My Response to an Anonymous Letter

So I got an anonymous typed letter of correction about how my last blog article was posted to intentionally hurt others.  Part of me wants to let it go, but there is another part of me that wants to set the record straight.  I did not point out imperfections in my former church to hurt others.  It was just the opposite in fact.  I am concerned that people are not receiving the instruction they need to live more fully developed Christian lives.  I was naive to think others would see it that way, but it wasn't done in malice.  Too many of the modern day churches have gotten hung up on how many people they can pull in on a Sunday and how many they can baptize in a year and they use business model terms to discuss how they are going to make those two goals happen.  I said that the church has lost focus of the mission of discipleship and is bringing too many things of the world in to try and accomplish their goals.  We are supposed to be giving people what they need to live a full life in Christ and presenting mediocrity and not preaching all of the elements of the Christian life to be seeker friendly is not cutting it.  Allowing people to live in open sin and then still serve in the church is wrong.  The Bible plainly says that, but that doesn't sell well in the modern day church so we don't do anything about it.  I never said that nothing good goes on in these churches.  Winning people to Christ is good, but are we winning all of them to Christ or are we kicking up an emotional frenzy and building a brand that they identify with more than they identify with the Savior?  There are small groups that go in depth and I was in a great small group.  In fact, that was the only thing that fed me anything while I was there.  I loved my small group and the people who were in it, but I see too many people placing their identity in their church and not in Christ and that concerns me.  In this anonymous letter, I received a flyer that said "How ____ (church name) changed my life." The title of that article just reaffirms everything I said in my blog article.  Shouldn't it be "How God changed my life"?  The other thing that I also wanted to point out is the fact that many people have spoken to me about the problems I outlined in my blog article, but no one wants to actually voice it out loud and say that it is unacceptable.  They would rather just keep the peace and not say this is wrong.  The letter also quoted James about not speaking evil against a brother or judging them.  That is out of context.  We are not to judge the people of the world, but we are given clear directions in Matthew 18 to point out sin in the church.  We are to call it out and say what it is. Many people are willing to "murmur" about what is wrong, and I have heard lots of murmuring, but no one is willing to call it what it is.  The church is never going to move forward if we don't address the issues.  The church belongs to God.  It doesn't belong to any dynamic ministry team or any others who would claim ownership of it.  When you set up a situation with no accountability, abuses will happen.  That is the reason that Paul outlined the need for elders to be an active part of the body. 1Timothy 5:17 says, "The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching." When even the elders are "murmuring" about the problems, but are unwilling to actually expose the problems, then nothing changes.  I will say that I am very sorry that my words hurt people, but I think we have gotten way too politically correct about things and lost sight of our role.  Read Corinthians and some of the other letters to the churches.  The model that Paul left us was to call out the problems with boldness and try to be the spark that makes the difference. We tried to be the spark from the inside and had no luck.  It is time that we in the Christian world stop playing church and choose to make it what God designed.  I want to follow Christ and attempt to obey all of His teachings.  I will fall short, but I am going to keep trying.