I am the Church, and so can you! (With credit and respect given to Mr Colbert)

I have noticed a trend developing recently among many of my friends on FB who are believers. They are posting blogs on their page that they have read which all play out along the lines of: "Why _________ is leaving the church...", or "Why I am choosing to walk away from _________ in the church...". Obviously, when someone posts something to their wall, it means an endorsement of said piece, unless they state otherwise. So I read these blog posts from the perspective of assuming that it echos my friend's sentiments. I often do this on my own page. 

Here's my issue with this. While there is much in the context of these posts that I agree with, I wonder what message it is sending to others about how we as believers view our church? 

I will be the first to admit that our church, especially the Western version, is deeply flawed. It would have to be. We are part of it, and as humans, we are deeply flawed. There are so many things about the Western church that need fixing, and desperately. But there is also a lot about the church which has always been, and always will be singularly amazing and full of Spirit-breathed inspiration. The very purpose of our gatherings (to ascribe glory to God and to edify, challenge, and encourage fellow followers) is a noble thing, yet most of what I read online about the church these days simply points out flaws. 

So what's the rub? Why is there a recent surge online of young people (20-40s) who are increasingly vocal about their dislike of aspects of the church? I'm not sure.

Social media has become the way modern society ingests information, opinions, statistics, etc; for better or worse. As such, the pressure that society has always placed on the church has moved into this realm. We are all familiar with society's impression of us as believers as hypocrites, racists, bigots, greed-famished Republicans who lambaste people over the head with heavy leather-bound versions of the King James with a brick in it for good measure. We are all well aware of media's portrayal of us as being in bed with the Westboros of the world, with the televangelists whose hypnotic words seem to lull only the incredibly blind into filling their coffers with hard-earned money, with the abortion clinic protestors, or bombers. It's no secret how the media feels about Christians. 

I think, perhaps in light of this view, many young people feel the need to respond to these claims by illustrating to the world that we are not perfect. That we're not hypocrites. "See? We don't have all the answers. In fact, here's a bunch of stuff that I hate about the church."

Keep in mind that I do think there is a lot of great content in these posts, most of which I agree with. But I'm left wondering if we are handling the church with enough care. I, for one, am at a point where I am honestly tired of reading from fellow believers what is wrong with our church. Don't get me wrong. There is certainly a need, a desperate one, to identify and seek to improve many different aspects of the church. But, at least to my mind, that should be something which is happening internally in a way which is constructive, not destructive. In a way which honors the Lord, not opens the door to more ridicule. 

Please be mindful of this when posting links to blogs. Perhaps if there is a blog you come across which is challenging and thought-provoking, you could send it to several friends in a private message, asking for their thoughts and feedback on the topic. Or perhaps you could write down your own reactions in a blog which then becomes very constructive in its purpose. 

While we live in a modern age where information and all the details of everyone's lives is literally at our fingertips, we still must take care to be "wise as serpents, gentle as doves."

God bless!