My Church . . His Church

You can rest assure that you can find individuals in beauty shops, barber shops, the workplace, or anywhere that have issues with their church. They are quick to disclose what they find offensive or objectionable. They dislike the music, the messages, and the ministries. The Barna Group recently released a report that revealed that much of the growth in mainstream protestant congregations is the result of individuals moving from one church to another. They get upset or angry about some issue and relocate. Why? They say: “I did not like this at MY church.”

My church? Really? When we read chapters two and three of Revelations or the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 16:18 we are informed that the church is not our church. The church belongs to Jesus Christ. And, for Jesus Christ, the church is not only the public gathering, it is also the private life of the believer.

I hear individuals constantly ridicule and raise issues about “their” church. As I prepare a series of sermons through the second and third chapters of Revelation in March 2013, I have really been challenged. We each have issues with “my” church; but do they measure up with the issues Jesus Christ has with HIS church.

I pray that as we focus our attention on becoming Great Commission congregations in 2013, we first will recognize that wherever we worship and work – it is not “my” church, it is HIS church.