Why You Can’t Find the Right Church

Anna could tell within a few Sundays whether a church

would last. Her family had a system. They'd visit for a while,

find a thing that bothered them, and then move on to the next one.

She got good at spotting the flaw, or at least what was a

flaw in her mind. The music might be too wild, or the

sermons weren't up to their standards. Another church felt

too big and cold, or dragged through its announcements. By

the time she was a teenager, she had it down to an art. She'd

settle into a pew and start grating. These folks sing the

hymns, she'd think, but they don't mean a word of them. Their

clothes are too showy. She was, in her own words, the lofty

outsider. Her family never did settle anywhere. There was

always one more problem, one more reason to keep looking for

the church that finally got it right. The truth was, Anna had

made herself the judge of every church she walked into, and it

never occurred to her that the problem might walk in with her.

We'll come back to what Anna saw, but first,

welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger.

Years back, somebody mentioned something at our church they

thought ought to change, and this person wasn't even a member.

They'd been around a little while, long enough to form an

opinion. We changed it. They stopped coming anyway. I've

thought about that one for a long time. We made the change in

good faith, and I'd probably make it again, if necessary.

What I missed at the time was that the thing they mentioned

was never the thing. Every mature Christian hits a stretch

where they can see what's wrong with their church. The music

isn't what you'd pick. The leadership makes a call. You'd

have handled another way, and you could probably list a few

reasons why. Now, before I read the verse, let me say the part

that you may already be thinking. This is a pastor about to tell

you what the Scripture says about pastors, and I know how

that sounds. So, hold me to it the way you'd hold anybody to it,

and let's read what it says.

That would certainly not be for your benefit. Start with the

word we read as obey. The word comes from the verb to persuade,

and in this form, it means to be persuaded, to put your

confidence in somebody. There's a stronger word available that

Paul could have used. As a matter of fact, Paul uses it in

Ephesians, where he tells children to obey their parents

and servants to obey their masters. But the writer of

Hebrews didn't use that one. So the verse calls for an attitude

of trust toward people you have reason to trust, which is

different from compliance. Then, look at what it says those

leaders are doing. Their work is to watch over your souls. The

Greek word used here means to be sleepless, to lie awake. The

word is built out of chasing sleep away. So, Scripture's

picture of a pastor is a person staying awake over someone in

their congregation. Your pastor has a name in their mind tonight,

possibly. And then comes the sober half of it. They're

accountable to God. They will answer for how they led you,

which should make you a little slower to grade them and maybe a

little quicker to pray for them. And look at where the verse ends

up. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow,

because that would not be for your benefit. So, you see, the

writer aims it back at you. A worn-down pastor is a loss you

absorb. So now, here's the caution, because this verse

often gets misused. Ten verses earlier, the writer gives you

his own test. Remember your leaders. Think of all the good

that has come from their lives and follow the example of their

faith. So, the chapter assumes leaders whose lives hold up

under scrutiny. If you're under leadership that's abusive or

covering something up, you're in a different situation from the

one this verse addresses, I believe. The same goes for

leadership teaching what Scripture contradicts. Verse 17

is written for the everyday experience of belonging to a

congregation. If things aren't what they ought to be and it's

not good or maybe sin is involved, tell somebody you

trust and get help. The thing she finally saw was pretty

simple. Even if a perfect church existed, it would stop being

perfect the moment she walked through the door. So would

anyone else. They were all sinners who needed a Savior, her

included. The mindset change came slowly and it came through

being on the receiving end. When Anna had complications after her

son was born, the people of her church prayed for her and

brought her family meals. These were the same ordinary people

she once would have graded. Somewhere in there, the problems

stopped being theirs and started being hers as well, the normal

wear of a family she belonged to now. She put it this way,

"instead of looking for reasons to leave a church, look for

reasons to stay." And she made herself a promise. Her church

wasn't perfect, partly because she was now a member of it, but

she would never again stand on the outside. The people who fed

her family were the ones she had been grading from the pew. She

was scoring them on hymn singing while they were learning her

name and connecting with her. Here's today's challenge. Write

down the thing about your church that bothers you the most. Then,

pray for your pastor by name every day this week before you

think about that line again. Ask God to give them sleep, and for

pastoring you to be a joy. And find one way to act like a

member this week. Bring a meal, or take a shift in the nursery.

Father, your word says our leaders lie awake over souls,

and will answer to you for how they lead us. Thank you for the

ones who have stayed up over us, for everybody listening who has

been grading the people who have been feeding them. Open their

eyes to it this week. Make us members and not critics, and

give our pastors joy in the work. In Jesus' name, amen. If this

episode encouraged you today, would you share it with someone

who might need to hear it? Just go to

DailyDevotionsForBusyLives.com/368 and copy the link. It only

takes a second, and it might make a difference in someone's

day. Thanks for joining me on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives.

Remember, the word behind "watching over your souls" means

"lying awake." Pray for your pastor by name this week. Come

back next time for more encouragement to help you live

grounded in God's truth. Until then, God bless, and have a

great day.