your
church
family
By Kevin Peck
For through him we both have access
in one Spirit to the Father. So then you
are no longer strangers and aliens,
but you are fellow citizens with the
saints and members of the household
of God, built on the foundation of
the apostles and prophets, Christ
Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
in whom the whole structure, being
joined together, grows into a holy
temple in the Lord. In him you also
are being built together into a
dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
(Ephesians 2:18-22, ESV)
Every one of us is a part of a
family. If your family is anything
like mine it is a great family, but far
from perfect. My family is much
like so many others. We love each
other, care about each other and
contribute to one another, and yet,
if you hang around us long enough,
you’ll see our weaknesses-- in the
way we work together and even
particular weaknesses in each of my
family members. You wouldn’t be the
6 Solutions
only one to see those weaknesses; I
see all of them and many more, as
well. But you know what? I am still
crazy about my family... It may be a
flawed group of people, but they are
mine.
Our church family is no different.
Every true church family has great
strengths, areas that need to
improve, and yes, even glaring
weaknesses. Sometimes it is difficult
not to see the things that need to
improve in our local church. Maybe
the children’s ministry needs work,
or maybe the preaching could be
better. There are so many things that
could draw our criticism, but our view
toward our church must be familial,
not commercial. The church is our
family, not a service provider. If you
don’t like the food or the service
at a local restaurant, by all means,
leave a comment card and if they
don’t address it, stop giving them
your business! But a church is a
different kind of thing altogether. The
language of the church in the Bible is