Love Jesus...Hate Church

I was not at all surprised with the responses posted today on facebook and twitter to this question..."can a person love Jesus and despise the church?" This is a growing trend in our culture. Because of the neglect of biblical mission, along with the growing negligence and lack of purity in the "church" more and more people have become interested in Jesus, His Life, and His Teachings yet all along growing more and more distant and even hostile towards "church."

In order for us to fully tackle this issue (which cannot be done in a matter of a few lines), we must first look at what the church should be according to the scriptures. In the book of Acts, Jesus very clearly established the church with the mission he had given his disciples a in Matthew 28:19-20. The church was birthed as the hope of the world, to carry the message of Christ to the entire world. Throughout the book of Acts, we see the church meeting in homes for the purpose of breaking bread, prayer, and teaching (Acts 2:42). Furthermore we find that they added to their number daily people who were choosing to follow Christ (Acts 2:47). Those that were following Christ were also connecting with other believers, with the guidance of the Apostles. It was the New Testament Church. As the years have passed, though we don't have time to discuss church history, it is safe to say that the church has changed. Many time the message of Christ has been lost, grace has been forgotten, and truth has been neglected. However this was never the church Jesus intended. He intended a church that was pure and blameless. He desired it so much that he laid down his life for it (Ephesians 5:22-33). Jesus died for the bride of Christ "The Church." Here are a few points to ponder...
1. Jesus loves the church and so should a Christ-follower. It is important to establish the fact that not every building with a steeple and a sign is the church that Christ had in mind. In fact, I am not anti-church building or anti-steeple (ok maybe anti-steeple), but I would argue that any church that uses that as their measuring stick had missed Christ intent entirely.
2. Many have been wounded by the church establishment in America. When I read scripture it is impossible for me to gather that Christ-followers were intended to do this alone. They devoted themselves to the Apostle's Teaching (They had spiritual leadership), they fellowshipped with one another (they had other relationships within the body of Christ), and they gave of themselves (they were focused on a hurting world). With that in mind, let me encourage you to not give up on "The Church." Where there are imperfect people, there will be imperfect churches. Find a church that places a high importance on the things mentioned above.
3. It is possible to disagree with philosophies, approaches, methods, and even people within the church, but as one who loves Christ, you should love the church. Not the institution, but the body of Christ. Jesus tells Paul in Acts 9 that when persecuting the church (the people of the Way) you are persecuting Christ himself

I love the local church. I do not always agree, and have major issues with Narcissistic Pastors, Big Egos, Hyper Spirituality, Selfish Ambition, Religious Spirits (which by the way Jesus rebuked more than anything else in scripture), and the list goes on and on. I myself have been wounded by a pastor, but the thing I hold onto is that people are imperfect, but Christ is perfect. This is why I continue to do what I do. It is my prayer that Relevant Church which is scheduled to launch it the Fall of 2010 in Henry County, GA will be all that Christ intended it to be.

Thoughts???