A Good Word About The Church

"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, all its many parts are from one body. So it is with Christ" 
1 Corinthians 12:12

We will soon move into our third generation of people in the United States with no church memory. That means that many of our young people today, now reaching adulthood, have never been in a church. Not for a wedding, a funeral, a baptism, or vacation bible school. And neither have their parents or grandparents.  Imagine that. Three generations with little to no church memory.

Maybe that's one of the reasons the church gets a bad rap today. It is easy to talk bad about something if you've never experienced it. Plus, the media doesn't help. Rarely is the church put into a good light. Clergy on any sitcom or drama are almost always buffoons, if not out and out villains. At the very least, they will be hypocrites.

But let's be honest. We've shot ourselves in the foot on more than one occasion. Beyond all the big scandals there are the little things that go on every week. As long as God continues to fill the church with human beings we are going to make mistakes and sometimes put the church in a bad light.

Okay. I get it.  But there is a part of me, a big part, that grows a little weary at all the church bashing I see today. TV. Social Media. Online. The cute little sayings such as, "I like Jesus, I just don't like religion."  The church is an easy target.

So today I want to put in a good word for the church. Let me give you just a few reasons why I love the church. And why I hope you do as well.  And why we ought to stop all the church bashing.

First and foremost, I love the church, because the church is God's chosen vessel to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.  How amazing to think that God would look at us, with all our foibles, and use us to share the truth of Jesus with the world.

I love the church because, week in and week out, I see God's grace. I see it in an adult who gives up a week of their summer to teach vacation bible school. I see it in the youth who are the opposite of what the world says teenagers are. Selfish? Self centered? Oh, maybe sometimes. Aren't we all? But, at Trinity, our youth went around a few weeks ago sharing the Gospel.  And they will give up a part of their summer to be in mission.

I love the church because they come with all their faults and work as the body of Christ. Because they forgive another. Because they are welcoming to the stranger and love the unlovely.

I love the church because when the hungry need to be fed, the naked clothed, and the homeless sheltered, it is the church who steps in before anyone else. They build homes. They take care of the sick. They build hospitals in the poorest places on earth. They sacrifice and they give. And the best part? The church does it not to get ahead at work, or to look good to someone else. They do it for of pure joy. Joy in Jesus. Joy in others.

You probably have your own reasons to love the church. At least I hope you do. You probably even have some I haven't written about today. Whatever your reasons to love the church, I hope today you lift up a prayer of thanksgiving for those dear saints who come every week.  No they aren't perfect, not by a long shot. That's what's so lovely. A Perfect God using imperfect people to show the world His perfect love.   That's why I love the church. What about you?

In Christ,
Dr. Brian Jones