Church Bashing

I have a friend who makes "unpopular" life choices. Friend X feels judged by family and friends. Especially the Church.

Person A claims to be a Christian but would readily question Friend X's lifestyle.

Person B doesn't claim to be Christian and would readily accept Friend X.

And thus the church bashing shall commence. Anti-organized religion people would say that Person A is not living the life Jesus called us to live. A life of acceptance and love. This blogger creatively drives his point home.

SOURCE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mick-mooney/wwjd-what-would-jesus-do-_b_6010114.html

Wouldn't it be great if people readily accepted other people's brokenness and "sins"? Like Jesus did. But the linked article above doesn't tell the complete story. Relating to others as Jesus would isn't the end in itself. These people that Jesus interacted with all came to know a deeper, more meaningful life through the relationship He nurtured with them. And they went out and lived that within the context they were in. If our relationships don't lead people to step into a deeper understanding of who they are and of how they were created and WHO created them and opens their eyes to how they should live with the rest of creation and drives them to contribute to the work towards the restoration of God's kingdom on earth, then we too have missed the point of relationship building.

I'm tired of "bashing" the church because it's imperfect. I'm tired of questioning how Christians can't behave Christianly. Yes, we are all messed up. Even those who claim to be Christians have difficulty being Christ-like. I think we all know that already.

In the same way that I wouldn't want to raise kids who behave contemptuously towards "non-Christians," I wouldn't want to raise kids who have a disdain for people who are churchy. That's like reverse pharisaism. 

For a more appreciative take on things... Here's an article that talks about Millennials staying in church (which for me applies to both institutional/organized church and organic Jesus-centered faith communities) as opposed to the popular "more-and-more-people-leaving-church-so-there-must-be-something-wrong-with-it" articles that the anti-organized religion people gravitate to. https://www.barna.org/barna-update/millennials/635-5-reasons-millennials-stay-connected-to-church#.VEs-3YuUfV4

Kinnaman explains, “In part, it is a failure of not connecting Jesus and the Bible to the other outcomes identified in this research—relational, missional, vocational and cultural discernment. In other words, the version of ‘Jesus in a vacuum’ that is often packaged for young people doesn’t last long compared to faith in Christ that is not compartmentalized but wholly integrated into all areas of life.”