The church is not the only army that shoots its wounded

Posted on November 23, 2014 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

I have heard it said that the church is the only army that shoots its wounded. After hearing all the fuss about Adrian Peterson these last few weeks, I now know that this statement is not true. It is not false because the church does not shoot her wounded. It is false because the church is not alone in this behavior.

Your Father knows what you need, then why ask?

The question is, why should we pray if God already knows what we need? It is not like I am going to provide God with a missing piece of data without which he could not make a good choice.

A Bridge and not a Wall

God does not always choose to work within the boundaries of our established traditions. Traditions can be helpful as a point of reference, but they can also be shackles that keep us from effectively engaging the culture around us. When our tradition ceases being a bridge and becomes a wall, it is longer contributing to the purpose of the church.

One flesh and inseparable – does your church view marriage this way?

When the divorce rate in the church is little different than in society in general, we must be honest about how well we support marriage. Church leadership has the responsibility to not allow ministry to be a cause of division in a marriage.

A test for idolatry

Even though we do not bow down before any images we may fall into idolatry. I offer some thoughts on how to identify idolatry in our lives.

Love and apologetics

But all of us, through impatience or pride, sometimes fall short of the command to love the one with whom we disagree. If love of God and love of neighbor is not our motivation for engaging in the discussion, then we are better off remaining silent.

Like growing oak trees

If you are a church leader and you are frustrated with how fast growth is taking place in your church, think of an oak tree. They do not grow fast, but they are strong. If you are a small group leader or Sunday School teacher, think of that oak which slowly absorbs the nutrients and water and grows as a result.