It has become a guilty pleasure of mine. Almost on a weekly basis one or more of the public prayers I hear lead will undoubtedly mention a special blessing for those who are “sick of our church” or “sick of our congregation.” Now don’t get me wrong. I know what these men mean when they say it and there isn’t a one of them that isn’t fully sincere in their request. However, I cannot help but grin at the obvious double meaning.
But the other day it happened again and in the midst of my quick grin I stopped and thought, “What about those who are sick of our church?” No I’m not questioning whether there are people in our community who are actually “sick of our church,” I know there are. I have had personal conversations with some whom for whatever reason care nothing about the local church of Christ. Maybe they visited once and did not see or hear what they wanted and it left a poor impression. There are many more who have never stepped foot into our building but know about the church of Christ only by what they’ve heard others say and because of an unashamed prejudice against the church it was all negative. Maybe they have a history with the church that has left a bad taste in their mouth, for whatever reason. But the reality is there are people in this community, in every community, who are “sick of our church.” They have a poor attitude about the church, they speak negatively about the church, and they do a far more effective job of turning more people against the church than we do in turning them to the church. But my question is what are we doing about it?
Essentially every Christian is either a symptom of the problem or a cure to the problem. We, individually, either represent what people see as everything that is wrong with Christianity or we actually represent everything that is right with Christianity. We each hold the influence to make people “sick of our church” or receptive to it. We are “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). People are going to see our lives and draw a conclusion, not just about us, but about the church of which we are members. What conclusion are they going to draw? What are we doing about those who are “sick of our church?”
-Andy Brewer
Unfortunally there are the “clicks” in the church that can make people feel uncomfortable and those people get pushed to the sides. It may not be intended to happen but it happens. I have told a friend who has stopped attended the church because of the clickiness in the church that she is there to learn more what the Bible has to say and not for the people there in the church. You can’t change how people are going to be. You can only seek out God’s love. Another pastor in a church we used to attend before we moved said that not everyone will agree with everything the church does 100%. You can either leave the church or take a stand and do something positive with the church. Good article.
Very true. The reality is that some people are just not going to like us. Their reasoning may not make any since, but that’s the way of the world. We cannot sway all opinion, but we can sway most. If we can just commit to living godliness in the entirety of our lives everything else will typically fall into place as it will. Thanks for reading and for the comment!
Love it, I will put this in our Bulletin on Sunday is that ok? Sometimes I feel like going to some members who are not living right and asking them to please not tell folks you attend here lol. A good, godly image is so hard to cultivate and yet it can be broken down in a matter minutes. I hope we can all be a positive influence so that people may by our godly works glorify God and His Church. Thanks for the article.
At times I have felt the same way. Many times people assume they have the “right” to talk or act any way they want and do not consider the backlash it can bring on the church. A single moment of self-satisfaction can bring a generation of struggle. I’d be honored for you to print it. Thanks for reading!