Two sides to every church

I go to a very good church. Do they have warts? Oh, that depends on your definition of warts. I have also gone to some very bad churches. It really does pain me to say bad church. How could church be bad? I had the misfortune of God showing me the bad side of Christianity. It’s not inquisition bad, but bad enough. Why did he do that to me? I think it was to show me two sides of church.

            Why would anyone want to read about good or bad church? It seems boring. I say it’s fascinating. I came from a very rocky upbringing and marriage. I have found that people are mostly: less than stellar. Then I was drawn to church. I have met some of the best people in a church. Yet, I have met many less than stellar individuals there. Like I said, God showed me the bad side for a reason. It’s that God is good and people are not.

            Recently I found that Matthew wrote his Jesus story in the same frame of mind. All around Jesus were some less than stellar individuals. It’s clear that the church, in that day, was not very nice. Over two thousand years later the church has not changed much. A friend of mine said that people are the church. I think Matthew would beg to differ. Jesus said things like “the kingdom is like.” He also hinted that we are to serve and not be the master or Lord. Jesus also had no trouble saying the temple would crumble. Did he harp on people being the church?

            Am I bashing church? I feel that it comes back to two sides of the church. One side says never bash church. We must always honor it no matter what. The other side says they will never enter a church because of the hypocrisy. There I stand in between them both. I think church is good and useful. Divine and above reproach? Jesus entered the temple and read from a scroll. That reading insulted the current church leaders. Jesus stands in between people and the church too.

            What does God have to say? Jesus, as a twelve-year-old boy, had the elders of a church amazed at his teaching. I bet they did not know the scriptures that well. Many times, Jesus said to them they do not know the word that well. God talks about the word of God like honey on our lips. Tasty? Sweet? Oh, sometimes the scripture says bitter and like a sword, a two-edged sword. That’s it really. The church was meant to give out the word. It was meant to serve. The other side is to rebuke evil. To yell, “your going the wrong way.” Two sides to every church?

            I have talked with people who dislike church. They always say the same things. It’s about hypocrites, boring, and uncaring. Imagine McDonalds having that type of repour with its customers. Imagine a politician or government having that stigma on them. Oh, wait a minute, they do. I work for Canada Post. They grind against their workers. They grind against their customers. Do they care about repour, hypocrisy, or character? Not unless it makes money, creates bonuses, and cheats. So, a corporation struggles. A government struggles. A church struggles. The list is long of struggling entities that believe they are not to blame.

            To be a Christian is to be certain things. I know it has not looked this way but hear me out. A Christian should be humble. They should have a worn-out mirror and worn out knees. I suppose a worn-out Bible wouldn’t hurt either. The other side is not a worn-out attitude. Worn out accusations, convictions, and judgments. Why do people spend so much time trying to make church look clean? Jesus never did.

            Here is my answer. If you dislike church, go to church. When they ignore you or rebuke you, serve all the more. Be vocal only if you have a solution. Show the way to better church by your loving servant hood. Be a resounding gong in the ear of your church. Will you be shunned, maligned, ignored, and maybe even asked to leave? Sure, but can you see two sides? One is who else can you think of like that? Jesus,duh! The second is how can church change if we abandon it? Be kind and respectful. Be cautious and demanding. Church should never think it’s as big as Jesus. Sometimes sinful people need to tell them that.

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