Time to leave my church for ministry/educational purposes?

[TheThirdandReformedAdam]

Several of you know the situation I am in concerning my current church body:

• To be blunt, it's doctrine is horrible (no other example needs to be given than that several leaders openly deny the Trinity)
• However, God has blessed me with opportunities to speak truth to the congregation (and the leaders), and I believe he has blessed my limited ministry.
• Furthermore, the church being a local, rural church, my family is largely integrated into the church (my grandfather serves as pastor, my father preaches on occasion, etc.). Therefore, leaving the congregation will necessarily cause a break with a large portion of my family as well.
• I fully intend to leave the congregation, and would have done so much sooner if it had not been for the position God has granted me in the church and the fruit of reformation I have seen sprout from the administration of the Word. It is not a fear of hurting my family that prevents me from leaving (though that is certainly not a fun or exciting prospect)

Considering this, I ask the following question: should I leave now? But why the change of heart? You said that you have a position of fruitful ministry in the Church? My reason is simple: I plan to attend Westminster in the Fall of 2019 to begin the pastoral track (MDiv). From what spiritual guidance and direction I have received, I believe that this is the will of God for my future and ministry. However, as you can imagine, the amount of strong spiritual guidance that I have been able to receive has been very limited, and so I believe attending a confessional church (from December 2017 to August 2019; about a year and a half) would be wise so that I might gain affirmation from an eldership before I begin this theological march towards ministry. I have no desire to try and pursue the ministry autonomously, without any affirmation from the wisdom of spiritual leaders.

Also (though this is not nearly as important as my preceding reason), Westminster offers an MDiv Ministry/Under Care Grant that can cover up to 50% of tuition for students who are "under care" or "mentored" from a reformed, confessional church. Considering I will be newly married and certainly not rich when I move to Philadelphia, this scholarship would be a great aid.

So, what would any of you recommend that I do in this situation?

 

[Bill The Baptist]

The fact that several of the leaders openly deny the trinity is really all the reason you need to leave. The other reasons are also valid and no doubt you will benefit from the guidance and evaluation of solid elders. As far as your family goes, I would explain to them your beliefs, especially as it pertains to the trinity, and explain why you cannot in good conscience remain, however you still plan to be a part of their lives. I pray that God would use your witness as a means of revealing to them their error.

 

[Gforce9]

Adam,
Several things to consider:
1- Theologically, I see good reason to leave with a good conscience. With out the Trinity, there is no church because there is no Lord of the church, by whom all things were made and sustained.
2- Though you have had some "influence", I don't think you need to burden yourself with changing minds; that is a job for God and He does all things well.
3-It will take time for a session and presbytery to take you under care. They will want to confirm or deny the internal call that you sense now and that takes tested time. These are good and necessary processes to protect both you and Christ's church......don't circumvent them.
4- From experience of myself and in talking with others of similar journey (going from a life of Rome or pop-evangelicalism to a Reformed church): Through the means of grace and through a steady diet of Reformed exegesis of God's word, you may, as Isiah, be undone. This is a common song that is sung. It seems to happen between the 3-5 year mark after making the change. In every case, God dismantled and rebuilt their idea of Him and of themselves, in accordance with His word, but it was painful. I say this as one still going through the unpleasant fire..........

 

[Ryan&Amber2013]

If you leave, I would recommend doing it in the most humble and godly way. Try to keep all of those friendships you have and don't be quick to lose them. Especially if you do leave, you are going to be in limbo for a while. Those friendships you now have, I pray will last for all of eternity.

 

[TylerRay]

As Bill and Greg have said, you should leave your church. Would you frequent a restaurant that routinely poisons its food? Obviously not. Why, then, would you attend worship (which is for the nourishment of your soul) where the doctrine is routinely poisoned with damnable heresy?

There are two main reasons for belonging to a given church. The first is to worship God according to his Word, and the second is to be shepherded by the officers Christ has placed over his Church. The idea that we, as private Christians, go to church in order to influence people is a dangerous error.

To expand on Greg's third point, it is for the officers of the Church to determine whether you are fit to pursue the ministry. Don't strike it out alone. Submit to the government of a Reformed church, and ask to be taken under care of Presbytery as a candidate for the ministry. Then, seek their guidance on what seminary to attend. You don't have the prerogative to pursue candidacy for the ministry by yourself any more than you have the prerogative to ordain yourself.