Elephant in the Room — The Dysfunction in Our Churches - Monday
Today’s Verse
Matthew 23:27-28
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (ESV)
Can you recall your first memory or experience with a church? I was two or three years old when my parents started attending Southland. I still remember my classroom in the basement of the church located then on Hill N Dale Road in the Southland neighborhood. The basement was always very cold, but the teachers were warm and caring. I remember stories from the Bible illustrated with flannel graph (paper figures that would stick to felt or flannel mounted on a board). That’s how the Bible first came to life for me. Good memories.
Some people don’t have pleasant memories of church. Maybe your experience involved feeling judged or encountering people outside of church who acted very differently when you saw them in church. As a minister, I’ve connected with many people over the years who experienced some level of “church hurt,” creating deep and lasting wounds. In every case, the hurt came from someone in the church, whether church leaders or church members. It didn’t matter. That might be one reason Jesus saved some of His strongest words for religious leaders of His day, whom He described as “hypocrites.” Those hearing Jesus’ rebuke, including the religious elites, would have understood hypocrite to literally mean “actor” or “stage player.” Jesus called them out for misrepresenting God and hurting people.
If you’ve been hurt by a church, I’m sorry. And it grieves Jesus, too. He understands rejection by “religious people,” experiencing it in His own way. Know that Jesus is for you, and that He still believes in the church. He wants to heal you, and He wants churches to be filled with healed and healing people. Those churches understand how to receive and share grace.
APPLICATION
Our adversary only wants to keep us disconnected and will use past hurts to accomplish that. Let us know if we can help you process any pain you’re still carrying. And joining a Southland Group is a great way to experience connectedness again.
PRAYER
Father, forgive us when we’ve made the church about us and not about You. Thank You for Your grace and for giving us the church to receive and share that gift.
