I recently came across an interview which included the following: “The people who do the best in church are the people who don’t expect things to always be perfect and have kind of a humorous outlook.” (Stephen Mansfield, in The Wittenburg Door, July/Aug. 2007, p. 17) How true it is! Those who come to church with expectations of perfection are bound to be sorely disappointed.

How reasonable does it seem to you to say, “Those other people weren’t perfect, so I’m never going back there!” How many people give some version of this statement as the reason that they gave up on the church and are never going back? How many of you who are reading this are perfect?

I like the poster that says, “I’m not perfect – just forgiven.” The truth is that the church is just full of forgiven sinners. There might even be some sinners there who haven’t quite come to the point of asking for forgiveness yet. And God loves all of them!

You see, we’re all still in the process of growing up into Christ (Eph. 4:15). The Holy Spirit is working on us, but we haven’t reached perfection yet and never will during this earthly life. So – is this a good reason to give up on the church? – I don’t think so.

The Scriptures talk about how Christ loves the church and gave his life for her (Eph. 5:25). How can we simply dismiss those who are loved by Christ? It’s obvious when we read the Scriptures that those who were part of the early church weren’t perfect, either! Paul’s letters to the various churches seem to address one problem after another!

So why would we want to be part of such a body? Well, first off, those who believe in Jesus Christ really have no choice. Part of having faith in Jesus is to be baptized, and it is in baptism that we become members of the body of Christ – the church. Secondly, whether we like it or not, there is no growth in faith or in discipleship apart from gathering together with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Growing up into Christ happens when we are part of his body and using our gifts for the good of all (Eph. 4).

We are all challenged by Jesus to learn how to love and serve one another. This doesn’t mean only the people we like or only the people who think like we do. Can we learn to act in love, even when we don’t particularly like somebody? This is what those who believe in Jesus are called to do. This is what we learn how to do in the church.

I sometimes hear people talk with disdain about what “the church” is doing or about what “they” are doing (meaning other people within the church). The truth is that we are the church, and those “others” who are not doing what “we” want are actually our brothers and sisters in Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 12:27). They are loved by Christ, just as we are, and just as the whole church is. Paul wrote with good reason about “bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:2).

Personally, I would like to hear a lot less about what others “should” be doing in the church and more about “what I want to get involved in because I want to live as a disciple of Jesus.” We have been blessed both individually and corporately with gifts for ministry. We have been called, gathered, enlightened and sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Luther’s Small Catechism). We have been challenged to grow up into Christ.

Realistically, we cannot expect perfection in the church or in other Christians. However, we can expect God’s power, love and grace among us. Really, what more do we need?

In Christ,
Pastor Lynne H. Moore