“THE PROBLEM WITH THE CHURCH”

Neal Pollard

I am a part of the greatest institution on earth, conceived in heaven from the eternity before time (Eph. 3:9-11), paid for with the blood of deity in the flesh (Ac. 20:28), and the only institution destined for heaven and the Father’s omnipotent hands (1 Cor. 15:24).  It belongs to Jesus (Matt. 16:18), its design, purpose, and duties were laid out by Him (cf. Eph. 1:22, Col. 3:17), and it wears His name (Rom. 16:16).  It is comprised of those made holy by His blood sacrifice (Heb. 13:12).

The church is called the fullness of Him (Eph. 1:22). It is said to be the way God is glorified on earth (Eph. 3:21). It is said to be so loved by Christ that He gave Himself for it (Eph. 5:25). It is called His body (Col. 1:24). It is referenced as the pillar and ground of the truth and God’s household (1 Tim. 3:15).

Therefore, it saddens me to hear the all-too-often spoken complaint, “That’s the problem with the church!”  As one who has grown up in the wonderful environment of the New Testament church, I have had the sad experience of hearing men and women bemoan all the problems in the church today.  Usually, those obsessed with such thoughts are extreme–to the left or the right of biblical center.  That is not to say that by avoiding extremism, we shield our eyes from the fact that we are not evangelizing enough, we are often too much like the world, or we suffer from maladies ranging from poor leadership to weak preaching, disharmony to compromise, uninvolvement to faithlessness.  Yes, those problems exist.  They exist in line with the unavoidable fact that the divinely-designed and heavenly-purchased church is comprised of frail, weak, fickle, and sinful people.

However, I am concerned with this cynical, critical, encompassing approach to the church that seems blinded to the good by the bad it sees.  Growing up, I was taught that you will find exactly that for which you are looking.  Do you want to see the hypocrites, the problems, the shortcomings, and the mistakes?  You will be able to fill a file folder with examples.  But, do you want to find the meek and humble, the hardworking, the sacrificial, the valiant, the faithful, and the dedicated?  You will never come close to suffering a shortage of models for that, either.

My job is to ask, “What do I see as my job?”  Am I church critic?  Or, am I body builder?  Fault-finder? Or, saint-supporter?  Scripture indicates that God wants me encouraging, serving, exhorting, and helping my brethren.  I know they are imperfect, but I will seek to give them the benefit of the doubt whenever I can.  Otherwise, I become an answer to the question, “Do you know what the problem with the church is?”