Who "Failed"

Every so often you will hear people bemoan the fact that the church has failed them. In a time of need the church was absent. A family was a part of the church but it didn't help their children who still wandered from the faith. A person came to the church but found that worship did not "meet their needs". The list goes on and on.

Here is a list of my own titled, "Who failed?"

• When a person has a genuine need and communicates that need and the church does nothing, the church has failed.
• When a church tries so hard to be relevant that it softens the message of the Gospel to make it more appealing, the church has failed.
• When all the church income is spent on the maintanence of property, the church has failed.
• When the church refuses to adapt its methods to changing preferences, the church has failed.
• When a church explicitly or implicitly excludes certain people from being welcomed into the church, the church has failed.
• When the church provides youth programs geared toward entertaining youth rather than discipling youth, the church has failed.

But often the church is not the one who has failed,

• When the church provides solid educational programs but people don't take advantage of those opportunities, the people have failed.
• When opportunities for youth are presented but parents choose to "let the kids decide whether or not they will go to Sunday School, youth etc." The parents have failed to lead their children in the way they should go.
• When the church presents a biblical and relevent worship services and the people come to worship distracted, the people have failed to prepare.
• When people agree to serve on committees but fail to show up for meetings, the people have failed the church.
• When people's devotion to the Lord consists only of what they do in church, the people have failed to be true disciples.
• When parents talk about the importance of the Lord but do not reflect that importance in their own priorities, the parents have failed because they are sending a mixed message.
• If people did not care for you in the time of need because they did not know of the need, the people have failed, not the church.
• If the church is willing to adapt to new styles but no one is willing to serve, the church has not failed, the people have failed to serve the Lord through the church.
• If friends and neighbors remain ininformed about the gospel, it is usually not because the church has failed, but because the people have failed.

It seems to me that if focused less on who is to blame for problems and focused more on what we should be doing to solve those problems we would be a much more effective vessel of God's grace.