If you read this blog often, you know I love the local church. That doesn’t mean, though, that the local church never drives me crazy. In fact, here are things that still surprise me about churches after 31 years in ministry:
- Many still think the church belongs to them. No, they’d never say those words (instead, they’d say, “This is God’s church”), but they protect their turf and their traditions like guarding their home.
- They continually allow boring, stuck-in-their-ways Bible study teachers to lead classes. As pastoral and respectful as I want to be toward faithful people, I just don’t understand why we don’t insist on change in those situations – including requiring that teacher to get some training or step down.
- They talk about prayer a lot more than they pray. We can’t do what God has called us to do as His church, but still we lean on ourselves and our experience more than on God.
- Some assume that grace allows accepting less than excellence. Grace forgives us when we don’t meet God’s standards, but it doesn’t allow us to give less than our best to the work of God.
- Many apparently think that ongoing, open sin among leaders is not a problem. At least, it appears that way when churches have no commitment to godly, redemptive church discipline.
- They’ve become a place of retreat from the world rather than a place to get re-armed for the war. We’re in a spiritual battle (Eph. 6:10-12), and the church should gather for encouragement to go out into the conflict again – not to cower and complain about the enemy.
- They aren’t broken over the lostness of their neighbors and the nations. Long gone are the tears over hell that compel us to tell others about Jesus. I wrestle here, too, so I share this burden.
- Many don’t see their church building as an outsider would. Rather, they completely miss the weeds in the parking lot, the dated colors in the room, the worn carpet in the worship center, the odor in the basement, etc.
- They think it’s everybody else’s responsibility to come to them. “Everybody in this community knows where we are,” I’ve heard it said.
- Many still exhibit racism and prejudice. The gospel breaks down those barriers, but some people and churches haven’t let that happen.
I say it again even as I write this post: I love the local church. We just have a long way to go . . . .
What things about the church still surprise you?
11. We can’t find good musicians in our area to provide contemporary praise music and vocalists.
12. Leadership development? Why spend time on that when that’s what we hire our pastor for?
13. We have small groups. You mean like the women’s fellowship and Wednesday night bible study?
14. We tried annual giving campaigns a couple times, but no one responded or gave more.
15. Why should we tie our budget to our vision and mission? Everything is missions anyway, isn’t it?
16. We are a church of 200 and devote a salaried person to youth ministry of 12 kids. Is that ok?
17. Why justify our budget every year to the church; we just budget what we received last year?
18. Consultants cost money, and we’ll never follow his recommendations anyway.
19. Our pastor is a controlling person, but we don’t want to tell him or we might lose him.
20. We like who we are. Young people will come if we just keep doing what we are doing. [i.e.., If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve got.]
My daughter was recently told by a congregation in Dallas that she could not attend bible study without attending a class or training first. Really????
Interesting. Thanks!
I have noticed that when someone visits a church a few times, it is almost taboo to go to that person’s house and pay a visit even when they checked the right box of wanting to know more about the church and left their address.
Also, when children attend Sunday school and are absent a month, no one goes to that child’s home to check on them.
When a member is ill and has to stay home for a few months, no one calls or comes by to check on them, but rely on media to say that they are thought of and cared about.
Let me try to clarify. We are afraid to get close enough to HAVE TO help, to feel people’s pain for fear that we might HAVE TO do something that might make us uncomfortable.
Gone are the days of the first church of compassion.
Thanks, Dina.
like #16…I think that’s the case in our church