Are You Thankful for Your Church?

                I have been in church ministry for nearly 28 years, and I was in church a lot twenty-five years prior to that. I have seen people join and leave churches a lot over my lifespan in church. I have often said that we should treat church like family. Sometimes interacting with church folks is wonderful and full of love. Sometimes it is the opposite. When interactions are full of love, no one thinks about leaving their family. When things are not so full of love, wishing we could change your family comes to mind. However, leaving family should be a hard thing to do. I know that there are terrible atrocities that happen and leaving a family is the best thing, but I am talking about disagreements and differing viewpoints. An argument should not cause you to leave your family, and I believe that an argument should not cause you to leave your church as well. The problem with this analogy, is that sometimes family and church are just things that are there. Family and your church should be something that we reflect on with thanksgiving. Often, we must remind ourselves to be grateful, but when we do, we are glad we did. So, this leads me to the question from the title of this blog, are you thankful for your church?

                I believe that church is something that God gives you and He calls you to. Church should never be a consumeristic thing where we only think of what you can get from a church. That can contribute greatly to us looking at church from an “all about me” lens. Since church is from God, it is also about Him as well. Our preferences can often get in the way of our worship. Our preferences are “me” focused. There is no such thing as a perfect church, because as soon as you join it, it will no longer be perfect. There are not perfect people in church either. So, what would it take for you to be grateful and thankful for your church? I think we need to take a step back and think about what you see God doing through your church. This past Sunday, a visitor came up to me after church with tears in his eyes. He shared with me that he was from England and our service was the most loving and powerful thing that he has ever been a part of. He was so grateful because back home in England churches are not like ours. This was such a blessing, and it helped me to take a step back and say “thanks be to God” for Shady Oaks Baptist Church. We are not perfect, nor will we ever be, but God’s presence is evident in our worship, and for that I am thankful. When you think about your church, are you grateful or do you start nitpicking at things? I hope you take a step back and say to God “thank you for my church” I really believe that this will change our heart and our mind and be more present in the church that God has called you to, because if He called you to it, then He has something for you to do in it. Our thankfulness of our church should be evident to those we encounter. When is the last time you invited someone to your church? We usually tell people about things we are grateful for, and I pray in this Thanksgiving season, that you take a moment and praise God for your church.