We are the church
The modern day church is in trouble, we see the cracks immortalized through social media every day. We point our fingers towards corrupt leadership, soft sermons, and the commercialization of corporate worship. These are valid arguments and a topic reserved for another time and place.
This blame-game distracts from our own personal responsibility as a member of the church. As Christians, we are the church. If there’s a problem with the church, there’s a problem with each of us individually.
There are many ways the church is lacking where we have the opportunity to play a part in restoring what may be broken. I’ll name three:
Church neglect
Those who are in a place of need or in a place of receiving rather than giving can find that their church is ill-equipped to handle their care. For them, this may call for them to address this with their church leadership. Or in extreme cases, prayerfully find a new church home. If we’re a witness to this neglect, we have the chance to speak up for them. The church may not be aware of this ministry weakness. We can seek counsel from others and prayerfully consider how we might lovingly and clearly bring this issue up.
Perhaps, our recognition that there’s neglect happening is a nudge by the Holy Spirit to begin a ministry where there isn’t one. Our sense of justice can be redirected to a calling which God may be revealing to us. He created us with passion, we ought to notice what He’s gifted us to care specifically about. Whether we’re in a position to start and lead a group or ministry or we’re able to help serve those in need on an individual basis, there are many ways we can support.
Poor leadership
Poor church leadership can be a sign of abuse or non-Spirit led decision-making. It can also signal that our church is under-staffed and over-flooded with needs. Often when churches grow, those serving within the church don’t exponentially grow with it. As church attendance rises, so do congregation needs. The gaps widen and all the blame is pointed at leadership.
Do our pastors seem rushed in their sermons or flustered as we watch them pass by without so much as a “hello.” Perhaps, they’re tired.
Remember, our pastors and church staff are rarely thanked for their job but constantly feel stretched by the growing needs of the church. Pray for them. Write them an encouraging email. Offer them a meal or to babysit their kids for date night. Or maybe, we can pray about joining on staff and be a part of the change we want to see.
Cliques or lack of socialization
We’ve never outgrown our childhood tendency to gather in a closed-off group in the name of “finding our people.” Cliques are difficult to recognize from the inside but painfully obvious when experienced on the outside. Churches are unfortunately a popular place to find groups and never venture outside of them. This makes people feel like an immediate outsider, when maybe they’re attending for the first time.
Maybe it’s not a clique, but rather we come in and out of church with the least possible resistance. We make a b-line for the back row, far left corner so we can interact with the least amount of people possible. I’m guilty of this. There have been times where I felt overwhelmed with my own life and let my introvert side excuse my behavior. But, is that really how we want to welcome people into church? Maybe we challenge ourselves to not only meet someone, but truly get to know them.
Our church is one of many home bases for us. It’s a place we come to every week, a chance to get to know and love your church. The people we’re around aren't an accident. God has given us a sphere of influence to be His love to those at the grocery store, at work, and in the church pews.
If we’re always finding ourselves a participant of church and not finding our place in serving it, we may be part of the problem.
To re-caveat, this doesn’t refer to those who are not in a place to serve. But it doesn't count those of us who are just busy with our lives. At my last church, I attended off and on for two years. I never found a place to serve and only attended on weeks we were in town. This is an area in which I’ve been convicted and hope to change soon as we find a church home in our new city. I confess, I was a part of the problem. We can’t excuse our lack of participation in our church home because we’ve filled our social calendar too much to fit it in. Rather, we should fit in our social lives around our ministry inside and outside our homes.
“For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.” (1 Corinthians 12:14-16)
We are called to support the church not only attend.
It’s popular to find a church with our preferred times of the day that fits our schedule so we’re the least affected by any inconvenience in our normal day-to-day life. We have a natural tendency within ourselves to choose what feels easy to do and won’t change our way of life.
We’ll choose a church that has sermons which align with our preferred inspiration and worship that we feel comfortable with. While there’s nothing wrong with having church qualifications, we tend to let them take precedence over where we see ourselves to fit within the church.
Where we can serve and make an impact on our community isn’t usually at the forefront of our minds. We often find a community which serves our needs first and foremost and many times exclusively for ourselves. When we get offended by what the church does or doesn’t do for us and quick to judge how it lacks in supporting others. But their failure should signify our failure as well.
Have we grown passive in our role in the church–waiting for others to move towards us and make us feel comfortable, useful, or entertained? It’s time to take the initiative and find our place in supporting our church.
