Three Mistakes Churches Make

So before I get into this, I will give a little warning: I have not done extensive, scholarly research into this topic. It is just a simple reflection from my own observation, my own experience, and the study I was fortunate enough to do with many incredible teachers.

I believe the church (universally, not any specific denomination) has committed three big mistakes. First, the church has over-emphasized guilt. I have met too many people that describe themelves as "recovering Catholics" or "recovering Christians" to just dismiss the idea. When reading the Bible, it is apparent that there is right and wrong, good and evil, sinfulness and righteousness. It is apparent that sin will be punished and there is both a Heaven and a Hell. But it seems that the message of who is going to Hell has been harped on a little too much. Maybe this is just a perspective thing. Perhaps those who have left the church are more sensitive to the messages that drove them away. But maybe, just maybe, we in the churh have been too quick to highlight the negative and eternal consequences of sin to the neglect of the message of grace and mercy that our Lord wants us to teach.

Second, on the other end of the pendulum, the church has promoted a message of eternal happiness and ease when living a life for Christ. I observed an interesting manifestation of this idea in a small group study last week. The author of the book we were studying told a story about a godly woman, and the audience's reaction seemed to be one of guilt: "Why can't I be as godly as that woman was?" The question was then posed in our group: "Is Christianity supposed to make us feel miserable?" Well, if we think that all of our problems go away and that the "real world" no longer will affect us, then when problems arise and the "real world" affects us, we get all discombobulated. While at ACU, I heard Joe Beam use the illustration from the Gospels about when the storm on the sea arose and the disciples, professional seagoers, thought they were going to die. Well, they were exactly where Jesus had told them to be. So while obeying Jesus, they experienced a great storm. Sometimes, life in Christ may lead to what many would consider misery (see Paul, Apostle). So maybe instead of eternal happiness and ease, we should be stressing the idea of joy, which is deeper than happiness, and contentment.

Third, the church must learn how to deal with sin. This is very closely related to number 1, I realize. But I do think the church struggles with how to deal with real, live sinners. Sure, we all give assent to the fact the we are all sinners. But when we actually have to accept a "real" sinner, we don't always know what to do. In my own experience, I struggle with this because I created a real problem for the church I was attending several years ago. They responded in ways they felt were appropriate, and I did not feel any right to be able to say otherwise. However, several family members and friends have remarked to me that they feel I was treated overly harsh. Was I? I cannot say. But I can say this, when we are faced with someone in our midst who has gifts, talents, and abilities given to them by God; and that someone is struggling in their relationship to God, we must find ways to nurture their relationship with God while encouraging their participation in the life of the church. Ostracizing and holding people up as examples may not be the most effective way to restore one's relationship with God.

As I said, this is one person's thought. It is based purely on my experience. The church has a difficult task of living the life of Christ in this world today. We must proclaim absolute truth in a world that is refusing to accept absolutes. We must stand firm and proclaim there is right and there is wrong, but we must do so in a way that fosters growing relationships. I wish I had all the answers. Instead, all I have is a blog to try and formulate my thoughts clearly, and hopefully receive input from you. Am I on the right track? Am I way off? For those reading this who are outside of a relationship with a church or with God, have I begun to recognize what is keeping you away?

May God bless all of you--Paul