Excellence is something every church should pursue. Passionately. And while excellence does require money, excellence is not extravagance. And many churches who spend money on being excellent also spend large amounts of money giving back to the Kingdom. A church with a nice campus is not necessarily a church that stewards God’s money poorly. Be careful about drawing these conclusions.
The church should be the most creative, excellent, well-run institution on the face of the earth. And if your leaders strive for excellence, do not view their pursuit of excellence as standing in the way of the gospel. Praise God for leaders who want to be excellent!
Take a look at the world around you. The intricateness of the human body. The splendor of the night sky. The beauty of the mountains. The vastness of the ocean. The God we serve is the definition of excellence!
Don’t leave a church because leaders place an emphasis on doing everything really well. They are following God’s lead.
3.) I am offended.
“Welcome to the church. My name is Frank.”
The church is full of broken people. And many Christians wake up looking to be offended. It is their default posture. It is crippling to spiritual growth. It is also crippling to the health of the church.
Do me a favor. Search through the Bible. Find me a command to leave a church when another brother offends you. Start with 1 Corinthians. Tons of conflict there. Now stop looking … the command is not there.
So, when you do get offended, you have two options:
1.) You can leave the church, which does nothing to promote spiritual growth and Christlikeness.
2.) You can work through the conflict, making you a stronger Christian and likely drawing you and the individual closer as well.
You make the choice. But leaving a church because one sinner said something mean to another sinner is a bad reflection of the gospel.
If Jesus left us every time we offended him or mocked His name, Jesus would have two dudes left: the Father and the Holy Spirit. So, walk in step with the gospel by pushing through conflict and not running from it.
4.) I attend churches that appeal to my style and where I am in life.
One of the sad realities of the church today is the “buffet style” mentality of many Christians. There are so many churches that people are literally going through each church and handpicking the parts they like. If they find something that doesn’t meet their needs, they are gone. Or they just hop between 20 churches.
The church is not your personal genie. You do not get to rub the sides of the church walls and ask the church to give you what you want. “Good sermon … but not too long. Lots of lights. Some smoke. And I want an inviting place for my children. You give me all of those … I am in. Otherwise, on to the next church. Take it or leave it.”
The church exists for the name of Jesus to be glorified. The church exists for the edification of the people of God. The church exists as the vehicle to make the gospel known to the world. The church does not exist to meet your needs. Start getting plugged in. And don’t use the church as your personal genie.
5.) It is time for a change.
If you plant yourself in one place and let your roots grow deep, there is no limit to what God can do. Mark Batterson
