I had a talk radio show where I interviewed hundreds of pastors for a “church of the week” segment. I almost always asked each pastor “what makes your church special.” Almost everyone gave the same exact answer, “our church is special because we love people!” 1/x
This might seem like a good thing but it pointed out to me a fundamental problem in how many Christians view and talk about the church. Almost every pastor distinguished his or her church from other churches as being more loving. 2/x
In other words, almost every pastor believed the narrative that churches aren’t loving, but their church is the exception to the rule. Their Church is truly loving, not like all those other churches. And this is what all these other churches felt as well. 3/x
What I see in this is a fundamental self-hate narrative that drives so much of the church growth industry. It promotes the narrative that everyone is corrupt but me the true remnant of righteousness. Our church is good, their church is bad. Our theology pure, theirs corrupt. 4/x
So much is sold on this foundation that we are the few righteous among the wicked masses. We sell books, promote conferences and launch churches with this arrogant belief that we are just a bit more loving, gracefilled, evolved and in tune with God’s plan than everyone else. 5/x
It comes across arrogant and erudite, like one member of the family who thinks he or she is just a little better than everyone else. Sadly, no one is immune to this arrogance, including myself. 6/x
Ultimately I think we need to find ways to communicate what God has put on our hearts without feeling the need to belittle the expressions of others. This means we must be comfortable with our role in the body of Christ while respecting the roles of our brothers and sisters. 7/7
