I'm taking a course at seminary this semester called "Seminar in Congregational Studies: Learning to love the local church, warts and all." Every church has warts. There is no such thing as a perfect church. At least, I have never been to one. The same applies to marriage. There are no perfect husbands, and no perfect wives, yet we still fall in love, and still commit ourselves to our spouses.
I love my church. It is not perfect. I love my wife. She is not perfect. What a beautiful picture of grace. God loves us, and we are not perfect! I'm thankful for these powerful pictures in my life that remind me how God loves us. At our Thanksgiving service this past week, I was reminded again why I love my church. We shared a friendly football game, ate donuts, and enjoyed spending time together. There was anticipation and energy before the service started. People came ready to meet God in worship. We were encouraged and challenged by God's word. We shared stories of gratitude because of God's goodness in our lives. We shed tears. We laughed. We celebrated. It's easy to love a church like this.
But it's not that easy. People let us down. There are disagreements. We get hurt, and most likely we are involved in hurting others too. But let's not forget that we love each other. And that means grace and forgiveness must define our relationships. Jesus loves us even though we are not perfect. And that is why I love my church, her warts and all.
I'll post a Comment. I also love my imperfect church very much too and am not afraid to say so. Retired pastors are more likely to critique the churches around these than anyone else.
ReplyDeleteYet I give two thumbs up to Hillside. I also give two thumbs up to you, Kevin. Music sets the climate for the preaching of the Word. Keep up the good work, my friend.