Angry about Church

If you are a Christian, you should not feel the following ABCs about church:
Anger
Bitterness
Critical

That's what we all feel or maybe even have been told. 

But I wonder...can these actually be the other side of love?

When my daughters eventually become teenagers and some guy sends them hate mail or lewd texts, am I supposed to brush it off or feel sorry for him?  No, I will be angry.  If I wasn't angry, you would be right to question the depth of my love for my daughters.

If you are bothered by how things are done at your church or what has happened there, I suspect it is because you actually care.  If you didn't care about your church or about your relationship with God, then you wouldn't feel critical, right?  Apathy is a sign of not caring.

Critical people are often prophets-they see the truth that others are afraid to acknowledge.  But there's another part to their role: they have to have the guts to say something about it.

If you feel any of the ABCs about your church (or anything for that matter), choose courage over cowardice.  That is something I have been trying to grow in for a number of years now.  It is not easy for me, and it may not be easy for you.

Being a prophet can be dangerous.  Jesus was openly critical of the religious system and so were many of the Old Testament prophets.  They walked a hard road, but an honorable one.

Of course, you must be willing to see the other side.  Sometimes things that are infuriating to you may be very meaningful for others.  But don't let that invalidate your experience.  You may even be wrong in the end.  Oh well!  At least you stood up and had courage.

People with courage are the people who change things.  There were twelve guys like this that hung around Jesus.  They got in a lot, a lot, a LOT of trouble because of what they said.  But, man, the world is different because of them.