This is the second article in a three-part series about the church. The first one is entitled, “What Is Your Role in the Church?”
I play the piano with the worship team at our church. I sometimes lead worship. I am currently the chairman of the deacons. I am highly involved in our church ministry, however, there was a time I was not. Looking back on my journey at church, there have been different periods of engagement, and sometimes even feelings of hurt or being overwhelmed, which led to my exit. Could this be an experience you share?
In 2008, on a trip to Italy with my mom (I was single then), I messaged our pastor at the time and kindly asked that I be released from participating in our Christmas worship team. We had been practicing a lot, and I was simply overwhelmed with life and my commitments. For a few years after that, I did not attend church regularly. You see, in 1995 my dad had become pastor of that same church, and my sister and I served intensely at every level. Our church was small, and great help was needed. In 2003, my dad went to be with the Lord, and I continued to serve. By 2008, I experienced burnout.
Christians are not perfect. Churches are not perfect. Four thousand of the 20,000 pastors in Nazi Germany supported Hitler. Prior to the US Civil War, many churches in America supported slavery and gave Biblical defense for it. Churches are filled with imperfect people because humans are imperfect. Despite their shortcomings, the church is made up of people who have acknowledged Christ and are working through their sanctification, striving and longing to be like Him. We often fail. Just as we offer grace in our life of leadership, let us offer grace to one another in the church as well. Ephesians 1: 22-23 tells us, “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
What is your current relationship, and more importantly the relationship of your family, with your church?
If you have felt hurt, burned, or unwelcome, and have not been engaged with a church community in a long time, I invite you to reconsider, and I offer the following thoughts for your consideration:
- If you are not immersed in solid theology, your personal theology can go dangerously off track. It is astounding in this super-information age how everyone seems to want to teach us about life and all that is within it. The danger lies in getting caught in a subtle drift away from good Biblical theology. Regular involvement in church protects your mind from this drift.
- If you believe the church, the group of people who believe in Christ, is the light of the world, then join them. They need your help. Don’t just attend. Don’t avoid engagement. Help the church. Help the body. Lead. Become someone others can latch onto.
- If you have been hurt before, can you become someone who gets plugged in at church to make sure others do not feel left out? Can you be an instrument of hospitality, making others feel welcome when they come to church?
- While mega churches are a blessing, I would encourage you to find a church where your absence is noticed, perhaps 50 to 300 members, unless the bigger church has a method to connect people in small groups.
My prayer as I write these words is that every reader finds a church body where they are blessed and will be a blessing so together we can build the Kingdom of God on Earth to the glory of God.
How can I support you more as a Christian leader and entrepreneur?
