There has been a lot of talk lately about the elephant in the room in the church. Nearest I can surmise the issue is the same thing we have been talking about as long as I can remember... the church is full of hypocrites. Same old very valid argument I have heard from jaded, frustrated, or uninterested people against the church. We don't live up to what we claim to be. For all of the holiness and morality we stand by we don't quite make the mark every time, and, let's be real, when the bar is where we have put it even the best of tries looks pretty pathetic.
So here's to the traditional response. The church needs to liven up! We need to be better. We need to love Jesus more, help poor people more, be abstinent more, and give more away. We also need to gorge ourselves less, look at porn less, cuss when we hit our toes less, and have road rage less. We need to be better.
Seems like we're trapped in a vicious cycle of raising the bar, but not quite making it so raising it higher.
And that's the most logical way to improve our image. That and hire more attractive worship leaders for good PR.
I think we have it backwards. We've spent so long denying that Christians are hypocrites and trying to do better, and frankly the world sees straight through our facade. We've forgotten the ever present fact that Christians have not arrived, we are all in route. We are all broken fallen people who have lots of issues that, by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, we are working on, and by His grace and mercy we are forgiven. We're not less broken and wounded than the world, we've just been found by the healer and we're on the mend. We still limp.
I believe, as a young and opinionated and inexperienced pastor, that the best thing the church can do for it's PR is to stop trying to do what we say and start saying what we do.
I am not implying that we should stop trying to be moral, have less road rage, give more, look at porn less, and love Jesus more. We are called to abstain from sin. We just forget that we didn't beat sin, Jesus did, and We can't be sin, Jesus did.
The elephant in the room would be much smaller if we realized one very important thing: Of course the church is full of hypocrites... you and I are in it.
Isaiah 64:6
So here's to the traditional response. The church needs to liven up! We need to be better. We need to love Jesus more, help poor people more, be abstinent more, and give more away. We also need to gorge ourselves less, look at porn less, cuss when we hit our toes less, and have road rage less. We need to be better.
Seems like we're trapped in a vicious cycle of raising the bar, but not quite making it so raising it higher.
And that's the most logical way to improve our image. That and hire more attractive worship leaders for good PR.
I think we have it backwards. We've spent so long denying that Christians are hypocrites and trying to do better, and frankly the world sees straight through our facade. We've forgotten the ever present fact that Christians have not arrived, we are all in route. We are all broken fallen people who have lots of issues that, by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, we are working on, and by His grace and mercy we are forgiven. We're not less broken and wounded than the world, we've just been found by the healer and we're on the mend. We still limp.
I believe, as a young and opinionated and inexperienced pastor, that the best thing the church can do for it's PR is to stop trying to do what we say and start saying what we do.
I am not implying that we should stop trying to be moral, have less road rage, give more, look at porn less, and love Jesus more. We are called to abstain from sin. We just forget that we didn't beat sin, Jesus did, and We can't be sin, Jesus did.
The elephant in the room would be much smaller if we realized one very important thing: Of course the church is full of hypocrites... you and I are in it.
Isaiah 64:6
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