The ideal church is like delicious, instant coffee. It doesn’t exist.
Problems in church are not only realities, they are dead certainties given the fact that all churches unavoidably involve the inconvenience we dislike most — selfish people. We know from St. Paul’s letters that even the first churches were troubled by some serious problems.
And before I go any further, let me acknowledge that there are limits to what kinds of shortcomings we should tolerate in our churches. I know some of the stories well: Toxic (even abusive) masculinity, oppressive abuses of authority, dangerously false teachings. These are not persons to overlook or issues to smooth over, and these will have a reckoning, God is witness.
As a churchman and seminary professor, I continue to hear about the ways our churches fall short. The list is long and some of the issues are indeed serious. Churches are silent to the needs of hurting members. The preaching is poor. The music is distracting. Her members are not growing. Churches are poor reconcilers. The list goes wearily on. We respond to these problems in different ways. Some of us complain. Some of us strive nobly to “be the change” we want to see (and perhaps sour at the lack of improvement over time). Some of us resign ourselves to a grumbling acceptance and let inertia and entropy take its course. Some of us are happy with things, thank you very much. Some of us leave.
But we should remind ourselves often that imperfection is a necessary condition for church fellowship (the healthy do not require a physician). Hard as it may be for some to accept, the church does not actually need to go in all of the directions we want to direct her — no matter how wise and well-intentioned those directions are.
Instead of focusing on how we think church ought to be, we should first focus on the fact that the church is principally God’s gift for hurting sinners. Bonhoeffer’s ‘Life Together’ makes this point well: “[Church fellowship] is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate.” [Life Together, 30]. We are never called to forge the unity of the Holy Spirit, rather to maintain it. It does not, in the end, fall to us to build God’s church into the shape of our vision. God gives us a church to us and for us, for the strengthening of our faith and love. Yes, the churches can always improve and they should. But what makes church truly significant is simply that God is there and intends to meet those who gather there through those who gather there.
Christians that I walk with are fairly good about applying gospel grace into their own situation (except when they are unduly hard on themselves). We encourage each other with the idea that although we are more sinful than we can even imagine, we are more loved than we can ever dare hope (or some other statement along these lines). I am learning that we are not as good, however, at applying the same grace to our pastors, church leaders, and fellow church members. The problems in our churches go, sadly, deeper than we realize and are much more troubling than the things we like to pick out and criticize. But we must not forget that each church member we meet on Sundays is the brother and sister for whom Christ died. We are more loved as a church than we presume.
The antidote for all of the negativity is thankfulness. If the church is a gift of God to hurting sinners, then we should receive this gift the only way a good gift should be received — with gratitude. What this gift gives us is forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God and other men, and increasing realization of our fellowship with Christ. It brings us to the Lord’s Table to strengthen our faith. It allows us to hear God’s voice in Scripture. It pronounces God’s blessing over us. Church fellowship is a gift that grows with gratitude. It is no small wonder that Scripture often tells us that “thanksgiving” is the summary activity for what we do when we gather together as a church (e.g., Eph 5:18-21; Col 3:14-17). “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through him.” Col 3:17.
Hurting pastors are in the news this week. Please, don’t just pray for your leaders. Stand with them. Work with them. Their job is only to oversee your good, and your growth, and see that your faith and love go out to others. Be thankful for them. Sit under them and learn from them (even if you think you know better; especially if you think you know better).
If you are a hurting pastor this week, I encourage you not to criticize your church or complain about the people. You are not your church’s accuser. The imperfections are not the problem. Instead, try and practice thankfulness for the family God has provided for you. Pray for them. And surround yourselves with people who will support you and love you.
It’s a tough time right now for churches. The shortcomings of the churches are serious indeed and we should not be naive to them. And yet, I write this humble reminder that as bad as it looks, each of our little gatherings united in the same faith remain God’s beloved church. We don’t quite see what he sees. But we can be sure that we are together the gifts God has given to each another for the journey. We need one another. It grows harder to criticize what we begin to realize is a true gift for our good only. May God grant us eyes to see.
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