Why I Left the Assemblies of God? Actual reasons behind

Leaving behind a religious community can provide considerable obstacles for God believers. However, there are occasions when departure cannot be avoided. People do not depart impulsively, but rather depart because of their experiences in their community, the current conditions, and various other possible reasons.

Some possible reasons for departing can be, some may leave because they disagree with certain principles and practices of church . While others may leave owing to disagreements over politics in the internal church, among other reasons. This demonstrates that the choice to move to another denomination is entirely personal and are affected by a variety of factors.

Regardless of this, the growing number of departures from the Assemblies of God church is a matter of concern. What is reasons behind people choosing to join other denominations? Are there concerns with the Assemblies of God?

The Assemblies of God emerged in the twentieth century from the Pentecostal Movement, which emphasized more on spiritual gifts and the value of spiritual experiences. It was intended to build unity among organizations which was inspired by teachings of Charles Parham, he had pioneered Pentecostal revivals in the early 1900s, which ignited a strong yearning among Christianity community to experience the power of the Holy Spirit.

Over the time, it has evolved into one of the greatest global faiths, with over millions of adherents across worldwide, according to a 2023 census, which estimates membership at 68,000,000 and includes over 350,000 congregations.

Despite the vast popularity and influence, Christianity struggles to maintain long-term commitment among its believers. People tend to leave quickly after joining, while others people leave following lengthy discussions about the methods of denomination.

Spiritual journeys and beliefs of believers differ, which results in a unique connection with religion. When people struggle to find contentment in their specific religion, they seek a stronger connection somewhere else. Let’s look at the all the reasons why individuals leave the Assemblies of God.

Why Do People Leave the Assemblies of God?

1.	More focus on Supernatural Experiences
2.	Doctrinal Disparities
3.	Denomination Processes
4.	Cases Involving Church Leaders
5.	Strict on Divorce and Remarriage
6.	Lack of Diversity

More focus on Supernatural Experiences

The Assemblies of God has lost a large number of members due to their more emphasis on supernatural events. Some members who leave say that the Assemblies of God prioritizes supernatural experiences more over academic parts of Christianity.

As previously stated above, the Assemblies of God originated from the Pentecostal Movement, which stressed on manifestation of Holy Spirit gifts such as prophesy, languages, along with healing. Conflicts in the Assemblies of God have resulted in arguments over miraculous encounters. While some people believe that these experiences are really necessary for their spiritual development, whereas others also believe that this limits their ability to explore other aspects of Christianity.

Those who are not really interested in the charismatic experiences that are featured in Assemblies of God churches might feel excluded and they opt to leave in search of a better and more appropriate spiritual community.

Furthermore, some people deny the existence of some supernatural experiences, for instance speaking in tongues and prophesy. Overemphasis on these kind of experiences in Assemblies of God group might cause members to question on their authenticity.

Individuals may eventually want to quit when they no longer believe in these kind of supernatural events that appear doubtful. While acknowledging that certain experiences may actually be from the Holy Spirit, that is also true that not all such encounters are genuine.

Doctrinal Disparities

Differences in practices and in principles leads people to abandon any church. Various teachings within the disciplines of Christianity have impacted people to either join the Assemblies of God or leave the Assemblies of God. These doctrines are derived from various readings of Scripture.

Interpretations of principles like as baptism, salvation, and views regarding the end times results in a variety of opinions among Assemblies of God churches. When the members see any sort of discrepancies between the church’s teachings on salvation or baptism and their personal interpretation of Scripture, they may decide to quit.

While some individuals feel that salvation is won via their actions, while other individuals regard it as a gift from a higher power. This very slight difference can be a key reason why people seek out of denominations that share their views on salvation.

There’s an another sensitive subject that has caused conflicts among the Assemblies of God and other churches is baptism. The Assemblies of God also believe in full immersion baptism, while some other members choose water sprinkling for newborn baptism.

This disagreements over baptismal techniques can split church gatherings. Members who favour baby baptism might leave to find churches that share their views.

Denomination Processes

The organization of Assemblies of God is hierarchical, with a general council and a district councils that makes decisions impacting member gathering. This centralized decision-making gives smaller churches little latitude in developing their own norms since they must follow the directions given by higher district level.

The decisions made at the district level might not always appropriately meet the needs of local churches, causing dissatisfaction among the pastors and members. This lack of influence in critical topics for instance as resource allocation may prompt some members to seek independence outside the jurisdiction of the Assemblies of God.

Moreover, various operational limits imposed by the denomination may impair capacity of pastors to execute their jobs efficiently and inhibit the personal growth. Despite their status, local pastors suffer limitations in doing critical activities for instance appointed ministers or setting the norms of church, which can affect their growth and lead to separation from their denomination.

David Wilkerson and Brian Houston are well-known preachers who left the Assemblies of God owing to these restraints. Their desire for better decision-making autonomy in areas like ordination of spiritual adults was a driving force for them to form independent churches outside of the Assemblies of God denominations. These departures highlight the consistent conflict between centralized authority and the aspiration for local self-government within the religious institutions.

Cases Involving Church Leaders

Certain persons in higher positions within the Assemblies of God leadership have often been found themselves embroiled in various disputes. This causes humiliation and disgrace to the pastors under their supervision, and also has a bad influence on the members. It becomes really difficult for people to maintain their respect for these spiritual leaders who are constantly involved in various unnecessary controversies and cases. This also raises questions about the legitimacy of their teachings—are they just preaching ideas that they do not follow themself? Such contradictions can cause members to question their commitment and faith to their spiritual leaders, which frequently leads to departure of members from the group.

“Now the overseer is to be faithful to his wife, above reproach, self-controlled, temperate, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his family well and look after his children and that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders so that he will not fall into disgrace and the devil’s trap.”

1 Timothy 3:2-7

These are the attributes that God values in leaders of all religious denominations. But, some leaders in the Assemblies of God fail to represent these values to members, leading to frustration among their members and forcing many to permanently leave the Church.

Strict on Divorce and Remarriage

As time’s progressing, there has been a shift in the Assemblies of God’s stance on divorce and remarriage, growing increasingly strict and strict. They appeared to focus unjustly on specific passages while ignoring greater biblical concepts of forgiveness.

Many serious Christians who had been through difficult divorces felt excluded and condemned, rather than encouraging them and caring them. This harsh legalistic worldview contradicted many member’s concept of Christ’s limitless mercy concept.

Lack of Diversity

The Assemblies of God has a long way to go before completely accepting fairness, diversity, and inclusion. Recent 2022 numbers shows disparity, with African American followers accounting for only 6-7% of the overall U.S. Assembly of God population, while more than 81% are white. In addition to that, white men dominate the denomination’s leadership responsibilities.

A glaring example is the Executive Presbytery, the governing body of denomination, which currently has no female representation (Assemblies of God, 2022). Furthermore, many Assemblies of God churches are yet not ready to accept and include the LGBTQ+ community.

According to a 2016 Baylor University research, just 31% of Assemblies of God members approved same-gender marriage, compared to 54% of the general US population.

This doesn’t shows an active, tolerance and acceptance of historically excluded groups.

Conclusion

Finally, Jesus urges us to get engaged in fellowship with other members of his body. However, it is extremely critical that we carefully choose a Christianity community or church whose teachings are consistent with our convictions in our life.

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