How I Lost Faith In The Mega Church

With the release of her new book, "The Most Beautiful Thing I've Seen" Grammy nominated artist Lisa Gungor goes deep on family, church, and being pushed out of the world she knew so well.

The Most Beautiful Thing I've Seen:

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MUSIC

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Church-Preach-2
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Your-Sandals
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Spring-Twilight
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Emergence-2
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Hazy-Dreams
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Mystification
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Uncertain
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Dark-Matters-2
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Dark-Matters
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Chugging
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Alive-2-(60)
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Forgotten-Trail
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Alive
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Fly-Away
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Of-Hope
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Wonders-Of-The-Universe
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STILLS
Faith Healing in Church
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Snake Handlers - Pentecostal Congregation - Church Service
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US-CULTURE-RELIGION-ANIMAL
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/Getty Images
Panorama view of mega-church
Julian J Rossig/Getty Images

VIDEO
Film Footage courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
Used by Permission
A look at Pentecostalism
ITN/Getty Images

EXTERNAL CREDITS
Buy Lisa's Book:
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Lisa Gungor

[raissawdantas]

They left out the part where her husband did go back to his faith later on. They are both still Christ followers and do ministry together. I had the privilege of seeing them perform at my (small) church last year with an open Q&A in the middle of the concert. I asked Lisa about her faith and it was refreshing to hear how she still wrestles with doubts yet is filled with passion for finding and serving God. I could relate to that, and I think most Christians do too. Having questions is crucial to any authentic faith. "...seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open to you" Matthew 7:7

[ecofundi]

The title is really painful for me. For all the years of people hurting me in church God has remained the one faithful constant. People will always let you down. Always. Why does that make God bad? He loves us so deeply. And that is first hand experience not what I have been brain washed to believe. I hope you hear Him wooing you again. He loves you to the point of death and back.

[jasonlewis]

I don't have faith in a mega church either, but I do have faith in Jesus Christ.

[ladom]

I love how Buzzfeed changed the title of this video from "I Stopped Believing God After Pastoring a Megachurch" to "How I Lost Faith in the Megachurch" only after Lisa Gungor spoke out and said that Buzzfeed left out a lot of things in the interview and misled viewers to think she's an atheist was when they decided to change it... Buzzfeed can be very propaganda-like and super suspicious. And its almost like they were trying to make atheism trendy. Too bad Jesus is always winning.

[gatcrodgers]

Well, I'll just say this. If a "church" made you stop believing in God then you were apparently believing in a church and NOT God.

[mchristr]

True Christianity begins when we stop believing in a Jesus who can make our dreams come true and begin to love Him for what He has already done.

[bjkimber]

She rejected the prosperity gospel, which isn't Christianity. The real gospel promises suffering for believers, not prosperity.

[pastorchristopherpabai]

Being born again and being a member of a church are two very different things.

[JosephTheDreamer]

And that’s why I hate religion....

But I love Jesus.

[EricChamplin]

For those who don't know, Lisa Gungor posted this on her Instagram the day after BuzzFeed posted this video:

To be clear, I am not an atheist, nor did I pastor a mega church. I was a music leader at a mega church, yes. Michael and I started a small church in Denver, yep. I struggled with belief A LOT, tried to be an atheist for a day (I failed). The video title was out of my hands and also out of the producers hands. I didn’t even know what the title was going to be. I wasn’t sure what to say about it yesterday or if it needed to be cleared up. I don’t think our stories are ever completely understood by everyone; sometimes you just let the story be, but this one was too misleading for me because actually, I see God everywhere. I understand why some people end up subscribing to Atheism, but to say I did would be so far from the truth. A lot of what I said was cut out for sake of time, and I didn’t have say over what was kept and what was taken out. I do love a lot of what was kept in. It’s a catchy title for sure.

[mikeedwardsmith]

My son died 28 of allergic reaction to some medicine that he took. He left behind three children and a beautiful wife. My daughter was in a scandalous court case where my whole family was under scrutiny. Suffering is part of every life including Christians. My encounter with the living God can never be changed. I’ve met the man Christ Jesus. I was atheist until I was 26. And one day the presence of God consume my living room when I was all by myself with no media on. And even when I want to get away he is there. I didn’t fall in love with a message or a organization or a church. I fell in love with Jesus

[ebensherpagloryinme]

Going to a church makes you a Christian as much as standing under a garage makes you a car.

[lessthanthree]

Everyone, THIS VIDEO IS VERY MISLEADING. Lisa Gungor herself explained in her band's instagram post that the interview was misleading. She did TRIED to not believe in God for A DAY. She clarified what actually her story is in her instagram. Buzzfeed, I'm so disappointed. I did not think that buzzfeed would go this LOW.

[bbnj]

We do not have any right to judge them what so ever. I am a Christian but what i do believe in is having a relationship with God. Not so much the religion aspect to where we have to follow all his rules but to let God know me and to let God in. But yeah we should not condemn her and her family but have open arms to welcome them back in if they would like.

[angelamurphy]

Its important that people seek on their own. I wasn't raised in church. Jesus saved my life. But.. Jesus without the holy spirit is just a religion. We can't do it without the helper. Many Christians don't even know what that means. All it takes is a heart humble enough to say God help me know the truth. He will bring someone to you. That's for all of you who won't even give God a chance. True Christianity is absolutely beautiful.

[eagleeye]

I’ve lost my faith in the church BUT my faith in God has never been stronger! I thank God for all of our (many) trials! They have only served to bring my husband and so closer to God! 😇

[dedmanic]

"my faith has been a transaction. if i'm good enough or i pray enough or if i believe enough...then i get blessings...a baby...a good life. that's not how life is." That's also not what the Gospel is either. It's actually the exact opposite of the good news of Jesus and her description of her Christianity really demonstrates that she did not have a deep and intimate enough understanding of her relationship with God - who in his word makes clear that his love for us is not performance based at all.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and thi sis not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

[Godrules]

Buzzfeed, why do you falsely misrepresent Lisa in your video here? She is not an atheist according to her Instagram response to your video. She still believes in God, so your video's entire premise is false.

[sonastysorude]

I think that as children grow up, it's extremely important to allow them to explore and question rather than blindly accept what they have been told. Obviously, most parents are raising their children with values and beliefs that they truly think are best for them. Personally, my parents are religious but I am not. I think it's extremely hard for parents to allow or accept questioning when it comes to religion, but to me it would make the faith much more meaningful and valuable if you question and truly understand *why* you believe what you believe.

[nusdzbj]

*Buzzfeed literally cut out all the important parts to make her seem like an atheist*