“We’re Big Deal Church on the Hill. We don’t need to reach out to the
neighbors.”
Reality: The neighbors don’t know this church exists.
“I won the preaching award back in seminary.”
Reality: You haven’t preached a fresh word in years.
“Our church is very friendly.”
Reality: A person can come and go with nobody noticing.
All of us need a reality check from time to time. One of the marks of an authentic Christian community is that we hold each other accountable and tell each other the truth. And before we can hold each other accountable, we need to trust each other. And before we can trust each other, we need to love each other. And before we can love each other, we need to remember that God that loves us even in our imperfection.
Too many of our church communities are filled with people who are not held accountable, don’t trust each other, don’t love each other, and don’t know that they are loved by God in spite of their imperfections.
This is not what God intends for the church. We can’t be the hands, feet, voice, ears, and soul of Jesus on earth if we don’t live in reality. But when we do live in reality, we see what needs to change. People will attack us for telling the truth. But we need to be real. This is part of our calling.
A Church for Starving Artists 