A couple years ago my husband and I were just about ready to leave our church.  There were problems.  You know the kinds.  The worship, the sermon, the lack of communication, the programs, the lack of programs and volunteers… I don’t know what it is for your church, but you can add just about anything to that list.

We figured out the cause!  You see, at the root of it all, it’s people.

People are the Problem

People.

People lie.

People get divorced.

People have addictions.

People say hurtful things.

People disagree and cause division.

People are less-than-stellar role models.

People are not perfect.  Even people in the church.  Shocking, I know.  And wee are some of those people; we have done some of those things.  We all have a sin-nature and a tendency to do wrong.

The way we as Christians should be different is in how we are moving away from doing bad things and working towards being more Christ-like.  {Vocabulary word for the day – that’s called “sanctification“!}

I can’t change other people but I can encourage all who want to live a Christ-like life to echo the words of Joshua with me, “As for ME and my house…”  We can take personal responsibility for our actions and our words.  And if YOU and I are some of the people in the church, then a little part of our church is getting better!

You and I are the Solution

We can serve to make church a better place for us all.

We can challenge each other towards Christ.

We can choose to pour in and contribute.

We can overlook minor differences.

We can be part of the solution.

We can give second chances.

We can try to understand.

We can give grace.

We can forgive.

We MUST teach our children that people are not perfect.  That churches are not perfect.  That even people-in-churches are not perfect!  

To love is to make yourself vulnerable to being hurt.

You DO need to find a church that is Biblically sound and teaches good doctrine.

You DO need to find a church that is a good fit for your family and also relatively local – people you see and can get together with in other parts of your life, not just on Sunday morning.

But will it be perfect?  No.  If it seems perfect at first, it’s not.  If it doesn’t seem perfect at first, be glad you see a more real picture right away.

Our church doesn’t always seemed like the best fit for us.  Your church might not either.  Often it won’t, because the grass-is-greener syndrome usually makes other churches seem to at least have LESS problems!  You can still choose the perspective that your church may not be the “best” fit, but can still be a “good fit” for you!  God can use imperfect people to shape you and test you and teach you and make you into the person He wants you to become.

The imperfect church is made up of imperfect people.  The empty church building would be the perfect church… except that THAT would not be a church any longer. “Church” is a group of believers and followers of Jesus.  And let’s just remember that if there were a group of perfect people making up the perfect church (not possible, but let’s pretend), it wouldn’t be perfect any longer the moment you or I walk in.

We must love the imperfect church, just as we are called to love imperfect people… because Jesus does.

Embrace your imperfect church.  Get to know people.  Learn from each other.  Be open to change.  Change is a way things can get better!