No Perfect People Allowed

The church is not for perfect people. The church is a gathering of imperfect people who have put their hope in a perfect Savior, Jesus. We all know in our minds this is true, but we often live differently.

In recent weeks, I have had a number of conversations with members and attenders of The Journey Church, which I pastor, who had not been around lately. In talking with them, I learned that these people had been experiencing various trials and pains in their lives. Some were struggling with areas of sin in their lives. Whether it was the experience of trials or struggles with sin, all the people felt inclined not to come to gather with the church for worship. This concerns me.

The first thing I wanted to know was whether their non-attendance was because they felt uncared for or judged by the church. In all cases the answer was "no." When I probed deeper into why these people felt the need to shy away from gathering with the church, it was a sense of guilt, shame, or lack of desire to be with people that emerged. They simply did not want to face other people. They reiterated that this was not because the church had done anything, but their own sense of guilt.

So what is behind their not coming?

This really got me to thinking about the paradigm that exists in most people's minds about the church. Many people view the church as a place where people have it together. One reason is many of our churches have turned into impersonal gatherings where we attend a service, say a few words to the people around us, and leave. There is very little interaction, so we all put on our happy faces. In this kind of setting, we do not let our guards down. We all put on a smile, look good, keep composed, and give our hour and a half of time.

The problem with this is that it gives the perception to everyone around us that our lives are great. Things are perfect. When this permeates the culture, even when things are not perfect, people will feel the need to fake it. In an environment like this, we send a message that struggles and pain are an inconvenience. When this is happening, people who are struggling with trials or sin, would rather not be in an environment that feels inherently judgmental or critical.

A Second Reason

So we see that one reason people may shy away from coming to church is that they do not feel that people facing problems are welcome to come. The illusion of perfection as a requirement keeps them away. A second reason, which is similar to the first, is many people choose not to gather with the church during seasons of struggle, is they do not want to "fake it." They feel conviction; they feel shame for their sin. Many simply don't feel worthy to come to church.

The reason this problem exists is two-fold. The first reason is that people forget that the church is a place full of imperfect people. If we realized that everyone is jacked up, we would have much more confidence in gathering with the body. The church is the body of Christ, made up of sinners who have been saved by grace. Our whole message as the church is that we are imperfect people serving a perfect Savior. People forget that Christ has forgiven them of their sin. They forget that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). There is no need to self-impose condemnation. If we realized this, we would gather freely with the body, even in the midst of struggles and sin.

The second part of this is that many church worship services are too chipper. What do I mean by this? I mean that many church services are too focused on being peppy and happy and chipper. While I am not against uplifting services, the reality is most people are not always feeling uplifted. If we read the psalms we see quickly that being downcast is normal for even the most God-loving people. Sorrow is a real part of the Christian life. Unfortunately, our services rarely reflect the lament and sorrow that accompany our lives. If our services were more intentional to reflect the different dispositions that many in the church feel, I believe we would have more people continue to gather with the body, even when they were downcast from trials or sin. 

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is this: church is not for perfect people. The church is a gathering of imperfect people, who have put their hope in a perfect Savior. If you are having struggles in life, you should gather with the body of Christ. If you are struggling with issues of sin, welcome, so are those gathered around you. Seek the Savior with other believers when the church gathers. Do not create an unreachable standard of perfection that is required before gathering for corporate worship. If you do, you are perpetuating the problem of making church a place for the supposed perfect people.


If you believe this article could be of help to people you know, share it with the buttons below

Pastoral Traps -- Building Personal Kingdoms

There are many traps that lie waiting for pastors. Over the next few weeks I'm going to write about those traps. One of the reasons I feel compelled to write about them is because, as a pastor, I have noticed my struggle with them. In talking with other pastors, I have come to realize that these traps are not isolated to me, but something many others deal with as well.

The trap this post will highlight is Building Personal Kingdoms. 

In Matthew 4 the Spirit of God leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. He is then approached by Satan at the end of the fast and endures a series a temptations. Jesus is weakened physically, but battling Satan with Scripture, he is able to withstand the attack. 

However, the third temptation Jesus experienced stood out to me specifically as a pastor. Jesus is taken to a high mountain and showed all the kingdoms of the world and their glory (4:8). Satan then tells Jesus, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." (4:9). The temptation Jesus is presented with is not worshipping Satan, it is having all these kingdoms and the glory that is associated with them. Worshipping Satan is the vehicle to getting the actual offer being made. 

As I contemplated this, I realized that this temptation lies at the feet of every pastor. If we are not careful, we will subtly slip into building and working for our own kingdoms. If not guarded, we will stand on the mountain peak daydreaming of those kingdoms of greatness that we are pursuing, and the glory that come with them. 

This trap is hard to see because the actions you are doing may not look differently than the person focused on serving God alone. The actions look the same, but the motivation and goal become different. So pastoring can be for personal glory. Writing can be for personal glory. Preaching and teaching can become about personal glory. The kingdom built can become the kingdom of self, and the glory sought can become the glory of a famous name. 

Not every pastor is guilty of this; however, every pastor should be on guard for it. Building personal kingdoms is a trap that lies waiting for every pastor. 

Jesus' response to Satan shows us the nature of the offer that was made. Jesus says, "You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve." (4:10). This is vital to see. Jesus counters Satan's offer by telling him that God alone is to be worshipped, not Satan, and not the glory of personal kingdoms. It is the Lord our God that we shall serve, not ourselves. 

Here would be three recommendations I would make for pastors to do:

1. Continually evaluate and prayerfully examine the motives behind the actions you are doing. 

I think it is good for a pastor to regularly ask, "Why am I doing this?" When you ask that question, avoid giving yourself the cheesy church answer. Examine your heart. Search your motives. And move aggressively when you notice seeds of personal kingdom building present. 

2. Remember that there is more joy and satisfaction in serving God and His kingdom than all the glory of serving your own. 

If we want true joy and satisfaction, it will never be found in making much of ourselves. True happiness and is found in making much of God and living for His glory.

3. Invite some other local pastors or current pastoral friends into conversation about this trap, and share honestly with one another the personal struggles in this area. 

Other pastors struggle in this area. This trap is something any person can be vulnerable to. Grab some local guys together and be real with one another in this area. It will be both refreshing and helpful to all involved.

I hope this will be helpful. I would love to hear other recommendations you have for avoiding this pastoral trap. Contribute your thoughts in the comment section below.