The Church Repellent

This is my third article for the Ada Herald here in the month of September.

If Christians have the truth, “why is it the case that they are repellent precisely to the degree that they embrace and advertise that truth?” asks Will Barrett in Walker Percy’s novel The Second Coming. In the novel, Barrett is a wealthy Southerner whose life is spiraling out of control. He questions reality, and he wonders why Christians, if they have the truth, remain largely unattractive to those searching for meaning in life.

Perhaps you’ve thought similarly about Christians. Maybe you’ve been hurt by a particular church in the past, perhaps one that was too controlling. Maybe a co-worker gossips about you, yet you know he is also a church leader. Hypocrites in the church have always kept many from considering the claims of the Christian faith. Christian preachers might be a turn-off, especially the televangelists. These individuals often do repel to the degree they advertise the truth.

If I could attempt to explain a piece of Christian teaching for a moment, I hope that you would be willing to reconsider your opinion of Christians. The vast majority of churches believe that Christians remain sinners even after coming to faith in Jesus Christ. We believe that we are forgiven for our sins, yet the tendency to sin remains in our hearts. Only over a lifetime of prayer, worship, and yes, even being around other Christians, do we slowly become more like Christ. The change in our lives that we hope for doesn’t happen overnight.

To put this another way, you shouldn’t be surprised to see Christians who fail to live up to the teachings of the bible. The bible teaches that we will fail, in this life, to live up to all its teachings (read, for example, Romans 7). So in failing, we are in fact being consistent with biblical doctrine! Now that’s not meant to be a smart excuse for our failures. Its meant to be realistic about the Christian life, about the struggle in our hearts to overcome sin and to grow in godliness.

As a Christian pastor, I’ve been around lots of Christians. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Yet for the most part, the Christians I know are quietly putting their faith into practice. They are working in the Ada Food Pantry and at Restore. They are praying with their children. They are rebuilding the Gulf Coast. They are worshipping on Sundays, hearing preaching from modest pastors, and trying to live out their faith with the help of the community of the church.

I will be the first to admit that Christians will let you down. But in the end, I would encourage you to look past Christians to God. God is really the one you need to be thinking about more than the people of God in Christian churches. Even if a Christian fails you, God hasn’t changed. He is still your creator. He still gives you life, and breath, and everything else. Don’t let God’s people keep you from seeking God. I would even be so bold as to suggest that if you want to know God, there are many Christians in local churches who would be glad to offer humble and gracious direction.