I read a letter that someone recently wrote to our local paper complaining about a church she attended and how all that the minister did was beg for money. Because of this experience, she declared that she was not going to church anymore.
Let's assume her assessment was an accurate one and that the minister was off base. We could even further add that there were probably hypocrites, a bunch of them, at that church. Or maybe not, but perhaps you'll see my point in a minute.
A doctor is supposed to take care of my physical needs. Sometimes a doctor is shown to be a thief or a molester or some other type of charlatan. Does that mean you never see another doctor for the rest of your life? You may not visit that doctor, but you know they are not all crooked.
A teacher is supposed to take care of my educational needs. Sometimes a teacher is shown to be a thief or a molester or some other type of charlatan. Does that mean you never see another teacher for the rest of your life? You may not visit that teacher, but you know they are not all crooked.
A lawyer is supposed to take care of my legal needs. You know how the rest of this paragraph would go if I were to continue.
SO, why is it that we act so surprised when a minister is shown to be a bad apple? Why do some folks use that as their reason (i.e., excuse) to stay away from church and from the fellowship of other Christians who are as imperfect as they are? Christians, and other interested onlookers, let's face it - we are imperfect, sometimes even sinful. We are ALL tainted by various levels of hypocrisy. While some may use the existence of hypocritical Christians and hireling pastors as a reason to stay away from church, I see it as all the more reason to go to church and to reach forward for my better self, my godly self.
If you are going to use such logic to stay away from church, I ask you - why don't you be consistent and use the same logic to other related areas of your life? Is it perhaps because such logic is actually flawed?
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Tom, YOUR logic is square-on. The logic of other people (i.e. those your blog mentions) often escapes me. Of course there's hypocrites in the church. Jesus Himself said that those who are well do not need a physican. I'm sick. I have a condition called sin. Yes, I have been set free, cured if you will, but the symptoms are still here. The Great Physican is the only one who can treat those symptoms, so I go to Him.
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