What’s wrong with the church?
Yesterday I met a woman who was very honest about her spiritual journey and had lots of questions. I was brought into the discussion because of my interest in The Da Vinci Code, and one of her first questions was (yes, you guessed it!) “Was Jesus married?”
We talked through the question, and I used some of the thoughts from my recent posts on whether Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married. Then, I left her with this thought from Ephesians 5: Jesus is indeed married, but not to a woman. His wife is the church. John Piper puts it like this:
“King Jesus came into the world to take a wife. Not a harem. And not for sex. But to give her pleasures that make sex taste like cardboard. He paid for her with his life. And he is now at work by his Spirit and by his word purifying and beautifying her for himself and for her joy.”
Beautiful metaphor, and it makes very clear the importance of the church in spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. But here’s the problem—the church is full of sinners (of which I am one) and sometimes
we don’t represent Christ like we should.
Here’s a recent list I came across, in an article by emerging church pastor Dan Kimball, on the 6 Common Perceptions of the Church by 20 and 30-somethings:
1) The Church is an organized religion with a political agenda.
2) The Church is judgmental and negative.
3) The Church is dominated by males and oppresses females.
4) The Church is homophobic.
5) The Church arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong.
6) The Church is full of fundamentalists who take the whole Bible literally.
What’s the answer? How do we as the church of Jesus Christ speak to these questions and concerns? Do you have any ideas? Dan says this:
What I think most people mean when they say, “I like Jesus but not the Church,” is that they like Jesus, but they don’t like what people have turned the Church into. We need to explain that if they truly like Jesus, then they cannot help but also like the Church because it’s His Church and His bride. They need the Church because it’s the expression of Jesus as His body.
Today I’m going to take a hard look at my life and see if I represent Jesus with accuracy and authenticity, if I share His message of saving grace, and if I speak the truth in love. There’s a lot at stake.
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SUSY FLORY is a New York Times best selling author, speaker, and journalist who searches out big stories with happy endings. She's I'm always looking for true stories that inspire and challenge her readers to embrace a life of passion, boldness, & adventure. 
When we moved to our new home almost a year ago, we came across churches very different from our church in CA. We finally decided on one church and so we “plugged in.” But, almost 6 months later, this church bared its ugly underbelly including at least 3 of the items you listed. We struggled with whether we should stay or go and then God sent us a clear message through something that happened in the church. When we finally left, it hurt. But it made me realize that some churches are not the church Jesus would want them to be. And that’s a struggle for every Christian: to be who He wants us to be.