I love church. I love gathering together and sharing fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ. And I especially love gathering together with my fellow believers and worshiping God together with them. And as one who has been a pastor myself, I appreciate, more than most, the effort pastors and other church staff put out to provide the opportunity for those fellowship and worship experiences.
But I am frustrated. Because of the nature of the kind of ministry I do, I have the opportunity to observe a lot of different churches. Almost all of them are full of very loving and committed believers – at least that is the case for most of the folks who are faithful and active participants. In fact, I believe that it is their love for Christ and for their church that influences them to have that kind of attitude.
At the same time, I see another dynamic at work – and it is this other dynamic that frustrates me. (Continue reading here)