7.1 Why Are Churches So Messed Up?

Many people get confused about my accent and often mistake my nationality. So let me put the record straight. I’m Irish and I love it! There is something special about being from this little island on the edge of Europe, if you can learn to live with the weather that is! Irish people are so hospitable and there is a huge sense of community. Another reason many of us are proud to be Irish is because in so many areas, we punch WAY above our weight. We’re a small country of about 4.5 million people and yet you can see our marks all over the world. In the 1600’s, we gave the world modern chemistry…and chocolate milk! In the 1800’s, we gave the world the Beaufort scale, the tattoo machine and the submarine. In the 1900’s, we gave the world radiotherapy, the ejector seat and the Titanic… (We just built it. We weren’t behind the wheel!) On the flip side, many of us have ridiculously pale skin with the danger of being burnt even when indoors, we have a bad reputation for anti-social behaviour and a bad reputation for drinking… it can be embarrassing when everyone paints us with the same brush. My identity as a Christian is similar in a way to my identity as an Irishman. While I love Christianity and I am proud to follow Jesus in my own humble and stumbling way, there are things that Christians have done throughout history within the church that make me embarrassed. Or, worse, make me ashamed. As we discuss this issue I do not intend to sugar coat the past I want to be honest about what has happened down through the years. But, before looking at the good, the bad and the ugly of the Christian church it's important to grasp what the church actually is. Now I’m not talking about any specific church And I'm not talking about a specific place either As stunning as churches and cathedrals can be with their furnishings and their stained glass windows, ultimately they are buildings without the people inside the walls. I think the most helpful way to understand church is to view it as a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. Jesus himself said that ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners’ (Mark 2:17) God’s offer of forgiveness to the world through the death of Jesus is an unconditional gift. It’s not something you can earn so to speak. It’s not like you have to sort your life out Or get everything in order before becoming a Christian It's more the reality of letting forgiveness invade your life no matter what situation you find yourself in or no matter what your wrongdoing happens to be There’s a common criticism of the Christian church that I hear over and over again. Some will say that there are many people who are non - religious who are more kind, even more moral than many Christians...and this can be true! Let me explain why if the only body of people that could make up the church was from the people that Jesus encountered in his three years of ministry on earth you would be shocked. That particular church would be full of crooked businessmen, common thieves, adulterers and prostitutes amongst others. I’m not saying that these people remained the same as their lives were ultimately transformed but what if you met people from this church only days after their life changing encounter with Jesus. If you were simply an onlooker who only knew their sin but not their story, might you be quick to judge the church as full of hypocrites or low life’s? I would suggest that many Christians won’t compare well to the best of those who are non-religious, if based on moral behaviour. At best a Christian is a work in progress and a functioning church will be filled with immature and broken people, some of whom that will still have a long way to go as they develop emotionally, spiritually and morally.