Where do rich and famous Christians find their spiritual community? Not at church, according to D. Michael Lindsay, a columnist at USA Today. After five years of interviewing 100 prominent evangelicals including Hollywood celebrities, athletes, business executives, and two presidents, he reports that sixty percent were not regular attendees in a local congregation. They tended instead to meet with other high-level Christians for fellowship in private Bible studies.

Gary LaFerla, whose credentials include being a senior pastor, CEO, published author, and executive coach, has worked with Christian leaders in business and the arts for over 25 years and had a somewhat different experience. Most of the Christian business executives he knows do go to church and interact with believers from different income levels, but many Christian artists are not solid in their church attendance, especially those who perform as Christian artists for religious audiences. They leave for a number of reasons, he said, some because of personal sin, others for involvement in Christian outreach to seekers, be it personal evangelism in private bible studies or domestic and international missions.. “You have to give them a lot of credit,” LaFerla said of the latter.

But one of the biggest reasons he listed for Christian stars’ departure was disillusionment. “They perform in mega-churches, and unfortunately see contradictions behind the pulpit. Others have too many options: too much wealth with too little accountability.”

LaFerla said he and his family are “praying and considering the start [of] a new work among businesspeople outside of the local church,” geared primarily for interested non-Christians and new believers. They’ve attracted some interest, he said; “We’ll see where it goes.”