The "perfect" church

As I was sitting through a church service the other day a lady excused herself - as she walked by I saw her unsuccessfully attempt to cover her tears. After a few minutes I met her and prayed for her. Full of embarrassment, she returned home. My heart sank. What has become of the church? We feel compelled to put on perfect clothes - every hair in place, display perfect singers complimented by just the right lighting followed by a perfect homily with every movement perfectly placed. As we file into the building our only fear is that people might just realize we are not as perfect as we portray. In reality, we are far from it. What has happened? How many times are people dying inside, too scared to remove their masks and display their wounds.

This is such a far cry from the church in Jesus day. While they had their own list of problems, they were like a magnet for broken people. The adulterer - leper - tax collector.

Casting Crowns sings a moving song titled "Does anybody hear her" in which they say:


Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?

I have to wonder, do we truly see the people that sit by us every Sunday? Do we attempt to listen and understand their struggles? How many are hiding their
tears - standing on the ledge ready to jump - just wondering if someone will notice.

So what do we do? Ghandi once instructed people to "be the change you wish to see in the world." But how do we do that? Honestly I do not have the answer. Part of the problem lies in human nature - it is embarrassing to display our flaws and often much easier to pretend we have it all together. There is a great risk in taking off the mask. There just has to be something we can do.What if we paid attention? Maybe if we truly listened when we asked how people are doing. What if we open our eyes to those hurting around us? Maybe, one person at a time, we can make a difference. Yet, to make this change we have to be authentic ourselves. We have to remove the mask - show that we do not have it all together. Through setting an example, we can show people the church is the one place to come as you are. Mask free - for everyone to see. Through our actions we can show that the church is a place for broken people to be loved and accepted because we have all been there and done that. Slowly, but surely, we can be that change.