Offering all the usual sorts of caveats about first order issues, Daniel Darling writes about those situations where people don’t like something (of secondary importance) about the church to which they belong:
This is what I tell people who tell me there is something about our church they don’t like or about their church they don’t like: “Good.”
It’s good that you’re involved with a local body of believers with whom you have disagreements and varying preferences. Why? Because that is the whole idea of God calling out and gathering together His local body. We come together, not because we agree on everything and have the same preferences, but because, despite our disagreements, we are united in Christ.
I often say to people and have preached in messages before this statement, “I don’t like everything in our church. And this is good, because if everything here was geared to what I like, it would be great for me, but not-so-great for the other members.” And so it is with you.
Of course most folk are capable of making their second order preference into a first order issue, but that’s why they end up moving from church to church, but never grow more like Jesus.
Darling again:
When the people who attend a church stomp their feet and demand certain things at church be their way, it sows division in the church, hurts the pastor, and ultimately undermines the gospel mission to the community. But when people come to church and get involved, even though there are very real things at church they don’t like, they are making a profound statement that God’s work and God’s people are more important than their preferences.
And people like that will grow in Christ likeness, not more and more after their own image.
Read Daniel Darling’s whole post here.
mgpcpastor's blog 