Church?

I gotta rant.

A woman recently asked a pastor, "How do we make the church more welcoming to broken people so that we can attract visitors?"

I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw something at her. I wanted to rip the microphone out of his hand and address her.

Instead, I kept my hands to myself and took a deep breath, praying for forgiveness for myself as well as wisdom for this sister, and for all of His church.

Why do we expect pastors to have all the answers? When did the church relinquish its birthright as a priestly people for the bland soup of attendance? Who sold us the idea of needing to market our beliefs rather than live them so that the world is curious about, hopeful in, the difference?

The church is no more or less welcoming then we, the church, are welcoming and loving. We, the believers, are the church, not the brick and dry wall structure. There is nothing more empty than an old abandoned church building. It has no soul because the true Church has left. The edifice is nothing but a discarded shell.

We are the Body of Christ. We are His arms to embrace the hurting. We are His feet to go find the lost. We are His hands to apply pressure on hemorrhages of this world. We are His heart to love this world. We should shed His tears over the broken and the hard of heart.

If we truly acted as the church, responded as the Body of Christ, we would have no problem with attracting the lost. We know God. And we have His power to change lives.