Dear Church
I have been observing
you and your season of leadership in America for some time now and felt it was
important to write to you. I have
watched your hard work at guiding your members.
You have endured a great deal and persevered with energy in creating a
level of excitement and activity. For
all this I commend you.
I’m writing to bring
something important to your attention.
You have lost your first love.
The Church has drifted away from the love of God and one another as its
first priority. If this serious
situation is not turned around, it will destroy the church’s credibility.
All is not lost. I am writing to encourage you to lead a
change that, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, can be accomplished. If you accept the challenge to restore love
into the life of the church by reviving the passion and humility, the church
will receive blessings beyond your imagination.
This letter is sent
in love as always, with faith that what is required can be done.
Your Truest Friend
The Phone Call
I got a call from a church member who was leaving the
church. Their reason for leaving was
that to quote, “The church is not the most loving place in town, but instead
more judgmental than loving.”
A Most Loving Place
How does that letter and phone call make you feel: upset, frustrated, angry, sad, embarrassed,
concerned? Do you think there is some
truth, that maybe we’ve lost our first love?
That maybe we are more judgmental and less loving?
The letter and the phone call came from a book called, “The
Most Loving Place in Town.” I did make a
few changes to make my point. While I
believe that the Church is a good place with a lot of good people, can we say
that we are the most loving place?
Should that not be our goal?
Matthew 22:37-40; “Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your
God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest
commandment. A second is equally important;
Love your neighbor as yourself. All the
other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two
commandments.’”
The fact is the church is not a place, but the people in
that place. Jesus loved the church and
gave his life for it. He gave His life
for us. He is our example of love. Let us take time know to reflect on Christ’s
love and ask ourselves how we can be more like Christ. How can we make the church, A Most Loving
Place!
