Written by Connie Coppings
Stanford, Kentucky
As the leaves turn vivid reds, oranges, and yellows in my yard, wonder at God’s creation arises within my heart. We can get so caught up in the day-to-day struggles we forget to pause and appreciate all the beauty around us. I’ve already heard many moan about the coming of winter. It consumes their thinking and they miss the leaf strewn paths, hillsides covered in a blaze of color, and the laughter of children playing in piles of leaves.
Why do we tend to focus so much on the negative and allow it to destroy our churches and our personal Christian walk? Time and time again I’ve heard stories of church fights that not only led to hurt feelings, but the tragedy of people walking away from church–and God.
Many times my husband listened to people who haven’t been in church for years due to something said to them by a church member. While no church, or church member, is perfect, nothing breaks the heart of a pastor more than hearing quarreling among those who call themselves Christians.
It would seem the biggest problem isn’t always what happened, or what was said, but the inability to say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.” The “power surge” of having to always be right has caused much damage in our churches. Sadly, many non Christians see these squabbles played out and it reinforces their decision to have nothing to do with the church or God.
There will always be imperfect people in the church. So, how do those in ministry deal with the disagreements and disasters that can arise when these people try to work together? It’s important that we be part of the solution and not contributors to the problem.
One way to help in the healing process is to provide teaching that will enable people to have positive methods they can use to work through a difficult situation. We found many times people just didn’t have good communication skills, especially in the area of listening. Getting the whole story out on the table often helps give proper perspective to a situation. Praying that God will change others so they agree with us is too often the way we choose.
We all need to reminded from time to time of what our goals are in life, and the church is no different. The color of the carpet, choice of hymnals, order of service, how money is spent, expectations of the pastor/pastor’s family becomes the focus rather than joining time and talents to discover new ways to bring others to Christ. I really don’t think God cares about carpet color, or any of the other human things we can find to fight about, His purpose is clear throughout the Bible.
What a wonderful witness to others when we can lay aside our differences in order to grow God’s kingdom! We don’t have to all be in agreement, but we do need to be willing to lose the “I and me” in our vocabulary and replace them with “we and our.” And, most of all, remember God is the head of our lives and our churches!
This is Pastor Appreciation Month–don’t forget to show those who minister to you how much you appreciate them. I would love to hear how you honor your pastor/pastor’s family.
Father, forgive us when we give in to human emotions and don’t ask Your help to resolve negative situations in our lives. May we “Turn our eyes upon Jesus” so that the things of this earth will fade.
Darlene
ladyofpurple
