Just As We Are

 I have heard more than one pastor use the statement from the pulpit; that most churches are full of good people doing nothing. Is this true?

1. I am there, in the service, present and waiting to hear what you have to say. I join in worship. I support in prayer and giving. I agree with the vision and I do not resist the moving of the Holy Spirit. That is something.

2. If a church is inactive and uninspired, the blame is on the pastor, not the people. Maybe the pastor has not said anything to inspire us. Maybe his words and his actions do not agree. Maybe the pastor is not sure of what we can do, so he challenges us to do what we can't do, and then gets frustrated when we don't do that.

3. I wonder if the unrealistic expectations of leaders is rooted in their lack of appreciation for their parishioners. Marriages deal with unrealistic expectations all the time. It doesn't work in marriage. It doesn't work in church. Marriage gets better when the couple begins to appreciate their spouse as they are and stops expecting them to be what they will never be. I wonder if the same thing would help a local church.

To conclude, I think the problem is unrealistic expectations, uninspiring preaching, and an unappreciative attitude. I think that these things coming from the pulpit drives a wedge between the pulpit and the pew. We love our pastors just as they are. All we ask is that they love us just as we are in return.