Fair questions, honest answers
A name like Church Last earns its objections. Here are the ones we hear most, answered plainly. If your question isn't here, it's probably answered at length in the essays.
- Are you against the local church?
- No — emphatically not. Most of us are members of local congregations and intend to stay. The argument is about sequence, not value: we think the gathered church is the destination of conversion rather than its sales channel. “Last” describes its place in the process of coming to faith, not its importance.
- Is this anti-pastor or anti-clergy?
- No. Pastors carry real, biblical work: teaching, shepherding, guarding doctrine, equipping the saints. Our complaint is aimed at a culture that lets everyone else outsource witness to them. Ephesians describes leaders equipping the saints for the work of ministry — not performing it on their behalf.
- What do you mean by the “LLC church”?
- It's shorthand for the institutional habits the North American church has absorbed from business culture: growth targets, funnels, brand management, and the treatment of evangelism as a marketing department. It is a critique of habits, not of any specific congregation, and certainly not of organization itself.
- What tradition are you writing from?
- Broadly Protestant, with a high view of Scripture. The authors come from several church backgrounds and don't agree on everything — the essays argue with each other at points, and we consider that a feature. Where an essay leans on a particular tradition, it says so.
- I feel unqualified to talk about my faith. Isn't that what pastors are for?
- That feeling is common, and it's one of the main reasons this site exists. The first witnesses were fishermen, tax collectors, and women returning from a tomb — not credentialed professionals. Several essays deal directly with the fear of being underqualified, and with what a personal witness actually requires (much less than you think).
- So should new believers skip church?
- The opposite. When the order is right, the church becomes more central, not less: the place a new believer is brought to be taught, baptized, fed, and kept for the long haul. We put it last in the sequence precisely because we want it to last.
- Who writes these essays?
- A small circle of friends who know and trust each other, with one or more named authors on every essay. There are no pseudonyms and no ghostwriting. You can read about each author — and their background — on the authors page.
- Can I contribute an essay?
- The circle is deliberately small for now — the essays are curated like chapters of a book, and trust among the authors is part of the editorial process. If you know one of us, start a conversation. That is, after all, rather the point of the whole site.
Still uneasy? Good — read why we chose the name, then decide for yourself.