What Did You Say?
I wrote this piece as an encouragement and reminder to the small group leaders at the church I currently serve. The attached article is not original to me. It is an article that Thom Rainer, former President of LifeWay Christian Resources, wrote that I felt needed to be shared with our small group leaders. After sharing it though, I really felt the need that all of us, yes even you and me, need to be reminded of this. As a pastor for over 22 years now, I’ve heard lots of things regarding the state of our church…the church that I was serving at the time. Don’t get me wrong, pastors are not perfect. I am living proof of that! And we most definitely need to be held accountable. But, not everything is our fault. So, what we as church members say regarding the church, and for that matter who we say it too, has the potential to do great damage to the unity of the church you attend. I think the piece I originally wrote explains the rest of my reason for writing.
I know we are in a transitional season. I know that there is still much uncertainty. But I also know that God is still God and He is still in control! (Somebody say amen to that!)
The article I am attaching is in no way meant to challenge anyone from having their own opinion. We all have opinions. And we are welcome to have them. However, sometimes in the church setting, those opinions can bring division where division should not be. Please don’t misunderstand me. We will not all agree on everything, even within the church. And I’m not even suggesting that we should all agree on everything. However, especially within the church, there has to be unity. We may not agree with the approach or decisions that are made. But we should all agree that our mission as followers of Christ and a body of believers has never changed. We are to be about making much of Jesus and sharing Him and His grace, love and mercy with everyone we see.
Sometimes however, I think we let our emotions get in the way of our unity. I truly don’t think it is intentional. But it happens.
Thom Rainer, former President of LifeWay Christian Resources, published an article yesterday (March 28, 2021) entitled, “7 Deadly Statements of Church Members.” Again, please hear my heart. I am not suggesting that we should not express our opinions. But maybe we should just be more careful how and where we express them. Also, I am not implying that Thom Rainer is right on every detail he shares in the article. I just thought it would be good for each of us to read and give it some thought. I know I have!
The 7 Deadly Statements that Rainer identifies are as follows:
I Like Our Church Just the Way It Is.
My Pastor Doesn’t Visit Me Enough.
I Always Vote “No” Just to Keep the Leadership in Check.
I Just Can’t Worship with Our Style of Music.
People Know Where Our Church is If They Want to Come.
I Love You Pastor, but…
I Pay My Tithes Here, So I Deserve…
You can find the article, along with explanations of each one HERE.
