremely important to churches today - namely finding out why people leave churches.' Professor Robin Gill, University of Kent at Canterbury * "One of the most significant discussions on the future of the Christian movements you are likely to read." Mike Riddell
About the Author
Dr Alan Jamieson is a New Zealand-based sociologist and pastor.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Growing not dying - encouragement for leavers and pastors,
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This review is from: A Churchless Faith (Paperback)
I found this book extremely thought-provoking and encouraging. In particular, it introduced me to the work of James Fowler in modelling spiritual growth as stages of faith. The book challenges the prevailing view about church leavers and I felt has clear messages for both the individual feeling church is no longer for them, and for churches facing the departure of well-known members.From the perspective of someone rethinking their religious faith, the most helpful aspect of the book was the level-voiced and non-judgemental survey work (drawn from Jamieson's doctoral thesis) showing why people stop attending churches. Jamieson develops a model showing why people leave and the summary, surprising to some, is that it's a matter of growth of faith rather than death of faith that makes the majority of leavers go it alone. The key message to the individual? "You're not the first to face this, and you're not on your own". Like the related book 'The Post-Evangelical', Jamieson discusses the fact that faith systems today exist in the context of a culture completing the transition to a post-modern outlook. His challenge to church leaders is to see leavers not as the fallen but as pioneers. His research finds in the majority of cases individuals with insight into expressing faith in post-modern terms rather than in the modernist terms of the established churches. The key message to the church? "Culture is changing, and your leavers are your congregations's pioneers". Overall this is a book that should be on every minister's shelf and which could offer relief to long-term church members and leaders suffering 'burn out'.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tremendously helpful,
By
This review is from: A Churchless Faith (Paperback)
If you grew up in the church, are bored with or sick of church & shallow evangelicalism this book is awesome. It doesnt try to prescribe any solutions, it only observes why people leave evangelical churches and what happens to them afterwards. Best thing about the book: you know you are not alone and you understand what's going on inside of you.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful analysis of church leavers and how to leave the door open for their faith,
By Darren Cronshaw (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Churchless Faith (Paperback)
Alan Jamieson, A Churchless Faith: Faith Journey Beyond the Churches (London: SPCK, 2002)
This is a helpful study of why people leave evangelical/ Pentecostal/ charismatic churches, and how to understand and care for them. Jamieson is a pastor and sociologist whose doctoral research was based on interviews of why people leave their church and their journeys of faith outside the church - which contrary to expectations often continue to grow. He investigates reasons people leave, analyses different types of leavers - disillusioned followers, reflective exiles, transitional explorers, and integrated wayfinders - and relates their journeys to Fowler's stages of faith development theory. He says we need not just seeker-sensitive but leaver-sensitive churches, and liminal groups (like some emerging churches) where `leavers' can explore their questions safely. Jamieson suggests they need to offer space, resources, validation, support, and room for questions and emotions. He celebrates groups like `Spirited Exchanges' for church leavers that, in common with emerging missional communities, connect with the emerging postmodern culture, offer alternative structures and worship styles, and focus on whole-of-life faith. Originally reviewed in Darren Cronshaw `The Emerging Church: Spirituality and Worship Reading Guide.' Zadok Papers S159 (Autumn 2008).
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