Who is AC3? Love the Church

Fill in the Blank

“The Church is just a _____” ; you can fill in the blank and it probably has come out of the mouth of one or more people in a religious debate.   I cannot blame people for what they say, and I even see that some of their points are valid. There are all too many examples of churches doing wrong.  With the scandals, hate disguised as Jesus’ Word, and historical wrongs that still play out today, ALL leading to the divide that has caused so many to fall out of love with the church.  

Others I have conversed with have argued not against the church as directly; their argument is more about not “Needing” the church to be a good Christian.

So, what does my defense sound like when faced with all of these real accusations and attacks on the church?

First, we have to look at the attack on church failures.  It is unfair to look only at the wrongs church has done. How about the humanitarian efforts that have come from Christians doing church right? Without the church medical treatment, food distribution, shelter, and compassion for the poor would be nonexistent in some places around the world.  As for the haters who use scripture out of context; haters are gonna find a way to hate, even if it means misquoting the Bible.

The world’s media love to highlight the failings of the big “C” church, but just as with most things in this world the majority is not what gets air-time attention.  It is the few that stand out; the weakness of one pastor that destroys a church, the extremist holding a sign stating “You are going to hell!” whom the media loves to call “Fundamentalists” (True fundamental Christians spread love not hate).  But these make the broadcasts, because the ones who get it right are not deemed “news worthy”.

Now about not needing the church?  We are called to gather: “For where two or more gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matt 18:20).  We are not meant to be alone, we are called to love one another. We are called to love the church, not the organization or the building, but the people.  Fact: There are 59 “one another” commands in the Bible, I leave you with this question: How do you “One Another” if you don’t gather?

-Written by Christian Love